	Overview

Nearly 105,000 horses were slaughtered for human food in 2006, all in two foreign-owned Texas plants and a third foreign plant in Illinois, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, U.S. horse slaughter plants were long subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) of 1906, as amended (21 U.S.C. Legislation in the 113th Congress

The recently enacted continuing resolution for FY2013 ( H.R. 933 ) continues the policy of P.L. 112-55 , the FY2012 appropriations bill, by permitting FSIS to inspect horse slaughtering facilities through FY2013. The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act ( S. 541 / H.R. 1094 ) was also introduced in the 113 th Congress. The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale or transport of equines and equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for human consumption. The House bill was referred on March 12, 2013, to the both the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Agriculture. The Senate bill was referred on the same day to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Legislation in the 112th Congress

Companion bills entitled the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 ( S. 1176 / H.R. The bills would have amended the Horse Protection Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-540) to prohibit shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. A general provision in the House-passed FY2012 Agriculture appropriations bill ( H.R. 2112 , §739) would have continued to prohibit any funds to pay salaries or expenses of Food Safety Inspection Service personnel to inspect horse meat. This general provision was not included in the Senate-passed version of H.R. 2112 , nor was it included in the final bill ( P.L. A facility in New Mexico—Valley Meats, Inc.—was granted a permit by USDA on June 28, 2013, to begin horse slaughter. USDA has stated that it would grant similar operating permits to plants in Iowa and Missouri in early July 2013. The New Mexico plant had sued USDA in February 2013, accusing it of intentionally delaying the approval process. Both the House ( H.R. 2410 ) and Senate ( S. 1244 ) 2014 Agriculture appropriations bills would again prohibit FSIS from inspecting horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. The Administration and USDA have also requested that the ban on horse slaughter continue. As discussed above, the provision had been included in Agriculture appropriations bills since 2008. 112-55 may have reflected a June 2011 Government Accountability Office report that recommended action on the unintended consequences of ending horse slaughter in 2007. Some opponents of the horse slaughter ban, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, argued that humane slaughter in the United States is preferable to less regulated slaughter in Mexican abattoirs, or more humane than abandoning unwanted horses to starve because owners can no longer afford to feed and care for the animals. Legislation in the 111th Congress

H.R. 503 , introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers, and S. 727 , introduced by Senator Landrieu, were companion bills to amend the criminal portion (Title 18) of the U.S. Code to make it illegal to knowingly possess, ship, transport, purchase, sell, deliver, or receive any horse, horseflesh, or carcass intended for human consumption. The bill was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works and no further action was taken. 2966 / S. 1176 ) would have prohibited the slaughter of other equines as well as horses. In 2010, nearly 138,000 were transported to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. In a June 2011 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided evidence of a rise in state and local investigations for horse neglect and more abandoned horses since 2007.
In 2006, two Texas plants and one in Illinois slaughtered nearly 105,000 horses for human food, mainly for European and Asian consumers. In 2007, court action effectively closed the Texas plants, and a ban in Illinois closed the plant in that state. However, U.S. horses continue to be shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. Several states have explored opening horse slaughtering facilities, and Oklahoma enacted to lift the state's 50-year-old ban on processing horsemeat. Animal welfare activists and advocates for horses have continued to press Congress for a federal ban. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503/S. 727) in the 111th Congress would have made it a crime to knowingly possess, ship, transport, sell, deliver, or receive any horse, carcass, or horse flesh intended for human consumption. No further action on the bills was taken. Companion bills entitled the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 (S. 1176 and H.R. 2966) were introduced in the 112th Congress. The bills would have amended the Horse Protection Act (P.L. 91-540) to prohibit shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. No further action was taken on these bills.
A general provision in the House-passed FY2012 Agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 2112, §739) would have continued to prohibit funds to pay salaries or expenses of Food Safety Inspection Service personnel to inspect horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 603). This provision was not included in the Senate-passed version of H.R. 2112 or in the final bill (P.L. 112-55). Although an amendment by Senator Landrieu to the FY2013 continuing resolution (H.R. 933) would have prohibited FSIS inspection, the CR continues the policy of P.L. 112-55, permitting FSIS to inspect horse meat through FY2013. On June 28, 2013, a facility in Roswell, New Mexico—Valley Meats, Inc.—became the first horse processing plant approved by USDA since 2007. USDA has indicated that they would grant similar permits to companies in Iowa and Missouri in early July 2013. The New Mexico plant had sued USDA in February 2013, accusing it of intentionally delaying the approval process. Both the House (H.R. 2410) and Senate (S. 1244) 2014 Agriculture appropriations bills would again prohibit FSIS from inspecting horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. The Administration and USDA have also requested that the ban on horse slaughter continue.
The provision prohibiting FSIS inspection had been included in Agriculture appropriations bills since 2008. The ban does not prohibit the transport of U.S. horses to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. The ban's absence in the FY2012 appropriations bill may have reflected a June 2011 Government Accountability Office report that recommended action on the unintended consequences of ending horse slaughter in 2007. That report provided evidence of a rise in state and local investigations for horse neglect and more abandoned horses since 2007. Some opponents of the horse slaughter ban, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, have argued that humane slaughter in the United States is preferable to less-regulated slaughter in Mexican abattoirs, and more humane than abandoning unwanted horses to starve because owners can no longer afford to feed and care for the animals. Animal welfare groups have countered the argument that large numbers of unwanted horses are being abandoned.
Recent news from the EU that horse meat was found in various processed foods has raised the profile of the horse slaughter issue in the United States. The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (S. 541/H.R. 1094) was introduced in the 113th Congress. The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale or transport of equines and equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for human consumption. The House bill was referred to the both the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Agriculture. The Senate bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.