A bill to allow a horse processing plant in Montana faces just one more step before it becomes law: the signature of Montana governor Brian Schweitzer. Players on both sides of the horse slaughter debate are stepping up the pressure on Gov. Schweitzer, who has not announced an official position on HB 418. Bill & Jann Parkers' letter to QHN readers

“We will review the bill when it gets to our office, and that’s where we’re at,” said Schweitzer’s spokesperson Sarah Elliott.

The bill marched quickly through Montana’s legislative process, easily clearing the House of Representatives by a 66 to 33 vote. The margin in last week’s Senate vote was closer: 27 to 23. The Senate hearings were marked by a storm of public testimony on both sides of the measure.

“I’ve had some really great horses – part of the family,” said Montana Rep. Ed Butcher, the bill’s chief sponsor, in testimony before the Senate committee. “And when the time comes, you have to dispose of them.”

Butcher said he introduced the bill as a realistic solution to the growing unwanted horse problem and faltering economy in Montana.

“We have to provide options for these owners, and that’s the bottom line. We have to have humane ways of taking care of these animals,” Butcher said.

HB418 allows private horse-slaughtering plants to be built in Montana and offers some protection from attempts to challenge a plant’s progress. The measure says, once a plant is licensed by the state, a court may not delay construction. The bill also requires anyone challenging a plant's permit to post a bond worth 20 percent of the construction costs.

Political observers say the bill progressed because of strong support from Montana voters, which overwhelmed expensive lobbying efforts by animal-rights groups who oppose horse slaughter. 

“I want to emphasize that during the past two weeks, the Humane Society, PETA, and other animal rights groups have hired a powerful lobbyist and are pouring money into Montana in an effort to defeat this bill,” said State Representative Sue Wallis, a legislator from Montana’s neighboring state of Wyoming. Wallis, who testified before Montana’s Senate on behalf of the bill, urges people both inside and outside Montana’s borders to contact Gov. Schweitzer’s office and urge him to sign HB 418 in its current form.

“The Animal Rights lobby is currently putting a lot of pressure on the Governor not to sign the bill and our only hope is for the Montana folks to step up once again, ask Governor Schweitzer to sign HB 418, and make the final push to get this bill into law,” Wallis said.

Democratic Governor Schweitzer was elected in 2005, and has enjoyed strong public support, with gubernatorial approval polls routinely coming in at approximately 70 percent in his favor. In 2000, Schweitzer ran for U.S.
Senate against Republican then-incumbent Conrad Burns, losing by a margin of 51 to 47 percent. Burns, who no longer holds elected office, is a leading political advocate of restoring horse processing to the United States.