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US Court of Appeals Upholds Illinois Ban on
Horse Slaughter
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Cavel
International DeKalb, IL |
Chicago, IL. (Aug.
21, 2007) – Recognizing the will of the people of Illinois and
championing America’s horses, a three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit today ruled unanimously to uphold a decision by the US District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois, reaffirming the constitutionality
of an Illinois law preventing the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
Immediately following passage of the
new law in May, the state’s sole horse slaughterhouse, Cavel
International, filed suit in federal court to challenge the
mandate's constitutionality. On July 5, the US District Court
ruled the law constitutional – and thus, enforceable. However,
Cavel appealed that decision to the Seventh Circuit Court of
Appeals, and horses continued to be slaughtered while the case was
considered.
“We are overjoyed by the court’s
latest decision,” said Tracy Silverman, General Counsel for the
Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). “The state of Illinois did not
want to be home to the nation’s last remaining horse slaughter
plant, and today’s court ruling signals an end to this gruesome
industry in the United States.”
While this news is significant,
Cavel still has two options remaining to challenge the ruling. It
can request an en banc review, where if granted, all judges on the
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals would reconsider the decision
rendered by the three-judge panel, or it can appeal directly to
the Supreme Court of the United States. Earlier this year, the
Supreme Court refused to hear a similar request by the two Texas
horse slaughterhouses operating in violation of Texas law. Those
plants have effectively ceased operations as a result.
“AWI calls on Cavel to stop
stonewalling the inevitable by prolonging this cruelty via the
courts,” said AWI Deputy Legislative Director Chris Heyde. “Each
day it drags out this process, hundreds of horses are caught in
the middle, paying the ultimate price as a result.”
The American
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S. 311), a federal
bill to ban horse slaughter in the United States and the transport
of horses abroad for the same purpose, is pending in the US
Congress. Its enactment is now essential to ensure horses who
would have been sent to Cavel are not exported for slaughter in
Canada or Mexico.
“The American public has made clear
its desire to close this industry down,” Heyde said. “That’s why
AWI is proud to be leading the charge to pass the urgently needed
federal law to ban horse slaughter.”
The renowned law firm of Patton
Boggs is representing AWI in this case.
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CONTACT:
Tracy Silverman, Esq. or Chris Heyde
(703) 836-4300
Founded in 1951, AWI is an international non-profit organization
dedicated to reducing the sum total of pain and fear inflicted on
animals by humans. Its legislative division initiated, and has
since led, the national campaign to end horse slaughter, as well
as spearheaded the effort to enact the ban in Illinois. Please
visit
www.awionline.org.
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