Federal Ban on Horse Slaughter Lifted

November 30, 2011 — 

The U.S. House and Senate passed a conference report that allows for the restoration of USDA-sponsored inspections of horse processing facilities. Since 2005, a de-facto ban on horse processing has been in place because the ag appropriations bill specified that no federal money could be spent to inspect horse-processing facilities. The House voted 298-121 in favor and the Senate voted 70-30 in favor of the bill. A recent GAO report revealed the ban on horse processing resulted in a number of unintended consequences harmful not only for landowners and industry, but also for the well-being of horses in general. This action does not affect any state imposed bans on horse slaughter however.

The conference report is a major appropriations bill, which would fund several government agencies for Fiscal Year 2012 and provide short-term funding for the rest of the federal government thru Dec. 16.