Horse slaughter: Difference between revisions

Slaughterhouses in the United States cannot legally operate without inspection by the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]], a federal agency. <ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2013-06-29 |title=U.S. approves a horse slaughterhouse, sees two more plants |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-agriculture-horse-idUSBRE95S00820130629 |access-date=2022-05-30}}</ref>  States are able to individually ban the slaughter of horses without federal approval, but the USDA operates through a federally-funded budget by the President and the Senate and House [[Appropriations Committee|Appropriations Committees]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of Management and Budget |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Budget |url=http://www.nifa.usda.gov/budget |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=National Institute of Food and Agriculture |language=en}}</ref> Amending the budget to prohibit funding to the USDA for inspecting slaughterhouses processing horse meat as a means to block horse slaughter in the US at a federal level was introduced as a policy goal starting in 2005 <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Potter |first=Leslie |date=2012-01-26 |title=A Timeline of Horse Slaughter Legislation in the United States |url=https://www.horseillustrated.com/horse-resources-horse-slaughter-timeline |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=Horse Illustrated Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>.  Using the budget to block inspection means that continuation of the ban is subject to review each year, and did not ensure that changes could not be made by future congresses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FloorSeattle |first=1012 First AvenueFifth |last2=Washington 98104-1008 |date=2021-02-11 |title=A permanent ban on horse slaughter might replace that yearly budget proviso |url=https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/02/a-permanent-ban-on-horse-slaughter-might-replace-that-yearly-budget-proviso/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=Food Safety News |language=en-US}}</ref>

H.R. 2744-45 Sec 794, The Agriculture, Rural Development, [[Food and Drug Administration]] and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 2005-2006 was successfully passed to end funding for inspection, effectively ending the processing of horse meat in the US until a future government was willing to reinstate <ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonilla |first=Henry |date=2005-11-10 |title=H.R.2744 - 109th Congress (2005-2006): Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 |url=http://www.congress.gov/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>.  The USDA resisted by creating a loophole with regulation CFR 352.19 which allowed existing slaughterhouses to pay inspectors directly instead of the agency relying on federal funding.  This loophole was closed for Illinois and Texas, the states still engaging in horse slaughter, through a series of court rulings in 2007.<ref name=":1" />  

In 2012, the Agriculture, Rural Development, [[Food and Drug Administration]], and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013 excluded the wording necessary to continue blocking federal funds for USDA inspection of slaughterhouses processing horse meat <ref>{{Cite web |last=Kohl |first=Herb |date=2012-04-26 |title=S.2375 - 112th Congress (2011-2012): Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013 |url=http://www.congress.gov/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref> In June of 2013 a New Mexico meat plant fulfilled the requirements for USDA inspection of their horse slaughter facility and reopened the horse slaughter debate in congress.<ref name=":0" /> In 2014 [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] proposed and passed a budget that once again included language to prohibit horse slaughter in the U.S by defunding federal inspection budget.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Forrest |first=Susanna |date=2017-06-08 |title=The Troubled History of Horse Meat in America |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/06/horse-meat/529665/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>