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The last U.S. slaughterhouse is ordered to close

Cavel International has shut down, but the legal battle continues.

On Thursday a federal judge refused a request from DeKalb, Ill.-based Cavel International--the nation's last operating horse slaughterhouse--to remain open, but the legal dispute still isn’t over.

Under a June 15 court order, Cavel was set to close on Friday, and now that a federal judge has refused the company’s request to stay open longer, the plant has shut down horse slaughter operations.

"Obviously we're disappointed with the ruling," said Cavel attorney Phil Calabrese, adding that the company can still file an appeal.

In late May, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law banning the import, export, possession and slaughter of horses intended for human consumption, which forced Cavel to close. But the company immediately challenged the state law in federal court and was granted a temporary order in early June that prevented officials from enforcing the ban. The order was extended once, which allowed Cavel to continue operations, but on Thursday Cavel was ordered to shut down by a federal judge.

The federal judge wrote that he "no longer believes that plaintiffs have shown a strong or even negligible likelihood of succeeding on the merits of the action pending before this court." But the judge hasn't ruled on Cavel's original challenge of the state ban. He said he will not do so until a related matter—whether the Humane Society of the United States can be a party in the case—goes through the courts.

"Our primary reaction is we'll wait and see what the next step is," said Ann Spillane, chief of staff for the state attorney general. "There are obviously further legal proceedings that are going to happen."

The Cavel plant has operated in DeKalb for about 20 years, slaughtering about 1,000 horses a week, according to plant officials.

06-30-2007


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The last U.S. slaughterhouse is ordered to close

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Reader Comments
It would be much better to slaughter a mean dangerous outlaw horse that would hurt a human being , rather than taking a chance on it hurting someone.
D, cynthiana, KY
Posted: 7/20/2010 2:44:39 PM
Also, just kind of a food for thought... What is the difference between a "horse lover" and a responsible horse owner. Someone who had 30 horses and lost all of her money and watched her horses slowly die of starvation (this actually happened about a month ago), she loved her horses and did not want to do the responsible thing, like euthanasia (that costs money, which she did not have)..... Now can you tell the difference between a "horse lover" and a responsible horse owner?
Carly, Scottsdale, AZ
Posted: 2/24/2010 2:01:12 PM
I agree with you Sadie.
Carly, Scottsdale, AZ
Posted: 2/24/2010 1:55:26 PM
So you people don't agree with euthanization or slaughter, but you'll agree to let a horse slowly starve to death because its owner doesn't have enough money to feed it, because they're beautiful animals? I have horses of my own, and I love them to death, but I would put them to sleep if it meant it was what was best for the horse. In fact, one of mine has a disease called DSLD, and I'm willing to keep her until she needs to be euthanized, which I'd rather do than let her suffer. I'm willing to bet that any of you who think horse slaughter is simply a cruel practice and NOT a neccessary evil didn't do your homework. I am not saying that I want horse slaughter, but better to put them out of their misery rather that letting them suffer their last days because people like you find it horrifying. Did you know that cattle are killed the same way in order to get their meat? And yet we eat hamburger. And no one thinks twice about putting a cat or dog to sleep if it's what's best for them. And, although horsesare seen as pets to most people, they are legally considered a livestock animal.
Sadie, Farnhamville, IA
Posted: 2/16/2010 7:17:25 PM
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