A U.S. District Court Judge has ruled against the Humane Society in a case involving horse slaughter for meat in the US.
Congress abolished funding for inspectors at horse slaughter plants in the 2006 agriculture spending bill effectively closing those facilities since inspections are required in order to slaughter animals for meat. Two plants requested that the USDA establish a program allowing the plants to pay for the inspections to continue. It was estimated that the closure of these plants, in Texas and Illinois, would result in substantial economic losses for the local communities.
The USDA established an inspection fee system financed by the companies, resulting in the Humane Society filing suit alleging that the intent of Congress was to ban horse slaughter. The judge rejected that argument, but allowed part of the lawsuit, regarding potential environmental harm, to continue.
Source:
Brownfield Ag News, March 16, 2006