Horse slaughter moratorium weakened

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2005:

U.S. President George W. Bush on November 4, 2005 endorsed
into law an eight-month suspension of federal funding for inspecting
horse slaughterhouses, included as a rider to a USDA appropriation
bill. As originally passed by both the U.S. Senate and the House of
Representatives, the moratorium was to start immediately, having
the effect of suspending horse slaughter for human consumption, and
was to run for a year, but House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Agriculture chair Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) won a 120-day delay of
implementation in conference committee. “Bonilla managed to sneak in
confusing language that may allow horse slaughterhouses to hire their
own meat inspectors and continue their operations,” added Gannett
News Service correspondent John Hanchette.