AR-News: (US IL) Constituent urges Rep. Lindner et al to reverse horse slaughter vote

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

The Illinois Leader

Thursday, April 15, 2004
I have been reviewing the pro and con arguments on SB1921 ["11 letters 
skewering horse slaughter company," January 27, and "Protect companion animals," 
January 23] the bill that would ban horse slaughter plants in Illinois for the 
purposes of producing horse meat for human consumption. 
I've learned that there are just three of these plants still operating in the 
United States. Two in Texas are in danger of closure because they are 
operating in defiance of state law as currently established. And the third, Cavel 
International in DeKalb, burned to the ground but has been rebuilt and wants to 
reopen its operations. 
Let's start with an important premise. The consumption of horse meat by 
humans is illegal in the United States. The horse is considered a companion animal, 
like a dog or a cat, and therefore, cannot be eaten on United States soil by 
anyone for any purpose. So why are there any horse slaughtering plants in the 
U.S. that produce horse meat for human consumption? 
There is a market in Japan and Europe, so the slaughter plants here export 
the meat. One advantage to exporting horse meat, rather than beef, is that the 
tariffs run approximately four times less. Since there are willing buyers, why 
not allow a business to operate that meets individual wants?






full story:
http://www.illinoisleader.com/letters/lettersview.asp?c=13852 


11 letters skewering horse slaughter company
http://www.illinoisleader.com/letters/lettersview.asp?c=11653

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“I personally cannot get overly worked up about the deprivation of human 
rights in a world where non-humans have no rights at all. Until animals and nature 
have rights, none of us have any rights at all because without animals, 
ecosystems and nature's diversity, rights are meaningless. Humans are a group that 
was never very successful to begin with. Overly territorial, obsessed with 
trivialities, violent, petty, and completely lacking in empathy for other 
species. The world would be a much nicer place without us." Captain Paul Watson 
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