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According to his owner, Lucky the horse
was about to be slaughtered. Instead he's been leading carriage rides for seven
years.
"When it's time to go, we will not sell a horse like this
to a slaughter plant," said Dan Sampson, Lucky's owner.
Sampson and some state lawmakers are trying to gain support
for a statewide ban on horse slaughtering.
"When we were informed that there would be a plant
opening for the slaughter of horses for human consumption, I would have to say
almost every legislator in Springfield was shocked," said State Rep. Robert
Molaro, sponsored the bill.
Two horse slaughterhouses are planned. While Americans don't
eat horsemeat, there is a demand for it in Europe and Japan. A third plant is
reopening in Dekalb. The company, Caval international, has slaughtered horses
for 17 years. A fire forced them to rebuild. The manager says they operate
humanely like any other slaughterhouse and are an integral part of the
agricultural community, providing horse owners with an option.
"Every day I get calls from people with horses that they
want to sell," said Jim Tucker, Caval International Plant Manager
The Illinois Farm Bureau also opposes the ban and any
restriction on slaughterhouses. They're concerned with what effect the ban could
have on other livestock.
"There's a big concern in the united states that a lot of
our industry is migrating outside of our borders. This is just another industry
where potentially that could happen," said Paul Rasmussen, Dekalb Farm
Bureau.
While the bill plays out in the state legislature, the plant
is installing equipment to give horse owners the option of slaughter. The
Illinois legislature will vote in the next couple of weeks. There is also a bill
before Congress. That should be decided in the coming weeks and months.
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