The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee says the Appropriations Committee is moving a bill that would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to inspect horse slaughterhouses, in an effort to restore the bottom to the horse market and reduce abuse, neglect and abandonment of horses.
Congress denied USDA funds for such inspections in 2007, ending the American industry that supplied horsemeat for human consumption to Japan and Europe. Montana Sen. Max Baucus cited the Government Accountabilty Office study that found the ban at least partly responsible for a decline in horse sales and prices and an increase in abandonment and neglect.
"Many animal welfare organizations have opposed any move to resume horse slaughter, saying it often results in inhumane shipment and painful deaths and is not the only alternative to preventing neglect," the Los Angeles Times reports. "The Humane Society of the United States said in a report that 92 percent of horses slaughtered are in good condition. The Times adds, "The ban resulted in a more than 600 percent increase in the number of horses being shipped to Mexico, where animal welfare groups say facilities are often horrific."
The ban arose in the House, which voted this year to keep it in place, but after a relatively close vote on its Appropriations Committee.
Congress denied USDA funds for such inspections in 2007, ending the American industry that supplied horsemeat for human consumption to Japan and Europe. Montana Sen. Max Baucus cited the Government Accountabilty Office study that found the ban at least partly responsible for a decline in horse sales and prices and an increase in abandonment and neglect.
"Many animal welfare organizations have opposed any move to resume horse slaughter, saying it often results in inhumane shipment and painful deaths and is not the only alternative to preventing neglect," the Los Angeles Times reports. "The Humane Society of the United States said in a report that 92 percent of horses slaughtered are in good condition. The Times adds, "The ban resulted in a more than 600 percent increase in the number of horses being shipped to Mexico, where animal welfare groups say facilities are often horrific."
The ban arose in the House, which voted this year to keep it in place, but after a relatively close vote on its Appropriations Committee.
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