U.S. District Judge Rules Horse Slaughter at 2 Texas Plants is Legal

Aug. 27–A U.S. district judge has ruled that horse slaughter at two Texas plants is legal, saying that federal law trumps any state prohibition.

Animal- rights groups expressed disappointment about Thursday’s ruling, made public Friday by Tim Curry, the Tarrant County district attorney.

Chris Heyde of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation expressed hope that a third attempt to pass federal legislation outlawing horse slaughter might succeed this session.

The two plants, Beltex in Fort Worth and Dallas Crown in Kaufman, have been operating under court order since district attorneys in Tarrant and Kaufman counties moved to close the facilities in 2002, citing the Texas Agriculture Code. Kaufman County later dropped out of the action. Since the case was filed, a third plant has re opened in Illinois.

“We’re delighted,” said Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the Texas plants, which are European-owned. “We expected it, but feel comfortable that the ruling was made. It really doesn’t change anything other than give relief in not having something hanging over your head.”

Between 50,000 and 70,000 horses are slaughtered annually, with much of the meat shipped to Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.

A small amount of the federally inspected meat is sold to U.S. zoos for big cats.

In his 19-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Terry Means called the horse- slaughter provision of the Texas Agriculture Code “complex and convoluted,” in conflict with the state’s health and safety code and overtaken by other Texas laws that recognize such slaughter.

Moreover, federal laws regulating interstate commerce outweigh any state prohibition, he wrote.

“Specifically, the federal Meat Inspection Act allows for and regulates the slaughter of horses for human consumption,” Means ruled.

He noted that Texas law “does not actually prevent the human consumption of horse meat. Instead it only prohibits the possession, sale and transport of horse meat for human consumption.”

No decision has been made on a possible appeal, said Ann Diamond, an assistant district attorney.

“We are reading the opinion,” Diamond said. “We are going to study it before deciding whether to appeal to the 5th Circuit” Court of Appeals.

Bradshaw stressed the economic contribution of horse slaughter to the local economy and to the agricultural community.

He said that the industry contributes $42 million to the region, using an economic- multiplier effect.

Although animal- rights groups consider horses to be pets or companion animals, they are economic assets to working ranches in Texas, he said. Instead of paying upward of $1,200 to euthanize and dispose of an unwanted horse, a rancher is paid $400 to $600 for a slaughter animal that could be used toward the purchase of a replacement.

“No one has an answer to what someone does with unwanted horses,” Bradshaw said. “Do we leave them to starve in the field?”

Moreover, Bradshaw criticized efforts by animal- rights groups to prevent Europeans and Asians from eating particular foods that Americans might find personally offensive.

“We don’t have the right to pass judgment on other cultures for eating horse meat,” he said. “Eating pork is not done some countries, and beef in others, but they don’t stop us. So why should we stand in judgment of those who eat horse meat?”

Heyde countered by saying that a majority of Americans, including Texans, oppose horse slaughter.

Means’ ruling, he said, “shows the urgency and need for passage of the federal bill, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. This is its third Congress,” he said.

Past attempts to get federal legislation banning the practice had been stymied by pro-horse- slaughter legislators in leadership roles on the agricultural committees of the House and Senate, Heyde said. This session, opponents are working to get anti-slaughter amendments attached to bills considered by other committees, he said.

The American Veterinary Medical Association opposes any ban that does not address the welfare of horses spared slaughter.

An estimated $124 million would be needed annually for basic subsistence care, but the U.S. Agriculture Department doesn’t have the funds, the veterinary association said, adding, “Inadequate funding has a huge potential to create opportunities for inadequate care.”

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