Sunday, January 05, 2014

Horse slaughterhouse blocked 10 more days

Rick De Los Santos of Valley Meat
A state judge has extended for another 10 days his order blocking the planned opening of a horse slaughterhouse in Roswell. State District Judge Matthew Wilson on Friday ordered that the ban remain in place and scheduled a Jan. 13 hearing in the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Gary King, who claims that Valley Meat Co. is poised to violate state laws on water quality and food and consumer safety. “We’ve been going through this for two years now, and so … we’ll see what happens in 10 days,” Valley Meat owner Rick De Los Santos said Friday after the judge’s ruling in Santa Fe. He estimated the plant could be ready to open within a couple of weeks if the restraining order were lifted. De Los Santos said the facility has a contract with a Canadian company he declined to name that will supply the horses and take the meat. Valley Meat’s lawyer, Blair Dunn, argued at Friday’s hearing that the state court lacked jurisdiction in the case. He said the attorney general’s “real goal is to harass this company” because he disagrees with the premise of horse slaughter. Dunn also called it a “politically driven issue,” noting that King, a Democrat running for governor, is promoting his opposition to the slaughterhouse on his campaign website...more

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