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Animal welfare groups, legislator decry USDA horse slaughter approval
Story Date: 7/2/2013
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Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 7/1/13
USDA’s decision last week to allow a New Mexico company to slaughter horses is creating a backlash among animal welfare groups and at least one member of Congress.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Animal Welfare Institute and Animal Protection of New Mexico say they are “appalled” by the USDA’s approval of an application allowing Valley Meat Co. begin equine slaughter operations in Roswell, N.M.
The organizations cite polls results indicating that 70 percent of New Mexico residents and “an overwhelming majority of Americans” oppose the slaughter of horses for human consumption. They also call horse slaughter “inherently cruel” and plan to “redouble efforts” to pass laws to ban horse slaughter under the SAFE Act.
The company would become the first since 2007 to use Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) guidelines and personnel to slaughter horses for human consumption with plans for operations to begin this month. The agency has already released its directives for inspectors to conduct their ante-mortem and postmortem activities at horse slaughter facilities.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) is calling on Congress to “promptly” reinstate rules that bar the spending of federal dollars to inspect horse slaughtering facilities that were removed from on omnibus spending act in 2011.
DeLauro – the former chairman of the House subcommittee that funds the USDA – says she will work toward achieving her goal to block funding such inspections as part of the process to pass the pending agriculture appropriations bill.
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