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Horse
slaughter and rescue bills spark controversy Feb. 3, 2011 - If Nebraska State Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill gets his way, he will one day be able to slaughter his quarter horses, named Donovan, Peso and Hammer, in the State of Nebraska. Larson is sponsoring a bill that would create a state agency to inspect meat-processing facilities, in part so horse meat can be sold across state lines. The bill would appropriate $100,000 per year to pay for the agency. Larson has also sponsored a companion bill that would make it a class four misdemeanor for owners of horse rescue organizations to reject ownership of unwanted horses. Before 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected horse processing facilities to ensure they complied with federal food safety regulations. In 2006, anti-horse slaughter proponents successfully lobbied to have funding for USDA inspections removed from the federal budget. Without inspections to ensure horse meat was processed according to federal law, it became illegal to transport horse meat across state lines. After horse processing facilities closed in Texas and Illinois, the American horse slaughter industry, which previously sold horse meat for consumption in Europe and Japan, was effectively gone. Since 2006, many horses that have outlived their useful lives are shipped to horse slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. by Steve Scharf, Nebraska News Service - 2/3/2011
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