A bill that would make a state-funded loan of up to $1 million available to construct a horse slaughtering facility in South Dakota is no longer under consideration.
A spokesperson for Sen. Jay Duenwald, who is the chair of the state's Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, confirmed the bill has been killed. It was introduced Jan. 22.
There are no horse slaughter plants currently operating in the United States. Last year, two Texas-based slaughter plants were closed when a 1949 state law banning the practice there was upheld. Cavel International near DeKalb, Ill., which was the last active horse slaughter plant in the country, was shut down in September after a court decision upheld the constitutionality of a new state law banning the import, export, and possession of horsemeat intended for human consumption.