LMA Asks Supreme Court To Review Horse Slaughter Ruling
The Prairie Star

An Illinois law that closed a state horse processing plant, and the federal appeals court decision upholding the law, have effectively exempted 40,000 n 60,000 horses from humane slaughter.

That is a key reason why the U.S. Supreme Court should hear the appeal of the decision by the plant, Cavel International, Inc., according to an “amicus curiae” (friend of the court) brief filed on Feb. 22 by Livestock Marketing Association.

When the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld the Illinois law that closed the DeKalb, Ill., plant last year, it “failed to address the adverse impact” of the law, LMA’s brief said.

As a result, “tens of thousands of horses…will die each year because they are at the end of their useful lives, (and) which will now die of neglect or be killed using procedures which are outside the protection accorded by the Humane Slaughter Act,” the brief said.

Cavel slaughtered 40,000-60,000 horses annually, all under provisions of the Humane Slaughter Act, which only applies to U.S. plants. The court rulings “have provided an incentive for the export of horses to foreign slaughterhouses, and are contributing factors in an increase of equine neglect,” the brief said, citing news accounts on this topic.

See the full story at: http://www.theprairiestar.com/articles/2008/02/22/ag_news/local_and_regional_news/local07.txt