NM Attorney General: Meat’s pedigree would have to be proven before slaughter
KOAT, Channel 7, Albuquerque, New Mexico reports:
- ROSWELL, N.M. —The attorney general’s office said there is another hurdle that could stand in the way of horse slaughter plans in Roswell.
Horse meat, fitting the legal definition of an adulterated food product, may not be manufactured, sold or delivered anywhere in New Mexico regardless of where the food is ultimately consumed, said the state’s Attorney General Gary King.
Sometimes it is difficult to know the pedigree of horses, he said, citing the Federal Food and Drug Administration, and chemically tainted meat is unfit for consumption.
A number of horses are treated with chemicals in horse racing, for example.
King said if the Roswell plant cannot prove meat has not been tainted with chemicals then that meat would be illegal under New Mexico law, adding the slaughter plant would have to prove the pedigree of the meat before a horse could be slaughtered for consumption. (emphasis added)
Failure to comply with the New Mexico food act can result in criminal charges, fines and or seizure of the food product.
It would be up to the Environmental Improvement Board and the Livestock Board to assist in enforcing this law, he said.
WE SAY
This is good in that the burden of proof is on horse slaughter plant operators. From what we are told, when arrested for violations, plant operators telling authorities that horse owners or traders have lied and submitted forged, illegal or faulty documents concerning a horse’s medical history will not be accepted as mitigating circumstances. In other words, authorities will not accept incorrect documentation as an excuse.
We know that killer buyers dump tens of thousands of horses across U.S. borders for slaughter with absent and forged documentation constantly, and are not prosecuted by Canada or Mexico, or the horses in almost every single instance not turned away. Every random testing of horse meat we have seen reported have contained some toxic residues dangerous for human consumption.
Tuesday's Horse 
It is virtually impossible to implement a full proof method of determining whether a horse is drug/disease free or not prior to slaughter. Since my extensive experience is with racehorses, I can tell you, that vet medical records have never been released or can be easily forged. Moreover, those records don’t necessarily match the actually horse being slaughtered. Further, the goal of the slaughterhouse is to improve profits, not ensure that the horse is drug or disease free. In Canada, it has been repeatedly found and proven that the system is entirely flawed from the minute a horse is picked-up, to the kill pen, and eventually the slaughterhouse. That said, anybody who makes a conscious choice to eat horse meat deserves what they get whether a drug ladden or diseased piece of meat. Unfortunately, the racehorse doesn’t get a choice since most are dumped when they are no longer profitable. This is business as usual in a multi-million dollar industry who contributes little or nothing to thoroughbred aftercare.
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I sure hope that when he says the horse’s medical history has to be proven, that they stay tough with that and confirm references to owners. It would be very interesting if NM became the battle ground for the passport system As we know, Canada has recenly stubbed its toe on passing drugged horses into the system and we don’t even have to prove Mexico has. EU did that work for us as did the Italians.
We have to insist that the paperwork be proven,. not simply that it is compiled.
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