Inside D.C.
It makes no sense
Commentary.
Rep. Jim Moran (D, VA), who represents a big chunk of urban northern Virginia just across the bridges from DC, this week tacked on to the FY2012 ag/FDA appropriations bill one of those amendments which is no doubt a burning priority for his constituents, namely Moran doesn’t want USDA spending any of its federal dollars to inspect horses for slaughter. Thousands of Virginians are no doubt sleeping more soundly for Moran’s vigilance.
Moran is one of those members of Congress who has little understanding of production agriculture, who has sponsored PETA functions on Capitol Hill, and who, in the words of his own press release this week, “received the Humane Society’s highest award in 2010” for championing yet another obvious northern Virginia priority, the Truth in Fur Labeling Act. He also “has led the charge on a number of issues related to the protection of animals, including the successful passage of the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010.”
Moran’s amendment – endorsed by HSUS and the Animal Welfare Institute – was expected. Efforts to outright ban federally inspected horse slaughter have failed in Congress for the last several years, and the only way in which to make horse slaughter go away is to ensure USDA inspection is impossible, for without federal inspection, horse meat cannot be exported to its big markets in Europe and the Far East. The first time this language appeared in a spending bill was 2006.
But what’s galling is that Moran sold this amendment to his colleagues as a way to save $5 million “each year.” I cannot for the life of me figure out how this saves one red cent since there hasn’t been a horse slaughterhouse inspected in the U.S. in over four years.
Back when the U.S. had three operating horse slaughter plants – two in Texas, one in Illinois – horse slaughterhouses received USDA inspections under what’s called “non-amenable species” authority. Not to put too fine a point on it, but only the big four – beef, pork, poultry and sheep/lamb – get USDA inspection gratis for the most part. All other non-amendable species — ostrich, elk, bison, etc. — slaughtered for interstate commerce or export pay user fees to cover the cost of USDA of the inspection process.
So, unless USDA has a boatload of hidden overhead in its non-amenable species inspection program, I’m at a loss to figure out where the savings come from.
Moran’s savings message was echoed by HSUS’s Wayne Pacelle, who spun the message even farther: “Adding millions of dollars to the federal budget to inspect foreign-owned horse slaughter plants would have been a step backward for America’s iconic horses and a waste of tax dollars. We are grateful to Congressman Jim Moran…and to the House Appropriations Committee for reining in this multi-million-dollar subsidy that would have paved the way for the needless killing of American horses for foreign gourmands.”
See, there are no “foreign-owned horse slaughter plants” in the U.S. There used to be, but no more, and not because Congress did anything, but because two state legislatures were as uninformed or as oblivious as Mssrs. Moran and Pacelle.
No savings, no foreign slaughter plants…no sense.
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Well, just to clarity things a bit in this very misleading post.. Equine were considered an “amenable species” when Congress originally approved this Republican sponsored horse slaughter defund amendment back in 2005. A few legislators snuck in new language allowing horse slaughter plants to skirt the amendment despite clear congressional intent. Thankfully, they were not successful in the end.
Oh, the $5M figure came from the former head of the OMB under Pres. Bush while the three plants were operating.
This is from FSIS:
“To prevent adulterated meat and meat food products from entering interstate commerce, the FMIA requires that FSIS inspection personnel conduct ante-mortem examination and inspection of all livestock (cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equines) before they are allowed to enter any slaughtering, packing, meat-canning, rendering, or other similar establishment, in which they are to be slaughtered and the meat and meat food products thereof are to be used in commerce (21 U.S.C. 603). The FMIA also requires that FSIS inspection personnel conduct post-mortem examination and inspection of the carcasses and parts thereof of all livestock to be prepared at any
slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, or similar establishment in any State, territory, or the District of Columbia as articles of commerce that are capable of use as human food (21 U.S.C.
604). Additionally, the FMIA requires that FSIS inspection personnel conduct inspection of official establishments that slaughter livestock and prepare meat and meat food products thereof to determine whether the establishments maintain sanitary conditions (21 U.S.C. 608).” -
What, actually, is your point?
Congress defunded USDA inspections for horsemeat for human consumption thereby making horse slaughter in this country a moot point. I thank them for doing so. If people would quit overbreeding and refusing to take personal responsibility for their horses there would be no need for horse slaughter. The plants when they were open only had about 200 workers most of whom were undocumented. The plants costs their communities thousands from the filth they pump into water treatment systems and the filth and stench they brought to their communities. Much like the problems that are associated with other mass animal operations such as chickens and pigs.