Home » Plants & Animals » Horse Talk » Horse Slaughter

Horse Slaughter

© Patricia Celley

You may be surprised by those who support keeping the slaughter of horses legal. They include the American Association of Equine Practitioners, American Medical Veterinary Association, individual breed associations and state horse councils. The American Horse Council has been pro-slaughter for many years and has just recently taken a neutral stand.

The failure of the state of Illinois to pass Senate Bill 1921 on Thursday, March 18, 2004 demonstrates the controversy of this subject. It appeared that the bill would not get the minimum votes required to pass so it was postponed to a later date. The outcome of this bill may also affect whether or not slaughtering horses for human consumption will become a federal offense.

The processing of horsemeat for human consumption by foreign companies is the main issue of Federal bill HR 857, known as the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. The Illinois bill contained similar language and the same intent as the federal bill. It was proposed in direct response to the Cavel International plant in Dekalb, Ill.

Cavel International has been in operation for over 17 years, with the capacity to slaughter 100 horses a day. The facility burned down in 2002 and the permits to rebuild were issued in September of 2003. It is slated to begin operations again soon. On the surface, it is not obvious that Cavel International is a foreign owned business. They were incorporated in Virginia and the address of their main office is in Dekalb, Ill. But listed officers Luc Van Damme and Monique Mulckhuse are residents of Belgian and the Belgian Embassy Website lists Van Damme Holding Company as Retail Sales of Horsemeat for Human Consumption. Habitat for Horses http://www.habitatforhorses.org/national... claims that the licensing of Cavel International has been deceitful from the beginning.

There are two other foreign operated slaughter houses operating in the United States processing horsemeat exclusively for human consumption-- Beltex Corporation in Ft. Worth Texas and Dallas Crown, located in Kaufman, Texas. Ironically, the slaughter of horsemeat for human consumption has been illegal in Texas since 1949. Yet somehow these plants were able to obtain licenses and permits and continue operations. When Attorney General John Cornyn issued and opinion letter in August of 2002 confirming that the two facilities were operating in criminal violation of Texas law, Texas State Representative Betty Brown proposed a bill that would have "legalized" the plants. The bill did not pass, and in September 2002 the two slaughter plants sued in federal court to block prosecution. The case is still pending thus allowing them to continue operations.

The copyright of the article Horse Slaughter in Horse Talk is owned by . Permission to republish Horse Slaughter in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.