Lawmakers in Wyoming have filed a House Joint Resolution that aims to legalize slaughtering wild horses to sell their meat to markets outside of the United States.
Wyoming’s new house joint resolution titled “Wild Horses and Burros-best Management Practices” looks to amend the “Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971” which essentially gives wild horses the right to roam freely in the United States without being harmed.
HJ0003 begins by requesting The United States Congress to enact legislation and make other necessary policy changes to allow federal land management agencies and agency partners to implement best management practices for wild horses and burros by allowing for equine slaughter and processing for shipment to accommodating markets inside or outside the United States.”
Here’s an excerpt of the new bill:
The bill was sponsored by Rep. John Winter, Dalton Banks, Robert Davis, Chip Neiman, Albert Sommors, Sen. Ogden Driskill and Sen. Dan Laursen.
The Powell Tribune reported Rep. Winter’s motive to pass the bill is because there “are too many horses” and it’s “affecting sage grouse and other wildlife.”
Winter relays that wild horses are currently costing tax payers over $77 million dollars a year.
Although Winter has high hopes for the bill, Jim Magagna, the current executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, believes the bill will fizzle out in Congress.
Horse meat hasn’t been sold in the United States legally since 2007 but there have been reports of it being sold on the black market.
Horse meat consumption is legal in several countries including Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Indonesia, China.