EARLIER this month, the Missouri House approved legislation to allow the slaughter of horses for human consumption. The bill passed 91-61, and now heads to the Senate. Wait a minute. I thought there was already a federal ban against horse meat. There is. Sort of. The law shut down horse slaughter houses in 2006 by pulling federal funding for meat inspectors. Without inspection, meat is illegal to sell.

It is still legal to export horses for slaughter, and currently 100,000 horses a year are shipped to Canada and Mexico. These horses are shipped to slaughter in cramped conditions, often without food or water.

Missouri’s new legislation would again make horse slaughter legal within the United States. The bill proposes for  slaughterhouses to pay for meat inspectors at the state level, circumventing the federal law.

Why does Missouri want to slaughter horses? Because it is lucrative to sell  overseas. Horse meat is eaten in several European countries and in Asia, although Italy is now considering banning it.

Some also argue that the current ban on horse slaughter has caused many more horses to be starved or neglected. But re-introducing horse slaughter only encourages people to think of horses as property bought and sold, property that can be easily disposed of.

There are alternative ways to prevent horse neglect. Horses need to be bred responsibly. There should be more rescue and retirement options. Some have suggested that people should have to apply for a license to prove their ability to care for a horse.

Horse meat is always described as a “delicacy” in some countries. The meat of dogs, cats, whales, dolphins, and insects are also described as delicacies. But cultural differences don’t justify slaughtering horses. It is worth asking why Americans will eat a cow and not a horse, but the answer is not to make it legal to slaughter more animals. Instead, our repulsion at eating one beloved animal should inform us on why we shouldn’t eat other animals as well. (www.animals.change.org)