Supreme Court Decision Ends U.S. Horse Slaughter

June 20, 2008 - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal by the last U.S. horse abattoir against its forced closure, despite claims that American horse meat is greatly valued in Europe.

Until last year, there were three horse abattoirs in the United States -- two in Texas and one in Illinois. But they closed after both states, under pressure from animal rights groups, passed laws banning killing horses for human consumption.

The Illinois slaughterhouse, run by Cavel International, fought the ban, arguing that since almost all of its meat was exported to Europe and Japan, the Illinois law encroached on federal regulations on international commerce.

But an appeals court rejected Cavel's argument in September, saying the company had failed to show that stopping its operations risked affecting the global horse meat market.

On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case or any further appeal.
Reprinted from U.S. Animal Health Association

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