Sander Capitol Report

Rep. Therese Sander, District 22

HORSE SLAUGHTER IN MISSOURI

It was after 8 p.m. when the phone rang in my office interrupting my thought processes. The person on the other end of the line was urging me, as a member of the Agriculture Policy committee to support Representative Viebrock’s horse slaughter bill, which was to be heard the next morning in committee. This was the issue of the week for me as far as receiving phone calls from citizensTherese.Sander@house.mo.gov.

A few years ago, under pressure from special interest groups, the federal government ceased funding for USDA meat inspectors in horse slaughter facilities, effectively shutting down the industry. Since that time, the bottom has fallen out of the market for horses. With one fell swoop, misguided do-gooders caused the value of other citizens’ investments to hit rock-bottom. With no market where these animals can be disposed of, there has been a huge increase in reports of abuse and neglect of these animals as people who can no longer afford to keep their animal, but have no way of disposing of them, either turn them loose to fend for themselves, or simply stop caring for them.

Those who originally pressed for a moratorium on horse slaughter on the basis that it was inhumane have only succeeded in increasing the instances of abuse and neglect of horses, resulting in exactly the opposite of what they intended.

HB1747 is a bold move to address this problem. Much of the language was written with input from the Department of Agriculture which overseas the USDA meat inspection programs in the state. This legislation puts in place standards under which horse slaughter facilities can once again operate and establishes fees as a funding mechanism to pay the cost of the USDA inspector who will examine the meat products being processed, packed, and sold either for human consumption or as pet food.

This legislation would also open the foreign market for horse meat. While it may not appeal to your palate, horse meat is a delicacy in many parts of Europe and it appears on the menu in many European restaurants, especially in France. Furthermore, it will provide a market where zoos in this country can obtain meat for feeding some of their captive animals. Right now, because of the lack of horse slaughter plants in the United States, zoos have to import horse meat, while thousands of horses right here at home languish.

I had a phone call from a constituent working in the Department of Corrections who was upset about losing the state deferred comp match, capped at $35 a month. It was eliminated by the Governor as part of his budget balancing withholds for the current fiscal year. We had a lengthy conversation in which I shared frankly with him that we are looking at an abysmal financial situation for the state. Unfortunately, this particular program being cut is very small potatoes compared to what we are facing overall.

In fact, much of my time this week has been consumed by perusing information to help me and others evaluate a little better where we can make reductions in a sensible way. My appropriations committee finished its work this week, choosing not to make any further reductions to the corrections budget based on the belief that further reductions to our prison system will start putting people in danger. If our committee’s recommendations hold when it goes through the larger budget committee, it means that deeper cuts have to be made somewhere else.

As always, you can reach me at 573-751-6566 or by email at