Horse slaughter ban stays, for now--Equine veterinarian Randy Parker, who has a clinic near Colorado Springs, testified that he and other veterinarians routinely prescribe drugs for horses -- for a variety of ailments -- that are not allowed for horses intended as food animals. That's because there is no scientific research that proves they are safe for human consumption, he said

Horse slaughter ban stays, for now

Albuquerque Journal (NM), 2014-01-14

Jan. 14--SANTA FE -- A state judge on Monday kept in place a temporary ban on opening a Roswell horse slaughterhouse while he weighs whether to allow operations by a company the attorney general calls "a chronic bad actor."

District Judge Matthew J. Wilson of Santa Fe said he would decide by Friday whether to issue the preliminary injunction against Valley Meat Co. sought by Attorney General Gary King's office.

Valley Meat, which used to slaughter cattle at the Roswell site, has been waging a battle for two years to reopen the plant as New Mexico's only slaughterhouse for horses.

"This is an option that New Mexico needs. It is a lawful business," the company's attorney, Blair Dunn, said during nearly nine hours of arguments and testimony on Monday.

Assistant Attorney General Ari Biernoff told the judge Valley Meat has a "very poor track record of complying ... with a variety of environmental laws" and that its planned operations risked polluting water at the site and introducing drug-contaminated horse meat to the food supply.

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