House Ponders Outlawing Horsemeat

By Jeff Brady

Published June 27, 2005 at 11:00 PM CDT

Hilary Wood started the Front Range Equine Rescue in 1997. She regularly goes to auctions to outbid slaughterhouse buyers. Here she's feeding Lola, who was rescued at auction in February 2005.

Horses are herded into a small coral at the Winter Livestock Auction in La Junta, Colo. Some 200-300 horses are sold at this auction on the last Friday of each month. The auction's manager says half will end up in a slaughtering plant.

A House bill that would effectively ban the slaughter of horses to be used for meat is receiving mixed reactions.

You can't buy horse meat in most parts of the United States, but 18 million pounds of it are exported to Europe and Asia each year. Just seven states -- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia -- allow the meat's sale domestically.

The idea of horsemeat sickens many horse lovers, and they see a chance to finally put an end to a practice they feel is out of step with the values of most Americans.

But some people who are horse lovers support slaughter, because they believe it's a humane way to dispose of excess horses.

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Jeff Brady

Jeff Brady is a National Desk Correspondent based in Philadelphia, where he covers energy issues and climate change. Brady helped establish NPR's environment and energy collaborative which brings together NPR and Member station reporters from across the country to cover the big stories involving the natural world.

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