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Partners in cruelty

Congress couldn't have been more emphatic last year when it voted to stop the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, the House voted to withhold tax dollars for government inspection of horse meat, which would effectively end the practice. The Senate was even stronger in its support of the measure.

Unfortunately, two key players in this travesty of humane treatment didn't get the message: European-owned slaughterhouses that yearly kill 100,000 of our horses, often misleading owners about their pet's cruel fate; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which carries out the inspections.

Agriculture officials are considering a loophole in the law that would allow the brutal practice to continue. Three slaughterhouses say they will pay for USDA inspection of horse meat (instead of taxpayers), thereby circumventing the new law. One can almost see them rubbing their gory hands together in glee.

It's easy to understand the corporate motive: profit. But what is the agriculture department's excuse? It is supposed to uphold laws passed by Congress. Yet in a letter to the House, the department's general counsel argued that "USDA is authorized to provide fee-for-service inspection of horses presented for slaughter if such inspection service is requested."

Such abuse of executive power is common in the Bush administration, and sometimes with consequences beyond the lives of horses. But Congress eventually will get tired of such affronts. In the case of the horse slaughter law, Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., is already fed up. "It's disturbing that an agency like USDA feels it is appropriate to obstruct a law passed by an overwhelming, bipartisan majority in Congress when (the agency's) sole mission is to implement the law," he said.

There is no compelling reason for the USDA to take the slaughter industry's side. Horse meat isn't consumed in the United States and isn't even used in pet food. Owners of unwanted horses have other, more humane, options. They can give the animal to a horse-adoption group or seek painless euthanasia for their pet.

Let the horse-killers find a partner in slaughter somewhere else.

[Last modified January 12, 2006, 01:23:25]