WASHINGTON - In the latest in a series of blows to the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry, a federal district court ordered a shut-down of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that allowed the slaughter of American horses for human consumption to be paid for by the slaughter houses. The scheme was put into place shortly after Congress voted in 2005 to cut federal funding for inspections of horsemeat.
The Humane Society of the United States – the lead plaintiff in the case – is calling on USDA Secretary Mike Johanns to immediately withdraw all inspectors from the three remaining horse slaughter plants in the United States to comply with the court's order. The effect of the court's decision is to halt horse slaughter for human consumption indefinitely.
"This latest ruling restores the will of Congress and should shut down all three U.S. horse slaughter houses," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "Both chambers of Congress have said 'no' to horse slaughter and now two federal courts, in separate rulings, have said 'no' to the barbaric practice as well. It's time for the foreign-owned plants to cease all operations and recognize the will of the courts, the will of Congress, and the will of the people of America."
The ruling in HSUS v. Mike Johanns is one in a string of uninterrupted setbacks for the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry in the United States this year. In January, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous opinion upholding a Texas state law banning the sale of horsemeat, all but shuttering the two horse slaughter plants in Texas and leaving only one remaining in Illinois. Last week, The HSUS filed a notice of intent to sue the Cavel International horse slaughter house in DeKalb, Ill. for dozens of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Shortly thereafter, a committee of the Illinois legislature approved legislation to ban horse slaughter by a vote of 8-4.
Because the Congressional Act cutting funding for horse slaughter expires in September, The HSUS is calling on Congress to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 and S. 311) to settle the matter permanently.
Facts:
- According to the USDA, 100,800 American horses were slaughtered in three foreign-owned slaughter houses in 2006. Another 30,000 were sent to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.
- In 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate each approved funding limitation amendments barring USDA from using funds to conduct horse slaughter inspections.
- In response, USDA issued special new rules to circumvent Congress' decision to de-fund horse slaughter by having the slaughter plants to pay for inspections themselves.
- The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare groups filed suit in February 2006 challenging the USDA's decision.
- The district court found that USDA violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to conduct any review of the adverse impacts of horse slaughter on the surrounding communities before implementing the new rule.
- The HSUS was joined in the suit by residents who suffered the consequences of living next to a horse slaughterhouse, including "blood spills and overflows that clog up the local wastewater treatment plant and septic systems," "smell[s] so bad that we cannot open our windows," and "horses' cries [that] wake me up in the night and upset me so much that I have trouble sleeping."
- The court characterized the USDA's environmental review of these impacts as "deafening silence," and concluded "there is no evidence whatsoever that the agency head – or any USDA official – even contemplated…environmental effect[s]" of the agency's actions.
- The funding limitation on inspections for horse slaughter was included in the Fiscal Year 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which carries over through September 30, 2007 because of a Continuing Resolution passed by Congress.
- The plaintiffs in the case include The HSUS, The Fund for Animals, the Doris Day Animal League, Animal Welfare Institute, Society for Animal Protective Legislation, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They are represented by the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal and by counsel with the Animal Protection Litigation section of The HSUS.
Timeline:
March 21, 2007 – A committee of the Illinois legislature approves legislation to ban horse slaughter by a vote of 8-4.
March 20, 2007 – The HSUS files a notice of intent to sue the Cavel horse slaughter house in DeKalb, Ill. for dozens of violations of the Clean Water Act.
February 14, 2007 – Legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses nationwide, S. 311 and H.R. 503, is introduced by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Reps. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Spratt (D-S.C.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.).
January 19, 2007 – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upholds a 1949 Texas state law barring the sale of horsemeat for human consumption in that state. Appeals from the slaughter houses were rejected on March 5.
September 7, 2006 – U.S. House of Representatives passes H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, by a vote of 263-146. The 109th Congress adjourns before the Senate can consider the bill.
May 19, 2006 – U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passes the Rahall-Whitfield-Sweeney-Spratt Amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill to restore federal protections from commercial sale and slaughter to wild horses and burros. The provision is stripped in conference from the final bill.
February 14, 2006 – The HSUS and other animal welfare groups and residents file suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the USDA "fee-for-service" rule.
February 7, 2006 – USDA announces its intention to circumvent the Congressional funding limitation by implementing a "fee-for-service" rule to continue inspections of horsemeat.
November 10, 2005 – President Bush signs the Agriculture Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2006, including the funding limitation on horsemeat inspections. The horse slaughter provision is scheduled to take effect 120 days later.
October 25, 2005 – House-Senate conference committee completes its work on Agriculture Appropriations Bill, retaining the funding limitation on horsemeat inspections.
September 20, 2005 – U.S. Senate approves the Ensign-Byrd Amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill to prohibit the use of tax dollars to pay for inspections of horsemeat, by a vote of 69-28.
June 8, 2005 – U.S. House of Representatives approves the Sweeney-Spratt-Rahall-Whitfield Amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill to prohibit the use of tax dollars to pay for inspections of horsemeat, by a vote of 269-158.
May 19, 2005 – U.S. House of Representatives approves the Rahall-Whitfield Amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill to restore federal protections from commercial sale and slaughter to wild horses and burros, by a vote of 249-159. The provision is stripped in conference from the final bill.
-30-
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization—backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty—On the web at www.humanesociety.org
