http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/228896/

Plant may slaughter horses under North Dakota bill

A plan being advanced in the North Dakota Legislature likely will upset some horse enthusiasts and animal rights activists.

By: Kim Winnegge

A plan being advanced in the North Dakota Legislature likely will upset some horse enthusiasts and animal rights activists.

Two state legislators are sponsoring a bill that could lead to construction of the nation’s only horse slaughterhouse in North Dakota.

Rep. Rod Froelich, D-Selfridge, and Sen. Joe Miller, R-Park River, are sponsoring House Bill 1496, which would direct the Commerce Department to conduct a $100,000 study to see if a privately owned horse slaughterhouse is viable in North Dakota.

“Lots of constituents were begging us to do this, saying give us an alternative to what we have now, which is nothing,” Froelich said.
The study would assess the cost of construction, the nature and scope of markets the plant could sell to, and if such a project could be accomplished under current regulations, according to a news release.

In 2006, the U.S. House passed the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which banned slaughtering horses. It died in the Senate.

Froelich said the $100,000 cost was just a figure they came up with to highlight that there would be a financial piece to the puzzle.

“Equine processing facilities provide a valuable resource for those who have animals that are no longer needed for recreational, farm or racing uses,” Froelich said in a news release announcing the proposed study.

The study would be conducted during the 2009 to 2011 interim.

Legislators will have a chance to help the state become the only one to offer these services, Miller said.

Miller said the last two “equine processing facilities” in Texas and Illinois closed in 2007, leaving open the U.S. market for horse slaughtering.

“They were shut down due to activists in the area,” Miller said. “(They provided) false or circumstantial information, misconstruing what really goes on.”

Calls to several animal rights groups for comment went unanswered Friday.
North Dakota horses ready for rendering now have to be shipped to Mexico or Canada, Miller said, which is costly.

A rendered horse can provide horse meat, gelatin, glue, pet food and leather products, Miller said.

Froelich said the legislation will help provide another economic resource for North Dakota.

“We have a lot of equine that are being abandoned now, not taken care of,” he said. “We have to find someplace for animals to be taken.”

Miller said the point of the proposed legislation is to humanely dispose of those animals that have “worn out their usefulness.”

“We’re going to get to a point where horses will be running around like deer,” he said. “That’s something we need to control.”

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=27150

KFYR News, Bismark, North Dakota

Study of Horse Slaughter Plant Gets ND House Nod

2/18/2009

North Dakota lawmakers have agreed to set aside $50,000 for a possible study of a horse slaughter plant.

New laws and public sentiment against horse processing have resulted in the recent closure of U.S. plants.

Selfridge Rep. Rod Froelich says that makes it difficult for ranchers to dispose of horses that are old or injured. He says North Dakota should try to solve the problem.

Representatives voted 89-5 on Wednesday to set aside money for a study. The state`s Agricultural Products Utilization Commission would have to approve the project.

The bill says state money for the study would have to be matched by private industry.

The legislation now goes to the North Dakota Senate.

The bill is HB1496.

http://www.thedickinsonpress.c...ge=view&id=D974OA2G5

Study of ND horse slaughter plant endorsed
By DALE WETZEL Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Wednesday, March 25, 2009

BISMARCK, N.D.

North Dakota's Senate has endorsed spending $50,000 for a study of whether a horse slaughterhouse would be workable in the state.

The proposal, which now goes to the House, requires that the money be matched by outside funding. It establishes a fee schedule to repay the state cash if a horse processing facility is ever built.

Sen. Joe Miller, R-Park River, said the study's first objective would be to look at possible legal challenges. Congress is considering proposals that would outlaw horse slaughter for human consumption and make it illegal to transport the animals to any slaughterhouse.

Although Americans generally do not have a taste for horse meat, "there are many people in the world that do," Miller said. "This is a potential market ... There is no reason why our country has to put ourselves at some sort of disadvantage."

Critics of the proposal say it is a waste of money, given the possibility that Congress will ban horse slaughtering in the United States. The last two remaining U.S. horse slaughter plants, in Texas and Illinois, were closed two years ago.

Aside from reserving $50,000 for the study, the legislation requires that any North Dakota horse processing facility pay $5 per horse into a fund to pay back the cost of the study.

After the money is repaid, equine programs at North Dakota State University and Dickinson State University would split 80 percent of the fee income, the legislation says. The remaining 20 percent would be set aside for equine research grants.

Miller said a slaughter plant would give horse owners a chance to recoup money for unwanted and unneeded horses.

"They could be utilized for protein supplement for people that are hungry, and could also provide money," Miller said. "If we can slaughter them, it can bring income in to North Dakota horse owners, and that's good for the rural economy."

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The bill is HB1496.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.