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

Representative Jim Viebrock introduced the slaughter language into the bill. He sought to create state funding for slaughterhouses to pay for U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections of the facilities. Currently national funding for the USDA to inspect horsemeat is illegal

Lawmakers removed horse slaughter provisions during negotiations because it was unclear whether the USDA and Congress would honor the new law.

However, lawmakers have not taken horse slaughter off the table and plan to explore solutions in the 2011 session. The 2010 session ends today.