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(Washington Times) President Obama last month quietly signed into law a spending bill that restores the American horse-slaughter industry, just a few months after a government investigation said the ban on slaughtering was backfiring.
The domestic ban didn’t end horse slaughter but instead shifted the site of butchery to Mexico and Canada - which meant increased abuse or neglect as the horses were shipped out of the country and beyond the reach of U.S. law.
The ban had been imposed in 2006 when Congress defunded the government’s ability to inspect plants that butchered horses for consumption. Without inspections, the meat couldn’t be sold, and the industry withered.
But the Agriculture spending bill Mr. Obama signed the week before Thanksgiving dropped the prohibition on inspections, and the administration said it now stands ready to conduct them should anyone open a horse-slaughter plant.
“While we have a long way to go, responsible processing represents a vital first step in reversing the unintended consequences to blame for the dismal state of neglected horses and their frustrated caregivers across our country,” said Rep. Adrian Smith, a Nebraska Republican who fought for the change. “Reinstating a humane, accountable and legal management tool is good for horses, good for owners and is good policy.”
All sides agreed that the backdoor ban was a failure. Read full story at Washington Times...
