Animal Advocates and New Mexico Triumph in Blocking Horse Slaughter

Animal rights advocates in New Mexico have achieved a significant victory with a court ruling that permanently halts plans for horse slaughter for human consumption. This decision marks a crucial step in the ongoing battle against horse meat production in the state.

A state district judge in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has issued an order that effectively ends the plans for horse slaughter by Valley Meat Company in Roswell. The state, along with Front Range Equine Rescue, filed a lawsuit against the company in 2013, challenging its intentions to slaughter horses and sell the meat overseas.

Bruce Wagman, an animal rights attorney representing Front Range Equine Rescue, emphasized the importance of the court's decision. "The parties agreed to end the case because Valley Meat agreed to a permanent order from the court which prohibits it from ever slaughtering horses or even being involved in the production of horse meat again," Wagman stated.

Valley Meat had planned to convert its beef-processing plant in Roswell to accommodate horse slaughter. However, the New Mexico Attorney General's office and Front Range Equine Rescue successfully argued that such operations would violate state environmental and food-safety laws.

Wagman hailed the judge's ruling as a major win for animal rights. "The horse-meat issue has been a big controversy, and New Mexico has very much been the battleground because Valley Meat has been so vocal about it," he said. "So I think it's a very important day for those of us who oppose horse slaughter."

Horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. were closed in 2007 after Congress withheld funds for federal inspections. Although funding was briefly restored in 2011, it was revoked by President Obama in 2014. Currently, unwanted horses are often shipped to Canada and Mexico for processing.

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