From Missouri Digital News: https://mdn.org

JEFFERSON CITY - In November, Congress lifted a ban on inspection of horse meat for human consumption. Lifting that ban has opened an opportunity for Missouri horse ranchers and renewed an on-going debate about treatment of horses.

Equine specialist Jim Dudley has been a part of the horse industry for 60 years, from breeding, to trading, to offering riding lessons. He owns 50 horses and on average has to get rid of 5 horses every year.

Before the year of 2006, Dudley disposed of his horses by selling them to an auction and got about 1000 dollars for each horse. But now it costs 5000 dollars.

After Congress put a ban on funding horse meat inspections in 2006, all the slaughter houses in U.S. went out of business, and the value of horses has declined significantly.

The Missouri Farm Bureau director Kelly Smith said lifting the ban is a victory of many horse owners to get rid of the ban of horse slaughter.

According to a 2010 survey, there are 200,000 horses in Missouri.

Smith said the horse industry is important to the state's economy.

While some animal right activists are opposed to horse slaughter because it's inhumane, one animal rights group PETA, has become an unexpected supporter.

The USDA refused to talk to me. But a spokesman noted in a prepared statement that “if a facility opens, the Food Safety and Inspection Service will be prepared to carry out its statutory mandate to ensure industry compliance with the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act."

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