Well-intentioned horse bill would only compound horses’ plight
There are legislators in Washington working at cross-purposes. That doesn’t surprise anybody who’s been paying attention. But little notice has been paid to a law, written by well-intentioned people, that has produced unintended consequences.
It involves a major difference of opinion about horses, their place in our lives and, when necessary, how to humanely end theirs.
An earlier Congress, reacting to pressure by animal rights activists, passed legislation de-funding USDA inspectors of slaughterhouses that process horses for human consumption.
This effectively closed the American abattoirs. So horses destined for slaughter were subjected to long truck rides to such facilities in Canada or Mexico.
While Europeans and Asians consider horse meat a delicacy, Americans find it repulsive. It is in our culture to admire horses in a way that precludes their appearance on our dinner plates. That is, except during World War 11, when meat was rationed and butcher shops, even in the best neighborhoods, featured USDA-inspected horse meat.
Late last year, Congress and the president passed an agriculture spending bill that included lifting the ban on equine slaughterhouses. This was in response to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report last June that said the ban depressed prices for horse meat and led to a surge of neglect and abuse because horse owners had no way of disposing of those they couldn’t afford to keep. The GAO, using unusually blunt language, suggested Congress and Obama revise the ban. And they did.
All sides agreed the ban was a failure fraught with unintended consequences. Even PETA gave its approval, with reservations, saying it had predicted horses would be shipped to foreign slaughterhouses.
Now, a new bill has been introduced in the House and Senate to ban the slaughter of horses and the export of horse meat for human consumption. Called the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, it has Humane Society support. Just like the previous law, this bill could have the unintended effect of harming those it’s meant to protect.
What is it that our legislators don’t understand? Are they so young and inexperienced that they have no “institutional” memory? Laws that are proven to have failed are dumped; then, probably in response to pressure from advocacy groups, they are reborn as new legislation.
So, what we have is a culture clash. Also, we have an economy starved for jobs and an interest in supporting entrepreneurs who create jobs. This year’s election is shaping up to be all about the economy and jobs.
Always willing to explore both sides of an issue, CBS’ “This Morning” ran a feature May 25 about the owner of a Roswell, N.M. meatpacking plant. Correspondent Bill Whitaker interviewed Rick de Los Santos, who has spent a small fortune hoping to become the first meat plant operator since 2007 to handle horses and export their meat.
De Los Santos applied for a license and retrofitted his plant to meet the new USDA requirements. But after spending $75,000 and waiting four months, he has yet to receive final government inspection and license.
The USDA says it needs more time to train inspectors, but de Los Santos says he thinks the delay is deliberate since he has become a focal point in the anti-horse slaughter movement. He says he just wants to put his employees back to work.
It could be that the USDA is waiting to see if the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act passes. But what’s needed is solid policy that doesn’t shift with the whims of Congress, policy that business owners can bank on.
Incidentally, the bill that reversed the ban on slaughter had bipartisan support. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) fought for the change.
“Reinstating a humane, accountable, legal management tool is good for horses, good for owners and good policy,” Smith said.
I couldn’t agree more.
Some states have passed laws banning not only horse slaughter but also the transport of horses for slaughter, donation, selling for consumption or other purposes. These poorly written laws force owners into an untenable position. The cost of euthanasia, pickup and disposal is beyond the means of those who have lost their jobs. We used to turn old and lame horses out to pasture, but with the price of hay soaring (because of exports to Dubai and other Middle Eastern countries) that option has disappeared. And horse refuges are overburdened just as the donations on which they rely are dwindling.
The decision to end an animal’s life, even when it’s suffering, is always difficult. And when Congress passes laws making every option illegal, it turns compassion into a crime.