The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declared the slaughter of horses for food illegal in Texas Jan. 19. With two of the three foreign-owned horse slaughter plants in the United States located in Texas, just one plant, in DeKalb, Ill., will remain in operation once the court decision is final.
The HSUS filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in March, 2006, arguing in defense of a Texas law barring the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas.
On Jan. 17, federal lawmakers introduced legislation to end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act would also ban the export of horses for slaughter in other countries.
The court decision in Texas underscores the importance of blocking the export of horses to Mexico or Canada for slaughter. The extremely long transport, days at a time in many cases, combined with rough handling and crude slaughter methods makes it more imperative than ever to enact federal legislation.
