Last horse slaughterhouse in U.S. faces closure after losing its appeal in federal court

A federal appeals court has upheld an Illinois that law bans the slaughter of horses for human consumption and forced the closure of the DeKalb slaughterhouse of Cavel International, the last U.S. horse abattoir. The plant, "which slaughters about 1,000 horses a week, was allowed to remain open while it challenged the state law, enacted earlier this year," reports Ann Bagel Storck of MeatingPlace, a news service for the meat industry.

Cavel attorney J. Philip Calabrese told the Daily Chronicle of DeKalb that the company does not know whether it will pursue further court action. "Cavel has 14 days to request the three-judge appeals court panel reconsider their ruling, or to request the full 14-member court hear the case, Calabrese said. The company has 90 days to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court," the paper reported in a non-bylined story.

"Cavel, the only horse-slaughtering facility in the country, exports all horse meat produced in DeKalb to Europe and Japan," the Chronicle reports. "Cavel had also argued that the specific ban on human consumption of horse meat serves no purpose, because horses that are too old or no longer useful will be killed anyway. ... The DeKalb facility was closed after the July ruling, but two weeks later was allowed to reopen and operate while the appeal was considered." (Read more)