Eating equines sounds unsavory or inhumane to many Americans, but there is a market for horse meat here and abroad that is being threatened by Congress.

Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., has introduced legislation that could destroy the market for horse meat in the United States by prohibiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture from issuing inspections on horses intended for slaughter

"It's really a back-door route to ban horse slaughter,"said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.

Pomeroy voted against the legislation, which was tacked onto the House agriculture appropriations bill in June. The amendment passed 269-158.

The provision is not included in the Senate's version of the bill.

In a news release, Sweeney said the government should not support a practice Americans oppose.

"Since our nation was founded, we as a country have shared a special relationship with the horse," Sweeney said. "It is unconscionable that for decades, we have been using federal taxpayer dollars to support a practice that the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to. I'm pleased to see that my colleagues agree that this horrid, inhumane treatment must end."

Pomeroy said opponents of horse slaughter should propose legislation that provides an outright ban on slaughtering horses, instead of taking away funding for the inspection of slaughter horses.

"If someone wants to ban the slaughter of horses, let's have an up or down vote on it,"Pomeroy said.

According to Sweeney, nearly 65,000 horses are slaughtered in this country for human consumption overseas. Most of the meat is shipped to Europe and Asia.

The legislation could have a huge impact on horse owners in North Dakota.

Wayne Carlson, livestock program manager for the state Agriculture Department, said people can get $300 to $500 for a slaughter horse, depending on the size. Although statistics are not kept on the number of horses sold for slaughter in North Dakota, Carlson said there are about 50,000 live horses in the state.

"That adds up to a lot of money,"Carlson said.

Old horses are often sent to the livestock ring where they are sold for slaughter.

Kist Livestock in Mandan auctions horses once a month. A worker at Kist said about 200 to 250 horses are sold each month, but they don't keep track of how many are purchased for slaughter.

Horses designated for slaughter are sent to one of three plants in the United States - two in Texas and one in Illinois.

If people can no longer sell their horses for slaughter, Carlson said it would limit what they could do with an old horse. Euthanizing a horse and burying it might end up being the only option to many horse owners if Sweeney's provision also passes the Senate.

Wade Moser, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, said farmers are able to bury old horses on their own land, but people who have small plots of land close to cities might have to take their horses to a landfill.

Moser said the Stockmen's Association is tracking the legislation to see if it gains more support in the Senate than it has in the past.

Similar legislation has passed the House in previous years, but so far a ban on horse slaughter has not passed the Senate.

"I'm hoping it doesn't gain any more momentum, but anything's possible,"Moser said.

The Senate won't discuss the issue until sometime after Labor Day.

Once the bill is passed in both houses, a conference committee will work out the differences before each house gives it final approval.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@;bismarcktribune.com.)