The battle over the slaughter of horses in the United States has shifted directly to Texas, where two slaughter plants operate. At the moment, operations at the two plants continue while the issue is being decided in federal court.

The two horse slaughter plants are Beltex in Fort Worth, Texas, and Dallas Crown in nearby Kaufman.

The background that led to the current battle is this:

Back in 1949, Texas passed legislation in the form of Chapter 149 of the Texas Agriculture Code, which made it illegal to sell horse meat for human consumption in Texas. However, the provisions of the legislation were never enforced, because it was believed that a federal law protecting interstate commerce overrode the Texas legislation