Missouri bill for horse slaughtering appears dead

In March we reported the Missouri bill that would re-establish horse slaughtering was gaining steam, but its momentum appears gone. Last week a conference committee of House and Senate members removed Republican Rep. Jim Viebrock's provisions to allow horse slaughtering for human consumption from an agriculture bill, Chad Livengood of the Springfield News-Leader reports.

"Viebrock sought to create a state-level fund for slaughterhouses to pay into to fund U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections of the facilities," Livengood writes. U.S. Department of Agriculture "certification is required to ship horse meat to Europe and Asia, where horse meat is a delicacy." However, state lawmakers removed the provision because they were uncertain if USDA and Congress would honor the law. "The federal government may very well say, 'Thank you, but no thank you, we're not going to allow you to pay for these inspections,'" Missouri Agriculture Department Director Jon Hagler, who otherwise favors a horse-slaughtering industry in the state, told Livengood. (Read more)