Horse Slaughter

Missouri state legislators have removed horse slaughter provisions from SB 795, an agricultural bill currently in review, reported the News-Leader.com.

The Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill in March, HB 1747, that would establish plant operation and meat inspection regulations for horse processing plants. Currently there is no national government funding for inspections, thus there are no horse slaughter plants that provide meat for human consumption operating in the United States.

The bill was then incorporated into SB 795, a comprehensive agriculture bill, according the TheHorse.com.

In late February the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition received hidden camera footage of horse slaughter practices at Viande Richelieu in Quebec and Bouvry Exports in Alberta. The videos demonstrated that both facilities fail to meet humane slaughter standards used by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to audit Canadian slaughterhouses.

The videos reveal horses being shot multiple times while still alive and slipping and scrambling as they wait to be slaughtered.

Yesterday, April 8, a bill that would allow horse processing plant development in Tennessee passed the state's House Finance Subcommittee by a slim 7-6 margin, according to TheHorse.com. The measure now moves on for full Finance, Ways and Means and Budget Committee consideration.

HB 1428 allows the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to establish licensing, inspection, operational regulations and fees for horse processing plants.

One of the many concerns about horse slaughter is the inability to determine whether a horse has been given non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at some point during their lives. These types of drugs are banned for use in any animal intended for human consumption because they are known to cause potentially lethal effects in humans.

Many western states are working on new legislature regarding horse slaughter reported TheHorse.com. 

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal signed HB 122 into law March 9. The law provides the Wyoming Board of Livestock with three options to deal with abandoned, stray, feral or abused animals which enter into their jurisdiction. The Board may take the animal to public sale, which was the only option prior to this legislation, or may now send the animal to slaughter or destroy the animal.

The Board of Livestock is working in conjunction with The United Organizations of the Horse to execute this law.

Beginning July 31, 2010, all horses slaughtered for human consumption in Canada must arrive at the slaughterhouse with an Equine Information Document according to a new mandate from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The EID will positively identify the horse with a photo and a description and will also contain a record of medications administered to the horse for at least the previous six months. The owner must sign off on this document.

Two provisions in a new piece of government legislation will directly affect horse welfare and horse slaughter in the United States. On Oct. 8, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives approved the final version of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2997).

This bill addresses concerns about horse welfare after the last of three U.S. horse slaughter facilities closed in 2007.

Two provisions in a new piece of government legislation will directly affect horse welfare and horse slaughter in the United States. On Oct. 8, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives approved the final version of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R.2997).