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House committee passes amendment to ban horse slaughter
Story Date: 6/22/2012
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Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 6/21/12
The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday passed an amendment proposed by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) that would (again) eliminate federal funding for USDA inspections of horse slaughter facilities.
The amendment, adopted in the fiscal 2013 Agricultural Appropriations Bill, would effectively prohibit the practice of horse slaughter for human consumption in the United States. The Humane Society of the United States is backing the bill, which now heads to the floor for a vote by the full House.
The saga continues
The action is the latest in the ongoing regulatory fight on this issue. In November 2011 Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation that lifted a ban on funding USDA horse meat inspections that was put into place in 2006 and had resulted in all existing horse slaughter plants in the United States closing by 2007.
Earlier this month, Unified Equine Missouri announced the company was on track to re-open an existing meat processing plant in Rockville, Mo., by summer's end to slaughter horses.
Moran introduced similar language during debate over the fiscal year 2012 Agricultural Appropriations Bill. Though adopted in the House, the language was removed during conference committee in November.
Industry reacts
The International Equine Business Association, which promotes the use of horses and equine products in commercial enterprises, called the Moran Amendment just a “bump in the road” to reestablishing government regulated equine processing in the United States and issued the following statement:
“The Senate has wisely refused to include such language in its Ag spending bill, or the Farm Bill, so we'll do what we did a year ago: remove the short-sighted language in conference committee should it come to that. Bottom Line - We are confident wiser heads will ultimately prevail.”
The group noted there are plans in 18 states and 12 tribal nations to build modern horse processing plants. USDA has already received applications for slaughter certification and more are in the pipeline.
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