USDA moving closer to allowing horse slaughter plant to start operation
The USDA is expected to approve a horse slaughtering plant in New Mexico within the next two months, according to a New York Times report. If approval is granted, it would mark the first time since 2007that horse meat suitable for human consumption was produced in the country.
The plant, in Roswell, N.M., is owned by Valley Meat Co., which sued the USDA in the fall over the lack of inspection services for horses going to slaughter. Horse meat cannot be processed for human consumption in the United States without inspection by the USDA, so horses destined for that purpose have been shipped to places such as Mexico and Canada for slaughter.