But experts say it’s not coming to Texas
Living in Texas, we are all familiar with the commercials for the beef industry. But beef isn’t the only meat on the menu in other countries. And a practice that was outlawed in the United States six years ago might be coming back.
The ban to stop the slaughtering of horses for human consumption, which began in 2007, lapsed two years ago, and companies across the country are looking to 'get back in the game.' A. Blair Dunn, and attorney for the Valley Meat Company in New Mexico says his clients are ready.
“Horses are livestock and a protein source that is commonly consumed around the world,” Dunn said.
And Dunn says his clients want back in the business.
“There is some value to these animals post-their lives,” Dunn said.
Plants in Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa are preparing as well. Could it return in Texas? Wayne Pacelle is the President of the Humane Society of the United States and told KTRH not anytime soon.
“We heard some talk of the legislature taking a look at this issue but no bill was filed by the deadline in Austin,” Pacelle said.
And Pacelle thinks Texans have too much respect for these animals to go back to the practice.
“Texans love their horses and realize that they helped build the state. It seems like a real betrayal to treat them as a cheap, throwaway commodity,” Pacelle said.
Since slaughtering horses for food was banned in 2007, horses that were being processed on US farms have been sent to Mexico and Canada.
