Missouri Denies Horse Slaughter Application

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has denied a permit request from a northwest Missouri business seeking to slaughter horses for meat, citing federal budget restrictions. This decision reflects ongoing challenges in the U.S. regarding horse slaughter and meat processing.

The DNR informed David Rains, owner of Rains Natural Meats in Gallatin, that his permit request for a proposed horse slaughter operation was denied. The agency pointed to the new federal budget, which withholds funding for the necessary federal inspections of the slaughtering process.

The resumption of commercial horse slaughter in the U.S. was halted last week when President Barack Obama signed a budget measure preventing the U.S. Department of Agriculture from funding inspections required for slaughterhouses to ship horse meat interstate and export it.

"Because this federal action effectively prohibits the processing of horses, further evaluation of your application to amend the permit to allow such activity is unwarranted. Your application is therefore denied," stated Steven Feeler, deputy director of the DNR's Division of Environmental Quality, in a letter to Rains.

Feeler noted that Rains could continue processing other animals for meat under his existing permit and mentioned that Rains had 30 days to appeal the decision.

Rains did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The last domestic horse slaughterhouses closed in 2007, following Congress's initial decision to withhold inspection funding. Federal funding was restored in 2011, prompting Rains and other plants in New Mexico and Iowa to attempt to restart horse slaughtering operations.

The issue of horse slaughter for meat has divided various groups over the most humane way to manage the country's horse overpopulation. Proponents argue that humane, federally regulated facilities in the U.S. are preferable to abandonment or inhumane facilities in Mexico.

The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare organizations have labeled domestic horse slaughter as barbaric and continue efforts to block the return of horse meat processing in the U.S.

Read more here: Originally Posted By Associated Press