Lawmakers Target Horse Meat Trade with New Legislation

In a significant move to protect wild horses and public health, U.S. lawmakers have introduced new legislation aimed at banning horse slaughterhouses and preventing the export of horses to Canada and Mexico for human consumption. This initiative reflects growing concerns over animal welfare and the safety of the food supply.

The SAFE Act: A Legislative Push

The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine). This bipartisan effort seeks to implement a federal ban on the slaughtering of horses for food.

“The gruesome practice of slaughtering horses for food has no place in the United States, and it’s well past time for Congress to say once and for all that horse meat is not what’s for dinner,” Menendez told The Hill.

Menendez emphasized that horses are often treated with drugs not suitable for human consumption, posing risks to the food supply. The legislation aims to end the inhumane slaughter of horses and protect families from toxic horse meat, while safeguarding the U.S. food industry's reputation worldwide.

Support from the House

A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Vern Buchanan (R-Fla), Ed Royce (R-Calif.), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.).

Animal rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund, have praised the bills and urged lawmakers to pass them swiftly.

“Americans don’t round up homeless dogs and cats, run them through a slaughterhouse, and then ship them to foreign consumers for profit,” Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, told The Hill.

Pacelle highlighted the inconsistency in how horses are treated compared to other domesticated animals, noting the betrayal of the long-standing bond with horses.

Current Status and Future Implications

Currently, no horse slaughterhouses operate in the United States, largely due to a decade-long ban on the U.S. Department of Agriculture funding horse meat inspections. However, a recent House Appropriations Committee decision could lift this ban, allowing USDA inspectors to oversee horse slaughterhouses. Despite this, lawmakers remain committed to curbing the horse meat trade.

Animal rights advocates are focusing on ending the export of horses for slaughter, with over 100,000 horses shipped annually for human consumption, according to the Humane Society.

“Buyers don’t ‘euthanize’ old horses,” Pacelle said in a statement. “They buy up young, healthy horses, often by misrepresenting their intentions, and inhumanely kill them to sell the meat to Europe and Japan.”

The SAFE Act also proposes amending the Food and Drug Act to classify horse parts as an unsafe food additive for humans, addressing concerns over drug treatments in U.S.-raised horses.

For more information, visit the original article by The Hill.