Illinois Bill to Protect Horses Passes Senate Committee

WASHINGTON – Today, an Illinois Senate Committee voted 7-0 to pass a bill banning the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas. The Humane Society of the United States applauds the Senate Committee and urges the full Senate to quickly pass this legislation.

The bill, H.B. 1711, passed the Illinois House last month and now moves to the full Senate. Governor Rod Blagojevich strongly supports the bill and has lobbied in favor of its passage.

"Horses are an integral part of American history," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "They are our companions, not food animals. Horses should not be brutally killed to end up on a dinner table overseas. They deserve our protection. Lawmakers in Springfield recognize this. The Humane Society of the United States is grateful for their support."

The Cavel International horse slaughterhouse in DeKalb, Ill., is the only active plant in the country killing horses for human consumption. After a federal court ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture could not provide inspections of horses about to be slaughtered, the plant was shut down. However, last week, an appeals court stayed the ruling, temporarily allowing the DeKalb plant to resume operations until an appeal could be heard. On the federal level, U.S. Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-9/Ill.) is leading the effort in the U.S. Congress to pass a separate bill, H.R. 503, which would ban horse slaughter for human consumption nationwide.

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

• May 1, 2007 – A split decision by a federal appeals court stayed the effect of a lower court order issued last month halting federal inspection of horses destined for slaughter for human consumption.  The decision allows the Cavel International horse slaughter plant in Illinois to temporarily resume slaughtering horses while its appeal is heard by the court.
• April 18, 2007 – The Illinois House of Representatives approves H.B. 1711 to ban the slaughter of American horses in Illinois for human consumption overseas, by nearly a two-to-one margin, a vote of 75-41.
• March 29, 2007- A federal district court ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop inspecting horses about to be slaughtered for human consumption at the Cavel International slaughter plant, effectively closing the last operating horse slaughtering operation in the United States. 
• 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.  \
• January 17, 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 horse slaughter inspections.
• November 10, 2005 – President Bush signs the Agriculture Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2006, including the funding limitation on horse slaughter 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 horse slaughter 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 horses about to be slaughtered for human consumption, 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 horses about to be slaughtered for human consumption, 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.

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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 humanesociety.org