From the HSUS:
<< Federal Appeals Court Declares Horse Slaughter in Texas Illegal
Two of the Nation’s Three Horse Slaughter Plants Face Closure,
Criminal Charges FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON (Jan. 20, 2007) – The Humane Society of the United States,
which has been campaigning to ban the slaughter of American horses
for export for human consumption, hailed a decision yesterday by the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturning a
lower court decision that invalidated a Texas state law banning the
sale of horsemeat for human consumption. The HSUS filed an amicus
brief in the case in March 2006, arguing in defense of Texas’ state
law barring the slaughter of American horses for human consumption
overseas.
"This is the most important court action ever on the issue of horse
slaughter. A federal appeals court has ruled that America’s horses
can no longer be slaughtered in Texas and shipped to foreign
countries for food,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO for The
Humane Society of the United States. “When this ruling is enforced, a
single plant in Illinois will stand alone in conducting this grisly
business.”
The criminal code of Texas has long prohibited the sale or possession
of horse meat, but the law has never been enforced. In 2002,
responding to citizen and local government concerns about the two
foreign-owned horse slaughter plants in the state – Dallas Crown in
Kaufman and Beltex in Fort Worth – then-Texas Attorney General John
Cornyn issued a written opinion that the 1949 Texas law applies and
may be enforced.
In response, the Tarrant County District Attorney attempted to
enforce the law, but last year a federal district court in Texas
ruled that the law was repealed by another statute and preempted by
federal law. The District Attorney appealed that decision last year,
and was supported by The HSUS in briefing before the Court of Appeals.
In its decision, the court flatly rejected the slaughterhouses’
arguments that the ban on the sale of horsemeat does not protect
horses from theft and abuse, and that regulating horse slaughter can
achieve those same purposes, noting instead that “it is a matter of
commonsense that...alternatives...do not preserve horses as well as
completely prohibiting the sale and transfer of horsemeat for human
consumption.” The court noted that the horse on the Texas trail is a
cinematic icon, but “not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse.”
The Court of Appeals also quickly brushed aside the slaughter plants’
arguments that the Texas law at issue was invalid under state and
federal law, noting that the Texas law “has not been repealed or
preempted by federal law,” and that “several states have already
banned its commercial use for human consumption.”
“The Texas law prohibiting the sale of horse meat for human food
could hardly be any more explicit," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice
president of animal protection litigation for The HSUS. "The court’s
decision means that any individual employee or corporation involved
in the horse slaughter business in Texas now stares straight ahead at
criminal prosecution."
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100,800 American
horses were slaughtered in three foreign-owned slaughter houses in
2006. Opponents of the slaughter ban argue the practice constitutes
a humane way to kill old animals, but investigations by The HSUS show
cruelty and abuse throughout the process. USDA statistics show that
more than 92 percent of horses slaughtered in the U.S. are not old
and infirm but in good condition.
Legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses nationwide was
introduced this week in the 110th Congress, and this court ruling
will give further momentum to the federal legislative effort. In the
U.S. Senate, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S. 311, was
launched Jan. 17 by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and John Ensign (R-
Nev.), with 12 original cosponsors. In the U.S. House, Reps. Janice
Schakowsky (D-Ill.) Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Spratt (D-S.C.), and
Nick Rahall (D-W.V.) introduced a companion bill, H.R. 503, the same
day with 62 original cosponsors.
The measure received tremendous bipartisan support in the 109th
Congress, winning a vote of 263 to 146 in the House. It stalled in
the Senate in late 2006, however, and was not brought up for a vote
before Congress adjourned, even though a similar effort had been
overwhelmingly approved by the Senate in 2005.
Media Contact: Polly Shannon, 703 283 5104, pshannon @ hsus.org
==================
[Moderator--while this is a step in the right direction, it is still
not going to stop horse slaughter. When I was at Cavel Int. in
DeKalb, IL, and the man we talked to said that a lot of the
byproducts were sold for chicken feed, I assume within the USA. This
loophole needs to be closed next.]
Post:
naturalhorsetrim@yahoogroups.com 
Warboel
