Utah's resolution supporting the transport of horses out of state for slaughter in Canada and Mexico is one of several efforts in the nation to reinstate the controversial practice.
Legislatures in Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota and Wyoming are working on similar resolutions while lawmakers in Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Montana hope to open the gate to horse slaughtering facilities within their borders.
A court order, in 2007, closed the country's last horse-butchering plant in Illinois. Horse slaughter for human consumption is banned in the United States.
Facilities outside the country cater to markets in Asia, Europe and South America that regard horse meat as a delicacy. A federal bill is pending, HR503, that would prohibit the transport of horses out of the country for slaughter.
Proponents of the measure support horse-slaughtering, saying it's a humane way for horse owners to dispose of surplus animals. But animal welfare groups stand foursquare in opposition to an industry they view as cruel and cut-throat.
"It comes down to owner responsibility," said Jen Reid, Horse Haven manager for Kanab's nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society. "If you feel the animal's quality of life is no longer good, put them down rather than taking them to the auction and making $20."
Butchering a horse is emotional, Reid said, because the animals are raised to be friends and companions, not dinner.
The U.S. Humane Society urges vocal opposition to the wave of legislation moving across the nation in opposition to the pending federal ban.
The organization's Web site, at www.hsus.org, reads: "Our undercover footage shows the extreme suffering endured by horses shipped across our borders to slaughter plants in Mexico … transported for hours and sometimes days at a time, horses without food, water or rest. It is not uncommon for these animals to arrive at the plants dead or seriously injured."
Utah's HJR7 passed the House and Senate and has already been signed by Sen. President Mike Waddoups and House Speaker David Clark. The nonbinding position statement will be sent to the White House, the U.S. Senate and House and Utah's congressional delegation.
