Effort seeks last-minute horsemeat ban.
Effort seeks last-minute horsemeat ban
Saying 'lives are at stake,' advocates want Senate vote this week
06:47 AM CST on Wednesday, December 6, 2006
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON - Horse advocates made a last-ditch case Tuesday for a ban
on
the controversial horsemeat industry, hoping for a Senate vote in the
next few days that would end the slaughter at plants in Fort Worth and
Kaufman.
If the Senate fails to act, it could take months before the bill has
another chance. Lawmakers plan to call it quits for the year after this
week, and that will kill all pending legislation. Bills would have to
start from scratch when the new Congress convenes in January.
"Tens of thousands of lives are at stake. If we don't get this done
this
week, tens of thousands of horses will be terrorized and killed in
inhumane ways," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of
the United States. "We're prepared to fight on this until the last
second ticks away."
Roughly 90,000 horses are slaughtered each year in the United States,
with the meat exported mostly to France, Belgium and Japan. Three
foreign-owned slaughterhouses process the meat: Dallas Crown in
Kaufman,
Beltex in Fort Worth and Cavel International in DeKalb, Ill.
The proposed ban cleared the House in September on a 263-146 vote.
Nearly two-thirds of senators are believed to support the ban, based on
votes on a similar measure in the past. But Senate rules allow any
senator to file an anonymous "hold" to block a vote. Sen. Conrad Burns,
R-Mont., defeated last month for re-election, is widely believed to
have
a hold pending.
The Humane Society released a letter Tuesday from 27 senators demanding
a vote before Congress adjourns. Signatories include prominent members
of both parties, from incoming GOP Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi to
Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
Neither Texas senator signed the letter. Sen. John Cornyn has publicly
opposed the bill, and at one point was believed to have had his own
hold.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for a ban last year.
Industry defenders argue that the push stems from cultural bias,
conceding that Americans are sentimental about horses. They say horse
owners would face a big financial burden. If they can't sell unwanted
horses for slaughter, they would have to spend hundreds to humanely
kill
and dispose of the animals, or even more on ongoing care.
Senate leaders in both parties support the ban - Majority Leader Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., who is leaving the Senate, and the new GOP leader, Sen.
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who
becomes majority leader in January. Advocates say the Democrats, who
will soon control the House and Senate, are generally more sympathetic
than the GOP leadership they'll replace.
The ban would not only shut down the domestic horsemeat industry, it
would ban the transport of horses to Mexico or Canada for human
consumption. Nearly 28,000 U.S. horses have been shipped to those
countries so far this year for meat processing. To ratchet up the
pressure, the Humane Society released gory video Tuesday from plants in
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and Montreal, Canada, that society officials
said
was filmed in recent weeks. The footage depicts horses killed by
methods
that aren't used domestically, including slicing of the spinal cord and
gunshot to the head.
Ban backers express frustration that the bill hasn't yet been
finalized.
A year ago, Congress cut funding for federal meat inspectors, a move
backers expected would shutter the industry. But the Department of
Agriculture, citing federal law requiring it to inspect meat, agreed to
create a fee-for-service system. Mr. Pacelle said that end run around
congressional intent should be enough to prod Congress to enact a
straightforward ban.
"It shouldn't tolerate these shenanigans from an executive agency," he
said.
Saying 'lives are at stake,' advocates want Senate vote this week
06:47 AM CST on Wednesday, December 6, 2006
By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON - Horse advocates made a last-ditch case Tuesday for a ban
on
the controversial horsemeat industry, hoping for a Senate vote in the
next few days that would end the slaughter at plants in Fort Worth and
Kaufman.
If the Senate fails to act, it could take months before the bill has
another chance. Lawmakers plan to call it quits for the year after this
week, and that will kill all pending legislation. Bills would have to
start from scratch when the new Congress convenes in January.
"Tens of thousands of lives are at stake. If we don't get this done
this
week, tens of thousands of horses will be terrorized and killed in
inhumane ways," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of
the United States. "We're prepared to fight on this until the last
second ticks away."
Roughly 90,000 horses are slaughtered each year in the United States,
with the meat exported mostly to France, Belgium and Japan. Three
foreign-owned slaughterhouses process the meat: Dallas Crown in
Kaufman,
Beltex in Fort Worth and Cavel International in DeKalb, Ill.
The proposed ban cleared the House in September on a 263-146 vote.
Nearly two-thirds of senators are believed to support the ban, based on
votes on a similar measure in the past. But Senate rules allow any
senator to file an anonymous "hold" to block a vote. Sen. Conrad Burns,
R-Mont., defeated last month for re-election, is widely believed to
have
a hold pending.
The Humane Society released a letter Tuesday from 27 senators demanding
a vote before Congress adjourns. Signatories include prominent members
of both parties, from incoming GOP Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi to
Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
Neither Texas senator signed the letter. Sen. John Cornyn has publicly
opposed the bill, and at one point was believed to have had his own
hold.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for a ban last year.
Industry defenders argue that the push stems from cultural bias,
conceding that Americans are sentimental about horses. They say horse
owners would face a big financial burden. If they can't sell unwanted
horses for slaughter, they would have to spend hundreds to humanely
kill
and dispose of the animals, or even more on ongoing care.
Senate leaders in both parties support the ban - Majority Leader Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., who is leaving the Senate, and the new GOP leader, Sen.
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who
becomes majority leader in January. Advocates say the Democrats, who
will soon control the House and Senate, are generally more sympathetic
than the GOP leadership they'll replace.
The ban would not only shut down the domestic horsemeat industry, it
would ban the transport of horses to Mexico or Canada for human
consumption. Nearly 28,000 U.S. horses have been shipped to those
countries so far this year for meat processing. To ratchet up the
pressure, the Humane Society released gory video Tuesday from plants in
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and Montreal, Canada, that society officials
said
was filmed in recent weeks. The footage depicts horses killed by
methods
that aren't used domestically, including slicing of the spinal cord and
gunshot to the head.
Ban backers express frustration that the bill hasn't yet been
finalized.
A year ago, Congress cut funding for federal meat inspectors, a move
backers expected would shutter the industry. But the Department of
Agriculture, citing federal law requiring it to inspect meat, agreed to
create a fee-for-service system. Mr. Pacelle said that end run around
congressional intent should be enough to prod Congress to enact a
straightforward ban.
"It shouldn't tolerate these shenanigans from an executive agency," he
said.