US: Horse slaughtering for food set to resume
01/07/2013
Bloomberg reported USDA is close to approving two additional horse-slaughter plants, and said it was required by law to issue the permit to Valley Meat Company once the company had met the requirements.
The last US horse-meat plant closed six years ago after Congress banned funding for inspections. That ban lapsed in 2011 and measures to renew it are before lawmakers.
“The administration has requested Congress to reinstate the ban on horse slaughter,” USDA press secretary Courtney Rowe said. “Until Congress acts, the department must continue to comply with current law.”
Valley Meat is one of several applicants asking the USDA to provide inspectors. They said currently, horse owners who cannot afford the animals’ upkeep are forced to send them to Mexico for slaughter, or the horses are being abandoned.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it is “dismayed” by the decision. “Horse slaughter is inherently cruel,” it said.
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