Earlier this year, it was reported that the United States Congress would withhold federal funding for horse slaughter plant inspections in 2014. It has now been announced that president Barack Obama has extended the funding freeze until September 2015.
This move makes it illegal for companies to slaughter, process and sell horse meat in the US, as plants are required to have a US Department of Agriculture inspection in order to operate. It does not, however, prevent horses from being shipped outside of the country for slaughter.
New Mexico’s Valley Meat Co. was set to begin operations in January, but this decision has forced them to bring a halt to those plans. In a statement, the company’s lawyer, Blair Dunn, who also represents Rains Natural Meats in Missouri, said the “president’s budget is not law and certainly not the end of the story.
“Amid the other problems with the president’s budget and the midterm elections it is unwise to assume that this provision will remain in the budget in its final form.”
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