Ensign bill aimed at reducing slaughter of horses may be close to Senate vote

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2005 | 9:55 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Legislation aimed at curbing horse slaughter introduced by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., could be considered as early as this week.

The legislation would prohibit the use of tax dollars for Agriculture Department inspections of horsemeat being processed for foreign consumption. Eliminating the inspections would effectively shut down the nation's three horse slaughter plants.

The House approved the bill in June on a 269-158 vote. Nevada's three House lawmakers, Republicans Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter and Democrat Shelley Berkley, voted for it.

The Humane Society of the United States says that about 90,000 U.S. horses are slaughtered each year for consumption in foreign countries that include Italy, France and Japan. Some are shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.

The animals deserve better, Humane Society executive vice president Michael Markarian said.

"These magnificent creatures have been part of the fabric of American life for centuries," he said. "They faithfully plowed our fields, carried our loads, and helped us in war and peace."

Critics of the legislation say it will simply drive more of the activity to Mexico and Canada and result in more horses being slaughtered inhumanely.

Officials with the nation's three foreign-owned slaughter houses have said their plants provide an important service of humanely disposing of unwanted horses. Some horse activists disagree, saying horses often suffer during slaughter.

The issue of horse slaughter received renewed attention after Congress last year approved legislation that allowed the Bureau of Land Management to sell wild horses and burros that are more than 10 years old or have been offered unsuccessfully for adoption three times.

It was learned in April that 41 wild horses from Bureau of Land Management ranges had been resold to an Illinois slaughterhouse. The BLM then implemented new rules aimed at preventing the resale of animals for slaughter. The BLM has also manages an adoption program.

Ensign's legislation likely would be offered as an amendment to an Agriculture Department spending bill.