Omnibus Bill Sparks Controversy

While the bill effectively prohibits horse processing in the United States, some believe it could endanger wild horses.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Last week both houses of Congress approved a finance bill intended to keep the government functioning through September. But while the Omnibus Bill contains language that, in effect, prohibits horse processing in the United States, some advocates argue that the bill puts wild horses in danger.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, HR 244—the so-called Omnibus Bill—establishes $1 trillion to fund U.S. government agencies through Sept. 30 and establishes a budget to replace the current financing resolution which was set to expire. The legislation also contains an amendment forbidding the USDA from using any of its $153.4 billion to fund inspections at plants where horsemeat intended for human consumption is processed, which effectively prevents horse processing plants from operating in the U.S.

The bill would also allow the Bureau of Land Management to more easily transfer horses to federal, state or local governments to serve as work horses, while qualifying that transferred horses are not slaughtered for commercial purposes or euthanized without veterinary recommendation. Still, some wild horse advocates believe the legislation could put those wild horses at risk.

But Suzanne Roy, executive director of the American Wild Horse Campaign, believes the transfers leave the horses vulnerable to transfer to third parties that would kill them or ship them to international slaughter markets

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
305 votes · 305 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!