Several states moving toward horse slaughter

Salt Lake Tribune reports:

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...