The Kaufman Herald
June 5, 2003

Legislation that would have cleared up state law concerning slaughtering of horses for human consumption failed to get out of the state Senate over the weekend. The 78th Legislative Session came to an end Monday.

   House Bill 1324, sponsored by State Rep. Betty Brown of Terrell, failed to get to the Senate floor as part of Sen. Bob Deuellıs agriculture bill. The bill was killed from Deuellıs SB 1413 in a conference committee between the two legislative bodies.

   The House approved the bill in April and sent it to the Senate, where it was referred to the Natural Resources committee.

   Dallas Crown Packing Inc. is located in Kaufman and is one of two horsemeat packing companies in the U.S. The other is located in Fort Worth. Both plants slaughter horses and sell the meat for human consumption in Europe.

   Brownıs bill sought to clarify state law that forbids slaughtering horses for human consumption. Brown said in April she was adding the words "United States" to the text, which would still allow the companies to process and sell the meat to Europe.

   Last August, the Texas attorney general issued an opinion that said the two horse processing plants are operating illegally.