Horse Slaughterhouse Opening Delayed by Court Order
A state district judge has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent a Roswell horse slaughterhouse from opening this week, pending a hearing scheduled for Friday. The company, Valley Meat Co., had initially planned to open on January 1. However, legal and environmental challenges have delayed the process.
Valley Meat Co. attorney Blair Dunn stated that the company would wait to start operations until there is clarity on two remaining hurdles: a lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Gary King and a wastewater discharge permit required by the state Environment Department.
Judge Matthew Wilson has scheduled a hearing for Friday for Valley Meat to show cause why the temporary restraining order should not be extended or a preliminary injunction issued. The potential opening of New Mexico's only horse-slaughtering facility has sparked an emotional debate over how the state and nation should handle unwanted horses. Currently, the U.S. exports tens of thousands of horses to Mexico and Canada each year, with an unknown percentage destined for slaughter.
The Valley Meat plant, previously a beef slaughterhouse, has been closed since March 2012. In the lawsuit, King charged that Valley Meat has chronically failed to comply with state environmental and safety laws over the years, seeking a temporary restraining order, as well as preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent the slaughterhouse from opening.
Dunn denies the allegations against Valley Meat, stating, “Their legal claim is not substantiated.” The attorney general filed his lawsuit after a federal appeals judge rescinded an injunction that had kept the slaughterhouse from opening as a separate lawsuit progresses through the federal appeals system.
“Judge Wilson has only seen their side of the story so far,” Dunn said. “I expect that when this judge gets all the facts put in front of him, he will dismiss this one, too.”
Valley Meat owner Rick De Los Santos mentioned that while the company awaits the judge’s decisions, they are preparing to open. He has contacted a dozen former employees who are ready to return to the plant.
Besides the legal hurdles, the slaughterhouse requires a water discharge permit from the Environment Department before it can begin operations. Dunn said the slaughterhouse is seeking a 60-day permit that would allow the company to “pump and haul” wastewater to a facility approved by the Environment Department. The temporary permit could be released as soon as the first week of January, before the department makes a final ruling on the company’s water discharge permit request.
“We’re hoping to have it sorted out before then and open in the next couple of weeks,” Dunn said.
Environment spokesman Jim Winchester stated that the agency is preparing a transcript of a public hearing on the water discharge permit in October, which will go to Secretary Ryan Flynn for final review. “He will look at the merits of the permit request and determine whether to issue the permit,” Winchester said in an email. “That’s not expected until February.”
Originally Posted By ABQ Journal