US Ag Dept. Doing End Run Around Horse Slaughter Ban

2005 was a critical year for the federally protected wild horse. As I've documented here and here, protections that had been in place since 1971 were rescinded thanks to Senator Conrad Burns, paving the way for thousands of wild horses in government pipelines to be sent to the slaughterhouse. But Americans weren't having it, especially after more than three dozen mustangs were immediately killed under the new provision. A huge grassroots campaign that wiped out political divisions led to a temporary federal ban on the slaughter of mustangs -- passed in both the House and Senate by overwhelming margins late last year.

The ban is scheduled to begin in March and expire eight months later. But if our cowboy President has his way, the ban won't last for eight seconds. Like every other law he doesn't agree with, he's doing an end run around it. Defying both a popular mandate and a legislative ban, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is taking a cue from "the man who wears the spurs" as Conrad Burns calls Bush, and seriously considering a stealth petition presented by the three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses in this country (two in Texas, one in Illinois) to keep the plants open. UPDATE: On February 3rd, word comes that the USDA has apparently granted their request. Johanns has reportedly just issued a bulletin permitting the killer plants to effectively resume operations by hiring their own, non-federally paid inspectors.

Johanns and Bush have a lot in common. Both are former governors of states (Nebraska, Texas) which have a powerful beef lobby. Big Beef -- as I've explained here -- has a vested interest in the slaughterhouse business. In addition, both Johanns and Bush are extreme Christians, having actually used tax dollars while they were governors to proclaim official days devoted to Jesus, as if Christmas and Easter were not enough.

Now, if these God-fearing public employees have their way, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse may have to hitch in for a ride. But if you want your Rapture the old-fashioned way, you can write or call Mike Johanns ([e-mail]; 202-720-3631) and let him know that wild horses aren't what's for dinner.