Post by shellyr on Jun 29, 2007 8:04:49 GMT -8
Horse slaughter to end pending further appeals
Tribune staff report
Published June 29, 2007
A horse slaughtering plant in DeKalb will not open for business Friday after the failure of last-ditch efforts to prevent enforcement of a new state law that forbids production of horse meat for human consumption.
U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Kapala on Thursday refused to extend his June 1 order (TRO), which stayed enforcement of the law. The judge had already extended the order once. The order expired Thursday night, thus making continued operation of the plant illegal.
A lawyer for Cavel International Inc. said Thursday that the plant would not open Friday. However, he said Cavel would appeal the decision to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, probably Friday, and would request expedited handling of the case.
The Cavel plant has been the only horse-slaughtering plant still in operation in the United States. It filed suit in federal court seeking to prohibit enforcement of the state law on several grounds, including a claim that it improperly gives the force of law to a moral position held by some people that horses are pets and shouldn't be killed for food. The suit also said the law is an unconstitutional infringement on the federal government's authority to regulate interstate and foreign trade.
The law was passed by the legislature and signed last month by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The Humane Society of the United States petitioned to intervene in the case on the state's side, and when the judge refused, the group appealed. The judge issued an order last week saying he is legally barred from ruling on the case while the appeal is pending.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Tribune staff report
Published June 29, 2007
A horse slaughtering plant in DeKalb will not open for business Friday after the failure of last-ditch efforts to prevent enforcement of a new state law that forbids production of horse meat for human consumption.
U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Kapala on Thursday refused to extend his June 1 order (TRO), which stayed enforcement of the law. The judge had already extended the order once. The order expired Thursday night, thus making continued operation of the plant illegal.
A lawyer for Cavel International Inc. said Thursday that the plant would not open Friday. However, he said Cavel would appeal the decision to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, probably Friday, and would request expedited handling of the case.
The Cavel plant has been the only horse-slaughtering plant still in operation in the United States. It filed suit in federal court seeking to prohibit enforcement of the state law on several grounds, including a claim that it improperly gives the force of law to a moral position held by some people that horses are pets and shouldn't be killed for food. The suit also said the law is an unconstitutional infringement on the federal government's authority to regulate interstate and foreign trade.
The law was passed by the legislature and signed last month by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The Humane Society of the United States petitioned to intervene in the case on the state's side, and when the judge refused, the group appealed. The judge issued an order last week saying he is legally barred from ruling on the case while the appeal is pending.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune