The Associated Press Posted: Nov 30, 2011 1:13 PM ET

Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a 5-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up and running in as little as a month.

Slaughter opponents pushed a measure cutting off funding for horse meat inspections through Congress in 2006 after other efforts to pass outright bans on horse slaughter failed in previous years. Congress lifted the ban in a spending bill President Barack Obama signed into law Nov. 18 to keep the government afloat until mid-December.

It did not, however, allocate any new money to pay for horse meat inspections, which opponents claim could cost taxpayers $3 million to $5 million a year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would have to find the money in its existing budget, which is expected to see more cuts this year as Congress and the White House aim to trim federal spending.

The USDA issued a statement Tuesday saying there are no slaughterhouses in the U.S. that butcher horses for human consumption now, but if one were to open, it would conduct inspections to make sure federal laws were being followed. USDA spokesman Neil Gaffney declined to answer questions beyond what was in the statement.

Although there are reports of Americans dining on horse meat as recently as the 1940s, the practice is virtually non-existent in this country, where the animals are treated as beloved pets and iconic symbols of the West.

Controversial practice

The last U.S. slaughterhouse that butchered horses closed in 2007 in Illinois, and animal welfare activists warned of massive public outcry in any town where a slaughterhouse may open.

"If plants open up in Oklahoma or Nebraska, you'll see controversy, litigation, legislative action and basically a very inhospitable environment to operate," predicted Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of The Humane Society of the United States.

But pro-slaughter activists say the ban had unintended consequences, including an increase in neglect and the abandonment of horses, and that they are scrambling to get a plant going -- possibly in Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska or Missouri.

They estimate a slaughterhouse could open in 30 to 90 days with state approval and eventually as many as 200,000 horses a year could be slaughtered for human consumption. Most of the meat would be shipped to Europe and Asia, where it's treated as a delicacy.

Dave Duquette, president of the non-profit, pro-slaughter group United Horsemen, said no state or site has been picked yet but he's lined up plenty of investors who have expressed interest in financing a processing plant. While the last three slaughterhouses in the U.S. were owned by foreign companies, he said a new plant would be American-owned.

"I have personally probably five to 10 investors that I could call right now if I had a plant ready to go," said Duquette, who lives in Hermiston, Oregon. He added, "If one plant came open in two weeks, I'd have enough money to fund it. I've got people who will put up $100,000."

State-wide bans

Lawmakers in California and Illinois have banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption, and more than a dozen states tightly regulate the sale of horse meat.

Federal lawmakers' lifting of the ban on funding for horse meat inspections came about in part because of the recession, which struck just as slaughtering stopped. A federal report issued in June found that local animal welfare organizations reported a spike in investigations for horse neglect and abandonment since 2007. In Colorado, for example, data showed that investigations for horse neglect and abuse increased more than 60 per cent -- from 975 in 2005 to almost 1,600 in 2009.

The report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office also determined that about 138,000 horses were transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter in 2010, nearly the same number that were killed in the U.S. before the ban took effect in 2007. The U.S. has an estimated 9 million horses.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/11/30/horses-slaughter-meat-us.html

With the drought, calves were being placed on the auction block in Kansas...farmers (ranchers?) could not afford to feed the babies...i am sure that feeding horses has become a comparable problem.  I have a friend in Mo. who a few years ago opened a stable for the care of people's horses:  now she is fighting to keep her ranch from foreclosure:  people can no longer afford to pay for their animals' care and several owners have offered her their horses in lieu of payment for stabling the horses.  Many of these animals are "show" quality paint stallions, etc. and she is in a real struggle to keep her dream going....the care of these beautiful animals is expensive to say the least.  The thought of any of them becoming "horsemeat" turns my stomach.

There's a moral/ethical difference between a cow and a horse?

My sister is in the same predicament. The market for living, breathing, riding horses is virtually non-existent. As the horses age, they loose whatever value they may have had while they still need to be fed, veterinary care, stables, paddocks... it all adds up. Sis can't even "fire sale" them. No one wants them so she's stuck with them. Also... the older they get the less desirable the meat.

But what to do with all the unwanted and abandoned horses out there? My sister told me that there are hundreds, if not thousands of horses being abandoned by their owners. The boarding stables like hers are left with feeding and caring for them with no hope of ever selling them to another "caring" owner.

Why aren't we turning people who die into soylent green?

Same reason we don't confuse apples with oranges.

Would you see a difference between horses raised for meat and horses raised as companions/workers? 

Take away the emotional aspects and the perspective changes, eh, jim?

My soulmate was forever tormenting his new son-in-law with "beaner"jokes (yeah, my soulmate wasn't perfect:  he didn't like the guy!) One day our dog growled at our son-in-law and my hubby quickly said "Want a good dog?" to which my son-in-law blandly replied, "No thanks, I'm not hungry!"  Even my hubby laughed at the guy's quick wit...at least I think it was wit...

Would you see a difference between horses raised for meat and horses raised as companions/workers?  

But what to do with all the unwanted and abandoned horses out there?

So what should be done?
They can't afford their horses anymore.
Euthenise them?

You can go ahead and chow down on what used to be pets, Oskar. I'll pass.
That's your idea, not mine.

So what's to be done with "pets" that are no longer wanted/afforded and who pays for it?