No Horsing Around! U.S. Lifts 5 Year Ban On Horse Meat: Coming To A Supermarket Near You

Congress has lifted a five-year ban on funding horse meat inspections.  Within one month, slaughter houses will be open for business.   The ban was lifted in a spending bill that President Obama signed on November 18^th to keep the government going until December.

No money is being allocated to pay for the inspections, and it is suspected that it will cost taxpayers $3 million to $5 million per year.   The USDA has stated that there are no slaughterhouses in the United States, but that they would inspect any houses that open in the future.

"If plants open up in Oklahoma or Nebraska, you'll see controversy, litigation, legislative action and basically a very inhospitable environment to operate," said Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of The Humane Society of the United States. "Local opposition will emerge and you'll have tremendous controversy over slaughtering Trigger and Mr. Ed."

Those who support the slaughter houses say that the ban has increased in the abandonment of horses.  They say that a slaughterhouse could slice through as many as 200,000 horses per year if opened up.  The meat would be shipped to Europe, Asia, France and Japan.