The U.S. House voted Wednesday to stop the slaughter of American horses to feed diners in European and Asian nations where the meat is considered gourmet fare.
The 269-to-158 vote on an amendment to a Department of Agriculture spending bill strips funding from the USDA to inspect any horse meat to be shipped overseas for consumption, effectively barring the sale of horse meat for human consumption.
Roughly 65,000 wild horses, race horses, work horses and even pet horses are slaughtered every year in the United States to become steaks in other countries. Two plants in Texas and one in Illinois currently slaughter horses for foreign consumption.
The amendment was authored by New York Republican John Sweeney and Kentucky Republican Ed Whitfield.
Nevada Republican John Ensign, a trained veterinarian, says he'll push a similar ban in the Senate.
The issue came under renewed scrutiny in April after 41 wild horses were killed under a new law allowing the government to sell horses and burros roaming free on public lands in western states.
The House voted in May to stop the BLM from using any money to sell horses on those lands, restoring what had been a 33-year-old policy of protecting wild horses from sale or processing.
That measure also is awaiting action in the Senate.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
