LINCOLN, Neb. – In Nebraska, legislators are considering a bill that would set up a state meat inspection agency, which in turn would pave the way for horse slaughter in that state, according to The Associated Press.

On Feb. 8, several people spoke in favor of O'Neill Sen. Tyson Larson's bill (LB305), including horse owners, meat processing operators and agriculture groups like the Nebraska Cattlemen, Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation and Nebraska Farmers Union. The bill’s proponents said without slaughterhouses, old and marginalized horses are often neglected or abandoned.


Those who testified against the bill claim slaughtering horses is inhumane.

In 2007, the last three horse slaughterhouses in the US closed. Mexico and Canada now receive horses from the US for slaughter. Much of that horse meat is exported for human consumption to Europe and Asia.