With the American Farm Bureau Federation's support, language prohibiting funding for inspection of horses at processing plants was not included in the FY2012 agriculture appropriations conference report. This eliminates a major hurdle for the resumption of domestic horse processing.
Earlier this year, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) introduced the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1176 and H.R. 2966 respectively) to permanently ban the processing of horses for human consumption or the transport of horses for processing. Farm Bureau opposed the legislation.
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act will not improve horse welfare, but it will set a dangerous precedent for banning a livestock or meat product for reasons other than food safety or animal welfare, further restrict property rights, and, perhaps most importantly, have detrimental consequences for horse welfare.
This summer, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on horse welfare
