Colorado legislation to ban horse slaughter for human consumption stripped down after opposition from ranchers – By Jennifer Brown (Colorado Sun) / Feb 17, 2023
The Senate Agriculture Committee passed a weaker version of the original bill that’s intended to protect horses during transport
A proposal to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption barely passed its first test at the state Capitol on Thursday, squeaking out of a Senate committee after it was stripped into a livestock transportation bill.
The controversial debate ahead of the 4-3 vote by the Senate Agriculture Committee included tearful testimony from horse rescuers, including women and girls who said they saved horses from going to slaughter.
The original version of the bill would have made it a crime to slaughter horses and burros for human consumption but it was dropped in favor of a proposal that would establish tighter regulations when transporting 20 or more horses for slaughter. The aim is to protect horses from inhumane treatment as they travel hundreds of miles to cross into Canada and Mexico, where equine slaughter is allowed.
A long line of ranchers, farmers and livestock associations opposed both versions of the legislation. The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the Colorado Farm Bureau and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association testified against the measure.
