On May 1, a split decision by a federal appeals court means that the horse slaughter plant in Illinois, Cavel International, could re-open while its case is being heard.

See article here for more info:

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2007/05/02/news/news02.txt

On Monday, slaughtering horses for human consumption resumed in Illinois at the Cavel Slaughterhouse.

See the news story here:
http://www.nbc5.com/news/13273954/detail.html?rss=chi&psp=news

Interestingly, this occurred on the same day that the Illinois State Senate Committee voted 7-0 in favor of a bill that will prohibit horse slaughter for human consumption within the state.

Find more information on the bill here.

More information on other legislation can be found on UAN's Web site here:
http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=176

On May 16, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that would end horse slaughter at the Cavel plant in DeKalb. The bill will become effective immediately once signed by the governor. You can read more details in the news article below:

Illinois Senate approves ban on horse slaughter

Associated Press
Published May 16, 2007, 6:46 PM CDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Senate approved a ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption Wednesday, sending the legislation to the governor.

The proposal, which won the Senate's OK 39-16, would stop a DeKalb plant from continuing to ship horse meat overseas. Human consumption is banned in the U.S.

"Horses clearly are recreational, companion animals," said Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, the bill's sponsor. "They are not livestock, raised for food."

Gov. Rod Blagojevich agrees with the idea and likely will sign the bill into law, but must review it first, a spokeswoman said.

But senators representing farmers -- and the Cavel International plant in DeKalb -- say slaughtering horses is humane and necessary and the legislation will eliminate jobs in Illinois.

"You're saying it's OK to eat Elsie the Cow, Chicken Little and Bambi, you just don't want us to eat Mr. Ed," said Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline.

Republican Sen. Brad Burzynski of Clare, who represents DeKalb and the Cavel plant, said horses are slaughtered there as humanely as where they are rendered for other products, such as dog food.

He said owners care about their horses but "they have to find a way to dispose of these animals."

Cullerton countered that Cavel can remain operating if it slaughters horses for other uses.

Cavel and the nation's two other slaughterhouses had ceased operations after a federal court said plant inspections were being improperly funded by the Agriculture Department.

The department had been offering horse slaughter plant inspections for a fee after federal lawmakers stripped money for horse inspectors' salaries and expenses from the 2006 agriculture spending bill in an effort to end horse slaughter.

But Cavel resumed operations after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided May 1 to grant the slaughterhouse's emergency request for a stay as it considers an appeal of the ruling to end the fee-for-service inspections.

The appeals court's decision noted that Cavel had argued "that it will go out of business absent a stay" because it would not be able to operate while the appeal is pending.

Good news: An Illinois judge ruled that the state law banning horse slaughter is valid. The Cavel slaughterhouse is now closed. Read more in this Chicago Tribune article

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-horseslaug...d&ctrack=1&cset=true

Ban on horse slaughter upheld
Judge's ruling keeps DeKalb plant closed

By Joseph Sjostrom
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 6, 2007

A federal judge effectively put a horse-slaughtering plant in DeKalb out of business with a ruling Thursday that upholds a state law banning the production or possession of horse meat for human consumption.

The ruling prevents the reopening of Cavel International Inc., which had been the only horse slaughterhouse still operating in the United States until it closed June 29. Cavel's entire production was shipped to Europe for customers overseas.

The ruling by Judge Frederick Kapala came because of a suit filed last month against the state by Cavel International, which claimed a law passed by the Illinois legislature and signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in May is unconstitutional. The judge granted a temporary restraining order on June 1 that prevented the state from enforcing the law, but that order expired June 28. The plant did not reopen the following day.

J. Philip Calabrese, one of Cavel's lawyers, said Thursday an appeal is possible, but a decision had not yet been made.

"We're disappointed, but we're reviewing the decision and considering the options," Calabrese said.

Cavel's suit claimed the state law is an unconstitutional infringement on the federal authority over foreign and interstate commerce, an infringement on federal authority in food production matters and an unconstitutional exercise of the state's police powers.

Cavel argued the state law discriminates against foreign commerce, but the judge's order says discrimination would occur only if a law treated local and foreign interests differently. The judge's order acknowledges there are federal laws pertaining to humane and sanitary conditions in a slaughterhouse. But it says those laws dictate how slaughtering of animals shall be done and don't preclude the state from prohibiting the slaughter of a particular species.

The suit claimed the law is unconstitutional because it doesn't promote public health, safety or morals. But the judge agreed with arguments by the state that the legislature has a legitimate interest in regulating food for human consumption and in ensuring the humane treatment of animals.

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jsjostrom@tribune.com

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribun

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ap-il-hors...1500.story?track=rss

Federal court upholds Illinois law banning horse slaughter

By TARA BURGHART Associated Press Writer

5:38 PM CDT, September 21, 2007

CHICAGO - A federal appeals court cited measures banning bullfights and cockfights to help explain why it was upholding an Illinois law prohibiting the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

The ruling, issued Friday, could force the closure of the last horse slaughtering plant in the United States.

"States have a legitimate interest in prolonging the lives of animals that their population happens to like," a three-judge panel of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals wrote. "They can ban bullfights and cockfights and the abuse and neglect of animals."

At Cavel International Inc.'s plant, located in the northern Illinois town of DeKalb, about 40,000 to 60,000 horses are slaughtered each year. Except for a portion sold to U.S. zoos, the meat is shipped to be eaten by diners overseas.

The plant has been forced to close twice since late May, when Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed into law a measure banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption, or the import, export or possession of horse meat designated for human consumption.

The plant was allowed to reopen during various challenges to the state law.

It was not immediately clear if Cavel would appeal the latest ruling, or if it would shut its doors Friday night. The company could ask the three-judge appellate panel to reconsider its ruling, or ask the full court to take on the case.

Messages left for Cavel and its attorney were not immediately returned.

The Illinois attorney general's office is handling the case on behalf of the state. The office was pleased the court upheld the constitutionality of the Illinois measure, and believes the state law can now be enforced by local authorities, according a statement released by a spokeswoman.

The Humane Society of the United States was "elated" by the ruling, according to Jonathan Lovvorn, the group's vice president of litigation.

"The court made it clear this is something that the states can ban," he said. "Hopefully this is the end after a very long road."

The Cavel plant has operated in DeKalb for about 20 years and employs about 60 workers. Cavel, a subsidiary of a Belgian company, buys horses for about $300 apiece.

Two other U.S. plants, both in Texas, closed earlier this year. A federal appeals court upheld a Texas law banning horse slaughter for the sale of meat for food, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case.

Critics says the slaughterhouse process is inhumane. Some also argue the nation has no tradition of raising horses for meat, and shouldn't do so to satisfy foreign consumers.

In court papers, Cavel argued that Illinois' specific ban on human consumption of horse meat serves no purpose, because horses that are too old or no longer useful will be killed anyway.

"Even if no horses live longer as a result of the new law," the court wrote, "a state is permitted, within reason, to express disgust at what people do with the dead, whether dead human beings or dead human animals.

"There would be an uproar if restaurants in Chicago started serving cat and dog steaks, even though millions of stray cats and dogs are euthanized in animal shelters."

Cavel also argued the Illinois law violates the interstate and foreign commerce clauses of the U.S. Constitution because it bans importing or exporting horsemeat for human consumption.

The court said that provision of the law is not aimed at Cavel, but instead at any middlemen who would try to take horse meat out of or into Illinois.