Three humane groups are named in a lawsuit alleging that the organizations conspired to defame a New Mexico meat company in order to prevent it from processing horses for human consumption.

Horse processing has not taken place in the U.S. since 2007 when a combination of legislation and court rulings forced the closure of remaining horse slaughter plants in Illinois and Texas. U.S. horse processing again became possible in November 2011 when Congress passed a federal funding bill that did not contain language specifically denying the USDA funds for horse processing plant inspections. Though some plants have been proposed, no horse processing plants are currently operating in the United States.

In December 2011, Rick De Los Santos, owner of Valley Meat Co., LLC, submitted an application requesting the placement of USDA personnel to carry out horsemeat inspections at his Roswell, N.M., plant. In March, USDA personnel conducted an application-related tour of the Valley Meat plant, De Lost Santos said. A follow-up tour was slated for early April, but was postponed at De Los Santos’ request until work to retrofit the plant specifically for horse processing was completed.

"I invested between $75,000 to $80,000 in the plant and my application was never processed," De Los Santos said