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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Pending bills could permanently ban horse slaughterhouses, foreign sales for consumption

Horse slaughterhouses could soon be permanently banned in the U.S. under pending legislation, which also bans foreign sales of horses for human consumption, reports Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter. "Currently, under the fiscal year 2014 omnibus appropriations bill, companies are effectively banned from conducting horse slaughter operations in the nation until Sept. 30. That legislation, however, did not ban the sales of horses to Canada and Mexico."

The Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) "has 28 co-sponsors from both parties and is awaiting action in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee," Agri-Pulse notes. "The House bill, offered by Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), has 170 co-sponsors and was referred to three committees. Meehan and other lawmakers recently requested that the House Appropriations Committee reinstate the temporary ban in the FY 2015 agriculture appropriations bill."

Former Congressman Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas), who has lobbied in favor of horse slaughterhouses, estimated that there are about 50,000 wild horses, mostly on public lands, with many of them turned loose because people couldn't afford to care for them, Agri-Pulse reports. He said euthanizing and burying a horse can cost between $400 to $2,000, compared to the $500 an owner could get for selling the house to a slaughterhouse.

The Humane Society of the United States said that 92 percent of horses sent to slaughterhouses were still healthy and could serve practical uses, and that 80 percent of Americans disapprove of horse slaughterhouses. (Read more)

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