Ill. slaughter bill signed

In an exciting win for opponents of horse slaughter, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday signed a bill permanently banning horse slaughter in Illinois.

The legislation comes three weeks after Cavel International—the state’s notorious horse slaughterhouse, and the only one still operating in the United States—was granted an emergency federal court stay, halting a ruling to close its doors in Dekalb.

“We applaud Illinois for taking this important step to end horse slaughter,” said Alex Howe, spokesperson for the National Horse Protection League. “This law will bring us one step closer to ending the ugly history of slaughtering American horses for human consumption overseas. No Americans eat horse meat and the majority of Americans have long opposed the slaughter of horses.” 

“It’s past time to stop slaughtering horses in Illinois and sending their meat overseas. I’m proud to sign this law that finally puts an end to this practice,” Gov. Blagojevich said.

The bill’s passage clears an important hurdle toward a permanent, nationwide ban on horse slaughter.  The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has cleared the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act for a floor vote later this session.  The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the bill last year, but the legislative session ended before the Senate had a chance to vote.

Texas’ two slaughterhouses were effectively shut down after a federal court ruling upheld a 1949 state law banning slaughter.  Recent attempts within the state senate to overturn the law led to fears that the facilities would reopen. With the Texas legislature adjourning next week, that danger seems to have faded. 

The federal legislation would make it permanently illegal to slaughter horses in the U.S. as well as prohibiting the dangerous and inhumane transport of horses across national borders to be slaughtered there.

For more information on how one can take action against horse slaughter visit: www.horse-protection.org. (National Horse Protection League)

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