On January 26th, The Humane Society of the United States commended American Airlines and Delta Air Lines for suspending overseas shipments of horsemeat from Texas slaughterhouses following an appellate court decision last week upholding a 1949 Texas law declaring horsemeat illegal there. The HSUS, the nation's largest animal protection organization, is now urging the airlines to make this a permanent policy.
In letters sent to the airlines Jan. 5 and Jan 23 following the appellate court's ruling, The HSUS explained that the airlines and their employees face potential criminal liability for transporting horse meat in Texas and urged them to immediately stop shipping horse meat from slaughterhouses in Texas to Europe and Asia for human consumption.
"The Humane Society of the United States is pleased American and Delta have recognized the appellate court's ruling and Texas law and hopes this first step toward sound policy will lead to the companies' permanent refusal to engage in the unlawful and grisly business of horse slaughter," said Wayne Pacelle, chairman and CEO of The HSUS. "By following the law, American and Delta have knocked another leg out from under the foreign-owned slaughterhouses, and it's only a matter of time before this despicable industry is shuttered for good."
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a lower court decision that invalidated a Texas state law banning the sale of horsemeat for human consumption. The HSUS filed an amicus brief in the case in March 2006, arguing in defense of Texas' state law barring the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas.
Legislation to ban the slaughter of American horses nationwide was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate earlier this month by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.), with 12 original cosponsors, and Reps. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.) Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), John Spratt (D-S.C.), and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) introduced a companion bill, H.R. 503, with 62 original cosponsors.
The measure received tremendous bipartisan support in the 109th Congress, winning a vote of 263 to 146 in the House. It stalled in the Senate in late 2006, however, and was not brought up for a vote before Congress adjourned, even though a similar effort had been overwhelmingly approved by the Senate in 2005.
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