A federal appeals court has ruled that horse slaughter is illegal in Texas, temporarily halting the practice in that state. But the horse slaughter plants could appeal the ruling. Please read the following news article and discuss this topic with others.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/16514745.htm

Horse slaughter plants considering legal options
Associated Press

DALLAS - The owners of two horse slaughtering plants in Texas are considering whether to challenge a federal appeals court ruling that upheld a Texas law that banned horse slaughter for the purpose of selling the meat for food.

The ruling involves two of the nation's three horse slaughtering plants - the Dallas Crown Inc. facility in Kaufman and Beltex Corp. in nearby Fort Worth. A third plant run by Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Ill., is not affected by the ruling. All three facilities are foreign-owned.

Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Stenholm, a spokesman for the plants and a coalition of about 200 organizations seeking to preserve the option for humane slaughter of unwanted horses, said Sunday that the companies are considering their options, including the possibility of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Those who want these plants to shut down should be careful what they wish for," Stenholm said in a news release issued by Common Horse Sense. "If these plants shuts down tomorrow, the nation's patchwork of horse rescue facilities would be overwhelmed. They can barely manage to care for the approximately 6,000 horses already in the system."

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned a lower court ruling on the 1949 Texas law. The lower court had said the Texas law was invalid because it had already been repealed by another statute and pre-empted by federal law. A three-judge appeals court panel said the law stood on its own merits and was enforceable.

Common Horse Sense said in its statement that the ruling was a surprise because it felt the lower court had made a "well-reasoned decision based on the merits of the case."

Hi Folks,

The two Texas plants stopped taking horses or slaughtering them abruptly Tuesday morning after putting out strong buy orders on Monday. We guessed that it had to do with the notice HSUS had given them that they were in violation of the 1949 law that the 5th circuit appeals court had deemed to still be in effect. Here is a story from Dallas. Dallas Crown Soenen says that they are still in operation but eye witnesses say they are only processing meat and have quit killing horses. There is a huge story behind all this about determined horse lovers that would not give up. Someday I hope to be able to write everything I know about the history of this struggle. For now we have to get 503 passed and finish them off!

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation...semeat.1bcec808.html


05:29 PM CST on Thursday, January 25, 2007


By JIM GETZ / The Dallas Morning News
jgetz@dallasnews.com


A federal court decision that upheld a Texas ban on horsemeat for human dining has thrown the horse-slaughter industry into flux, with two airlines saying they won't transport the meat and with representatives of Texas' two slaughter plants giving conflicting reports about whether they have temporarily ceased operations.


"My information now is that the plants are not processing at the moment," industry lobbyist Charles Stenholm said at 4:30 p.m. about Beltex in Fort Worth and Dallas Crown in Kaufman. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if you can't ship the meat, you can't process it."


But 20 minutes later, Dallas Crown operator Christopher Soenen said the Kaufman plant was still in operation.


It was just the latest example of how quickly reports about the horse-slaughter industry changed throughout the day.


American Airlines and Delta Air Lines said early Thursday afternoon that they had suspended transport of horsemeat from Texas airports to the overseas markets – mainly France, Belgium and Japan – where it is consumed.


"We're not confident that it is legal to ship horsemeat out of the state of Texas, so we're not accepting shipment," American spokesman Tim Wagner said. "We're taking the cautious approach."


Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said that, for now, the airline "has suspended shipment of this cargo, based on the recent ruling about Texas."


Asked if the plants would try to persuade the airlines to change their minds or would try to arrange shipment with other airlines, Mr. Stenholm said, "It is my belief that the airlines will soon reach a comfort level."


Mr. Stenholm said any shutdown of the plants would be brief.


"I don't have a single doubt in my mind that the plants will be up and operating soon, whether that's tomorrow or Monday," he said, "and they will keep operating throughout the political and legal battles they're in."


David Broiles, an attorney for the two Texas plants said he would ask the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans to reconsider the ruling handed down Friday by a three-judge panel from that court.


Mr. Broiles acknowledged that it is rare for the full court to overturn one of its panels' decisions. But if his request fails, he said, he will petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.


Ann Diamond, an assistant district attorney in Tarrant County who successfully argued her case before the Circuit Court, said she and Kaufman County District Attorney Rick Harrison would hold off on trying to shut down the plants under the 1949 Texas law until all appeals are resolved.


Mr. Stenholm, a former West Texas congressman, said the airlines were influenced by anti-slaughter groups such as the Humane Society of the United States.


"A lot of the folks on the other side have managed to stir up a lot of questions," he said. "Certainly, American Airlines did not want to do anything that was illegal. They were being told, by calls flooding into their office, that it was illegal to ship. That's inaccurate information."


Mr. Wagner said American did not base its decision on outside phone calls. "We have to make our decision based on our understanding of the court case," he said, "not someone else's interpretation."


Mr. Stenholm said that the appeals court decision created uncertainty in every business from horse auctions to the airlines but that he believes Mr. Broiles' decision to fight to the Supreme Court, if need be, would stabilize the horse industry.


"It's just a matter of hours before things are back to normal," he said "We've had a little disruption, but it's back to business as usual."


Industry spokesman David Sheon agreed, saying there was a "lot of fluidity" in events this week.


"What you report one minute could change the next," he said. "But the plants are operational. ... There may be an hour here or there where they have to figure things out. I think it would be more fair to describe that as a hiccup, not a major disruption."


Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, praised the airlines' decision, saying the three-judge panel's decision "is the final word" as far as his organization is concerned.


"The court's decision was unambiguous, and the judges stated that horse slaughter is illegal in Texas for human consumption," he said. "The airlines have an obligation to follow the dictates of a U.S. court of appeals. This shouldn't even be a close call."


Asked if he was disappointed that Mr. Broiles' continuing appeals would prevent Ms. Diamond from prosecuting the plants, Mr. Pacelle replied, "The onus is not on her – it's on the airlines and the slaughter plants to act responsibly and cease until the ruling is overturned by the full circuit or the Supreme Court."


Beltex employs about 90 people, and its annual sales are $35 million, according to its most recent report. Dallas Crown employs about 40 workers and has annual sales of about $8.8 million. Both are foreign-owned. The only other U.S. horse-slaughter plant, Cavel International of DeKalb, Ill., is not affected because the ruling concerned Texas law.


Dallas Crown attorney Mark Calabria said he understands the Texas plants are reviewing all their options, including moving to other states, Mexico or Canada, or possibly staying put and expanding the types of meat they process to compensate for the loss of horses.


Even if horsemeat for humans is declared legal in Texas, Mr. Calabria said, the company must fight a local battle against the city of Kaufman, which has ordered the Dallas Crown plant shut down for violating zoning laws.


Congress is also considering a nationwide ban on horse slaughter, but the Republican and Democratic heads of two committees in the House – Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce – issued a bipartisan letter Thursday supporting the slaughter industry.

What do you know about the heads of the two committees Agriculture and Energy and Commerce, issuing a bipartisan letter supporting the slaughter indunstry?