The status of three horse slaughter projects in the U.S. remains uncertain, according to key promoters, but all face political opposition
By Mikkel Pates
Agweek
The status of three horse slaughter projects in the U.S. remains uncertain, according to key promoters, but all face political opposition.
Five years ago, Congress, pressured by the Humane Society of the United States, put riders on appropriations bills that prevented federal inspection of horse meat, effectively barring it for human consumption. In 2011, the law was changed back, but efforts to reinstate U.S. horse kill plants remain stalled.
Dave Duquette, 46, a Hermiston, Ore., horse trainer and president of United Horsemen, a non-profit, pro-slaughter group, says 70 percent of the world’s countries have too many variables to accurately predict when the industry will be able to start again. There is talk of slaughter facilities in 18 states and several American Indian tribes. Duquette declines to discuss what he knows about other plants on the grounds that it could invite obstructions from anti-slaughter organizations.
