Horse Meat Ban Praised by Animal Activists, But It’s Only Temporary

WASHINGTON -- Horse meat production won’t resume in the U.S. anytime soon, a victory for animal rights advocates under the spending bill signed last week by President Donald Trump.The $1.3 trillion spending deal, which funds the government through September, renewed the country’s horse slaughter ban. Just months ago, animal activists feared the ban could be in jeopardy.The measure includes language that prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from spending money on inspecting horse slaughter facilities. Without inspections, horse slaughter plants can’t operate, so they’ll remain closed as they have for more than a decade.“I think we’re all kind of shocked that the bill turned out as well as it did,” said Nancy Blaney, government affairs director for the Animal Welfare Institute. “We were expecting so many bad possibilities.”Animal activists, who say the slaughtering of horses is an inhumane way to dispose of unwanted animals, were worried in July after the House Appropriations Committee approved an agriculture spending bill that would lift the ban that has been in place since 2006. The full House then ratified that shift in policy.  Continue reading...