Post by diamondindykin on Jan 24, 2006 11:10:21 GMT -5
U.S. pulls inspectors from horse processors
Fight continues: Two plants want the government to provide fee-based services, but animal advocates object
By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune
As of March 10, Congress no longer will pay for inspections at three processing plants in the United States that prepare horse meat for human consumption in Europe, Asia and other overseas' markets. Without U.S. inspectors, the officials from two plants in Texas and another in Illinois contend that the plants would be forced to shut down.
The cost of euthanizing a horse and having the carcass removed is $1,500 to $2,000, while a farmer might sell an unwanted horse to a processing plant for about $500. And Utah has more than 61,000 horses on farms and ranches (excluding horses and ponies owned by hobbyists), according to a 2002 state agricultural census. Utah ranks 35th in the nation in the number of farm and ranch horses, slightly fewer than Wyoming and nearly four times more than Nevada.
"We're fighting for our lives, yet we comply with more laws than any other processing plants that I know of," said Jim Bradshaw, lobbyist for Dallas Crown Inc. in Kaufman and Beltex Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas.
The companies are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue providing inspections after the March deadline - at the firms' expense on a per-fee basis.
"Without this outlet, you're going to see people turning out old horses onto the desert or dumping them alongside the road," said Randy Parker, Utah Farm Bureau's chief executive officer. "Ranchers care about their horses just like they do any other animal they're responsible for. This is about farming, these aren't pets."
The Utah Horse Council and the Utah State Quarter Horse Association are among 50 agricultural organizations nationwide supporting ranchers' rights to send off unwanted horses for slaughter.
Yet for many Americans, slaughtering horses for any reason, let alone for human consumption, is like butchering Sea Biscuit.
The Humane Society of the United States is launching a letter-writing campaign to stop the inspections and to support legislation that would permanently ban the slaughter of horses.
"In a hard-won battle, the American people convinced Congress to stop the use of tax dollars to promote horse slaughter," the society said a statement posted last week on its Web site. "Never did we imagine that the U.S. Department of Agriculture [would] ignore this mandate and work to find a way to continue its involvement with the cruel and un-American horse slaughter for the export industry."
Even Sen. Orrin Hatch, usually a friend to the farm and ranch community, is opposed to the practice. Hatch endorsed an amendment to the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill to stop the slaughter of 85,000 horses each year.
Ranchers grilled Hatch about the amendment at a Utah meeting this fall.
Hatch said in a recent statement it is his understanding that there are some abusive practices connected to some horse slaughtering facilities and that the ban on inspections would be in effect for only one year. Animal-rights groups have posted photographs of starving horses on their way to slaughterhouses.
Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, also was supportive of the inspection ban.
To underscore that point, U.S. Rep. Edward Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican, recently wrote the USDA to ensure that all inspections would cease.
According to USDA general counsel James Michael Kelly, replied that the new legislation doesn't prevent the government from providing fee-for-service inspections. The law addresses the issues of inspections but does not prevent horse slaughter at all.
To counter any loopholes, the Humane Society of the United States is launching a letter-writing campaign to stop the inspections and to support legislation that would permanently ban the slaughter of horses.
Fight continues: Two plants want the government to provide fee-based services, but animal advocates object
By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune
As of March 10, Congress no longer will pay for inspections at three processing plants in the United States that prepare horse meat for human consumption in Europe, Asia and other overseas' markets. Without U.S. inspectors, the officials from two plants in Texas and another in Illinois contend that the plants would be forced to shut down.
The cost of euthanizing a horse and having the carcass removed is $1,500 to $2,000, while a farmer might sell an unwanted horse to a processing plant for about $500. And Utah has more than 61,000 horses on farms and ranches (excluding horses and ponies owned by hobbyists), according to a 2002 state agricultural census. Utah ranks 35th in the nation in the number of farm and ranch horses, slightly fewer than Wyoming and nearly four times more than Nevada.
"We're fighting for our lives, yet we comply with more laws than any other processing plants that I know of," said Jim Bradshaw, lobbyist for Dallas Crown Inc. in Kaufman and Beltex Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas.
The companies are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue providing inspections after the March deadline - at the firms' expense on a per-fee basis.
"Without this outlet, you're going to see people turning out old horses onto the desert or dumping them alongside the road," said Randy Parker, Utah Farm Bureau's chief executive officer. "Ranchers care about their horses just like they do any other animal they're responsible for. This is about farming, these aren't pets."
The Utah Horse Council and the Utah State Quarter Horse Association are among 50 agricultural organizations nationwide supporting ranchers' rights to send off unwanted horses for slaughter.
Yet for many Americans, slaughtering horses for any reason, let alone for human consumption, is like butchering Sea Biscuit.
The Humane Society of the United States is launching a letter-writing campaign to stop the inspections and to support legislation that would permanently ban the slaughter of horses.
"In a hard-won battle, the American people convinced Congress to stop the use of tax dollars to promote horse slaughter," the society said a statement posted last week on its Web site. "Never did we imagine that the U.S. Department of Agriculture [would] ignore this mandate and work to find a way to continue its involvement with the cruel and un-American horse slaughter for the export industry."
Even Sen. Orrin Hatch, usually a friend to the farm and ranch community, is opposed to the practice. Hatch endorsed an amendment to the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill to stop the slaughter of 85,000 horses each year.
Ranchers grilled Hatch about the amendment at a Utah meeting this fall.
Hatch said in a recent statement it is his understanding that there are some abusive practices connected to some horse slaughtering facilities and that the ban on inspections would be in effect for only one year. Animal-rights groups have posted photographs of starving horses on their way to slaughterhouses.
Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, also was supportive of the inspection ban.
To underscore that point, U.S. Rep. Edward Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican, recently wrote the USDA to ensure that all inspections would cease.
According to USDA general counsel James Michael Kelly, replied that the new legislation doesn't prevent the government from providing fee-for-service inspections. The law addresses the issues of inspections but does not prevent horse slaughter at all.
To counter any loopholes, the Humane Society of the United States is launching a letter-writing campaign to stop the inspections and to support legislation that would permanently ban the slaughter of horses.
