Cavel International in DeKalb, Ill., the country’s last remaining horse slaughter facility, can no longer kill horses for human consumption. On Thursday Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law that bans horse slaughter for meat, and he said it is "past time to stop slaughtering horses in Illinois."
Cavel has been shipping horse meat overseas, where it is sold for people to eat.
Two other horse slaughter plants in Texas were shut down this year and just this past week they were denied an appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although horses can no longer be slaughtered in the United States for the purpose of human consumption, they can be shipped from some states to slaughter facilities in Canada and Mexico. Animal rights organizations and several law makers are calling on the federal government to make horse transport for the purpose of slaughter illegal.