Op-Ed: How the PAST Act Tramples Rights and Rational Policy
- Western Justice LF
- May 5
- 3 min read
The federal government is trotting dangerously close to trampling your constitutional rights—under the guise of "protecting" horses.
Animal Rights Ideology Will Be Made into Law
Horse owners, trainers, and event organizers across America should be alarmed by the 2025 version of the so-called Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act. On paper, it claims to eliminate the cruel practice of soring—a goal we all agree on. But in reality, this bill isn’t about soring anymore. It’s about federal overreach, property rights violations, and the slow creep of radical animal rights ideology into the heart of the American equine tradition.
Let’s be honest: the practice of soring is already illegal. It has been for decades. And the horse industry itself has all but eradicated it. USDA data shows over 98% compliance with the current Horse Protection Act. That’s not a crisis—it’s a success story. But animal rights extremists aren’t satisfied. They don’t want reform. They want control. And now, they're using Congress to try and seize it.
The PAST Act takes temporary, controversial USDA rules—rules the agency itself had to delay due to widespread opposition—and attempts to cement them in federal law. If passed, this bill would obliterate industry self-regulation and replace it with heavy-handed federal enforcement at horse events, shows, and auctions across the country.
All Breeds Are Impacted
You don’t need to own a Tennessee Walker to be affected. If even one horse from a covered breed enters a multi-breed show or auction, every horse at the event could be subjected to USDA oversight and inspection. And “participation” isn’t just riding or showing anymore—it includes transporting a horse, offering training advice, or even just being present near the show ring.
Sound familiar? That’s the kind of regulatory sprawl that has nothing to do with animal welfare—and everything to do with chilling lawful participation, increasing costs, and forcing federal authority into places it doesn’t belong.
If that’s not enough, the bill bans certain training tools and equipment long considered standard in specific disciplines. It mandates federal inspectors (most of them veterinarians, despite a nationwide shortage) to oversee events instead of allowing knowledgeable horsemen and women to self-police their communities. And it assigns severe penalties—up to three years in prison and $5,000 fines per violation—for infractions that may be minor, subjective, or even accidental.
And here’s the kicker: all of this will be made public online, whether you’re guilty or not.
It is Time to Draw the Line
This isn’t about protecting horses. This is about pushing an ideological agenda that rejects human-animal partnership altogether. The same groups backing the PAST Act openly promote the belief that horses shouldn't be ridden, owned, or exhibited. Today, they’re coming for Walking Horses. Tomorrow, it will be reining, roping, barrel racing—or even your kid’s 4-H project.
The horse industry thrives on responsible stewardship, traditional values, and private property rights. Those principles are under attack—not because horsemen and women have failed to care for their animals, but because radicals see regulation as the fastest route to restriction, and restriction as the first step to abolition.
It’s time to draw the line.
If you care about your ability to ride, train, show, sell, or simply enjoy your horse without the long arm of Washington reaching into your barn, you must act now.
Learn about the PAST Act here: https://www.westernjustice.info/pastact
🖊️ Sign the petition and stand with the horse community:
Protect the Horse Industry from the Abuse of Power
We all want to protect horses from abuse. But we must also protect horsemen and women from the abuse of power. The PAST Act of 2025 is a radical overreach—not a solution.
Don’t let ideology outrun your rights. Saddle up, speak out, and help stop this bill before it changes the horse world forever.