Archive
Horse slaughter plant to stay open

Aug 29, 2006

Kaufman agreed to a temporary injunction allowing the Dallas Crown horse slaughter plant to remain open until at least February. The plant was to have closed Sept. 30.

Dallas Crown and its sister company Waldo are suing the city over attempts to close the plant. Dist. Judge Michael Chitty has scheduled the suit for trial beginning Jan. 29. According to the agreement between the city and Dallas Crown, the city will wait on Judge Chitty’s decision rather than continuing plans to close the plant.

“It’s not white flag or giving anything up,” said Kaufman City Attorney David Dodd III. The agreement was based on case law and is common in such cases, he said.

A hearing on a request for a temporary injunction against the city had been scheduled for Aug. 29, but was cancelled by an Aug. 21 order.

Robert Eldridge, who lives next door to the plant and has been a leader in trying to get it closed, said he learned that the hearing had been cancelled from a court bailiff. He learned of the agreement when a reporter called for comment.

“Definitely I’m disappointed,” he said, adding that he didn’t think the people near the plant could get justice.

National interest in the case has been growing because of the Kaufman hearing and debate on federal legislation that would ban horse slaughter planned for Sept. 7.

ABC’s Nightline has talked to him, Mr. Eldridge said. The Associated Press also called for an interview and local television stations were making plans to cover the Tuesday hearing, Mr. Eldridge said Monday.

Mr. Dodd said the Tuesday hearing was not as important as many had thought.

“It wasn’t the beall, endall. It wasn’t the trial,” Mr. Dodd said.

Both sides have filed for a summary judgement and a hearing on those motions is likely in October or November, but no date has been set.

Dallas Crown is one of three plants in the U.S. that slaughters horses for human consumption. The meat is shipped to Europe where it is widely sold.

Nationally, the humane society and other animal rights groups have pushed for a ban on the slaughter. Last month, billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens testified in favor of the bill that would outlaw the practice.

But groups representing some horse owner groups and veterinarians argue that the companies perform a valuable service by providing a humane way to do away with horses that are ill or unwanted.

They argue that many of the 70,000 horses a year now killed for meat will be allowed to die of neglect unless there is a legitimate way for owners to dispose of them.

Kaufman has been trying to close the plant for years saying it is a public nuisance and serious source of pollution. The city’s zoning board in March ordered that the plant close by the end of September, prompting the company to file the suit.


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