Missouri Department of Natural Resources Denies Horse Slaughter Application

Citing federal budget restrictions, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has turned down a permit request from a northwest Missouri business that sought to process horses for meat.

The DNR said in a letter Thursday to David Rains, owner of Rains Natural Meats in Gallatin, that the agency has denied Rains' permit request for his proposed horse slaughter operation because the new federal budget withheld funding for required federal inspections of the slaughtering process.

As stated in the letter to Rains;

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Because this federal action effectively prohibits the processing of horses, further evaluation of your application to amend the permit to allow such activity is unwarranted. Your application is therefore denied”.

The resumption of commercial horse slaughter in the U.S. was effectively blocked last week when President Barack Obama signed a budget measure that stops the U.S. Department of Agriculture from spending money for inspections necessary for slaughterhouses to ship horse meat interstate and export it.

Rains didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday

Click Here to Read Denied Water Discharge Permit Letter to Rains [PDF]

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Help Ban Horse Slaughter Nationwide! Contact Congress in support of the SAFE Act. Passage of the SAFE Act will not only ensure that predatory horse slaughterers cannot reopen their doors here in the USA—it will also stop the trafficking of horses to slaughterhouses over American borders. CLICK HERE to Take Action!