Horse meat may soon be sold in U.S. grocery stores
By Steve Timko, Reno Gazette-Journal
The slaughter of horses for food, stopped in the U.S. in 2006, could resume again under action approved by Congress and signed by the president.
Congress agreed to start paying again for inspections of facilities that slaughter horses.
The Bureau of Land Management has no plans to change its policy that forbids using captured wild horses for meat.
Wild horse advocates call the action bad news.
BLM spokeswoman JoLynn Worley said if a buyer is known to sell horses for slaughter, the BLM can refuse to sell to them. Or if a buyer tries to sell a wild horse for meat, the BLM can refuse to sell to them in the future.
Wild horses have a freeze brand and slaughterhouses are instructed to call the BLM before killing them, Worley said.