Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has signed into law a bill that legalizes processing horse meat for export. Oklahoma is one of several states moving to legalize horse slaughter now that the federal ban on it has been lifted.
From 2006 to 2011, Congress withheld funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect horse meat, creating a de facto ban on horse slaughter in the U.S. During the ban, some horses were shipped to Mexico or Canada for slaughter, others were abandoned by their owners who thought it too costly to transport them, according to a report form the Government Accountability Office.
“Unfortunately, the 2006 federal ban on horse processing plants has made this situation worse. After the implementation of that ban, the Government Accountability Office reported a 60 percent increase in abused, neglected and starved horses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also noted that over 166,000 horses were sent to Canada and Mexico for processing just in 2012. These animals traveled long distances, in potentially inhumane circumstances, only to meet their end in foreign processing plants that do not face the same level of regulation or scrutiny that American plants would,” Gov. Fallin said in statement.
“Those of us who care about the wellbeing of horses – and we all should – cannot be satisfied with a status quo that encourages abuse and neglect, or that rewards the potentially inhumane slaughter of animals in foreign countries,” she said.
Sponsored by Rep. (R) Skye McNeil in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Sen. (R) Eddie Fields in the Senate, the bill passed with overwhelming support from Oklahoma legislators: 82-14 in the House and 32-14 in the Senate. The law goes into effect Nov. 1 2013.
Why is it you do nothing but print false information from the people who fast tracked these bills thru the house and senate? Do you ever look at anything else? I have provided you with sites where the truth is. You completely negate to talk about the fact we don’t raise our horses for food in this country under food safety guidelines. You completely negate to talk about the FACT we give our horses substances which are banned from use in ANY animal intended for food. Phenylbutazone, Nitrrafurazone, etc, both carcingens, both banned. This blog is supposed to be about food safety, but you do not talk about the food safety issue.
Jo-Claire Corcoran
Director, Equine Welfare Alliance
On the contrary. This story was just about Oklahoma approving the use of horse meat for human consumption. The article titled EU Will Test All Beef for Horse Meat discusses the problem of bute in horse meat. The article Arrests Made in Horse Meat Scandal also discussed the problem of bute entering the human food chain. Nestle and Ikea Draw into Europe’s Horsemeat Scandal talks about how the meat can be contaminated with hormones and drugs such as anabolic steroids, gestagenic steroids, and phenylbutazone. And finally, the story Applications for Horse Slaughter Permits Mosey into USDA quotes Front Range Equine Rescue President Hilary Wood, who says that horse slaughter is unnecessary and inhumane, and is a “toxic stew.”