Federal Budget Could End Plans for Horse Slaughter Plants
No money included for plant inspectors
The nascent domestic horse slaughter business, struggling to gain acceptance over opposition from animal rights activists since 2011, was dealt another blow Thursday after the latest congressional spending bill cleared the Senate and House of Representatives without providing funding for meat plant inspectors.
The move effectively would ban meat packing plants in New Mexico, Iowa and Missouri from slaughtering horses and exporting horse meat overseas. No plants have processed horse meat since 2007, and after Congress restored funding for inspections in 2011, the slaughterhouses faced stiff legal opposition and highly visible opposition from animal rights groups and activists including actor Robert Redford and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.