Issue of Horse Slaughter

The subject of horse slaughter in the United States is an emotional one to say the least, but one doesn’t generally think of the USDA as running by its emotions. So why would the USDA suddenly decide to abandon a neutral stance on horse slaughter in the U.S by asking Congress to withhold funds for paying inspectors at horse processing plants? For those unclear on the matter, horse slaughter is legal in all but a few of the fifty United States. The issue of whether it should be legal has bounced around for nearly two decades. The HSUS has ridden this subject hard, playing on the fondness Americans have for horses mainly from seeing them on the big screen. There are several groups who are in favor of allowing horse slaughter in the U.S. They would rather see unwanted feral horses die humanely than starve to death. Even the HSUS says that euthanasia is acceptable when it comes to controlling the unwanted horse population, they just don’t want anyone to eat or sell the meat. There is a market for horse meat in other parts of the world. What do you think? Should the U.S. continue to allow horse slaughtering, which creates jobs, humanely reduces feral horse herds, and supplies a food source?