AP: Texas

01/11/2006

By SUZANNE GAMBOA  / Associated Press

The Bush administration may inspect horse meat on a fee-for-service basis, continuing the slaughter of horses for human consumption, despite votes in Congress last year to try to stop it.

The Agriculture Department, responding to petitions from European operators of three horse slaughterhouses, told Congress it is considering writing emergency rules to provide the fee-for-service inspections.

That has angered some lawmakers who say the department is circumventing Congress' will.

The House voted 269-158 and the Senate 69-28 last year to cut off spending on the salaries and expenses of USDA horse meat inspectors — which the measure's sponsors say was intended to stop the slaughter of horses. Several lawmakers who sponsored the measure are urging USDA to deny the plants' petition or at least allow time for a public comment period.

"It was the clear intent of Congress and the only thing discussed on the House and Senate floor was the fact that we wanted to stop slaughter," said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., one of the sponsors of the measure cutting off funding. "Congress was very clear in its intent, and the Department of Agriculture has circumvented that intent."

A USDA spokesman, asked for comment, referred to a letter sent to lawmakers stating the agency's position.

In that letter, the agency said the amendment "does not prevent horse slaughter at all." Along with Whitfield, amendment sponsors were Sens. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., John Ensign, R-Nev., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Reps. John Spratt Jr., D-S.C.., John Sweeney, R-N.Y.

Two horse slaughterhouses in Texas and one in Illinois process horse meat largely for human consumption abroad.

Owners of the plant say ending the inspections will eliminate between 182 to 222 jobs and cause a total $41 million economic loss annually in the communities where the plants are located.

The slaughterhouses petitioned the USDA for the new inspection service about three weeks after Bush signed the farm spending bill that included the horse slaughter amendment. The plants also asked the USDA to speed things up by dispensing with soliciting public comment on the proposed inspections.

"We just asked for them to allow us the same services that have been available to us for some time. We have a history of paying for services with USDA, like bison," said Jim Bradshaw, lobbyist for the Texas plants. "We also pay for all of our overtime, so there's been a process in effect that allowed us to pay for our services with them."

The slaughterhouses want the fee-for-service in place by March 10 on an emergency basis to avoid economic losses. Horse meat processing is a large part of the Texas plants' operations, Bradshaw said.

Fort Worth-based Beltex Corp. and Dallas Crown Inc., based in Kaufman, have combined payroll of $11 million and spend a combined $6 million on air freight at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the plants said in their petition.

The third plant, Cavel International Inc. based in DeKalb, Ill. pays transportation companies $1.5 million a year to transport livestock and $8 million buying livestock. None are publicly traded companies.

Michael Markarian, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, said the Federal Meat Inspection Act states that horse and other meat must be inspected by USDA, and the agency must bear the cost.

"It protects food for export. It would destroy American markets if we sent tainted food," Markarian said.

The USDA maintains another law allows it to provide, when requested, fee-for-service inspections.

Whitfield alleged the USDA has been maneuvering to set up the fee-for-service since a conference committee met to draft a compromise farm spending bill.

"They're being very precise in doing every thing they can to circumvent the intent of Congress," Whitfield said. But their efforts are helping build support for another bill that bans horse slaughter outright, he said.