HP0913, LD 1286, item 2, ‘An Act To Protect Maine Communities by Prohibiting Horse Slaughter for Sale or Barter for Human Consumption and by Prohibiting the Transport of Horses for Slaughter’

Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:

‘An Act To Protect Maine Communities by Prohibiting Horse Slaughter for Sale or Barter for Human Consumption and by Prohibiting the Transport of Horses for Slaughter’

Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:

‘Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §3967 is enacted to read:

§ 3967. Equine slaughter for sale or barter prohibited for human consumption

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

A. "Horse" includes all members of the genus Equus, including horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, asses and burros.

B. "Horseflesh" or "horsemeat" means the flesh of a dead horse and includes the animal's viscera, skin, hair, hide, hooves and bones.

C. "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association or other legal entity.

2. Prohibition against horse slaughter for sale or barter. A person may not slaughter a horse to sell, barter or offer for sale or barter, at wholesale or retail, for human consumption.

3. Prohibition against transport of a horse for slaughter. A person may not knowingly transport a horse for the purpose of slaughter for human consumption and may not knowingly transport horsemeat, or any product made in whole or in part from horsemeat, for human consumption.

4. Prohibition against construction or operation of horse slaughtering facilities. A person may not knowingly construct a facility if that facility will be used, or operate a facility if that facility is used, to slaughter horses for human consumption.

5. Penalty. A person who violates this section commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000 may be adjudged for each horse slaughtered for sale or for barter or transported for the purpose of slaughter for human consumption or for each horse carcass or horsemeat product transported, sold or bartered or offered for sale or barter.

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §2511, sub-§25, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 771, §1, is amended to read:

25. Livestock. "Livestock" means cattle, domesticated deer, sheep, swine, goats, domestic rabbits , horses, mules, other equines or other designated animals, whether live or dead.

Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §2511, sub-§27, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 771, §1, is amended to read:

27. Meat. "Meat" means the part of the muscle of cattle, domesticated deer, sheep, swine, goats , horses, mules, other equines or other designated animals that is skeletal or that is found in the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus, with or without the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve and blood vessels that normally accompany the muscle tissue but does not include the muscle found in the lips, snout or ears.

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §2523, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 777, §1, is amended to read:

3. Plainly identified. In intrastate commerce, a person may not sell, transport, offer for sale or transportation or receive for transportation any carcass of horses, mules or other equines or parts of these carcasses, or the meat or meat food products of these carcasses , unless they are plainly and conspicuously marked or labeled or otherwise identified as required by rules established by the commissioner to show the kinds of animals from which they were derived.’

SUMMARY

This amendment is the minority report. It amends the title and strikes and replaces the bill. The amendment prohibits the slaughter of horses for sale or barter for human consumption. It also prohibits the sale or barter of any product made in whole or in part from the flesh of a horse if a person knows or should reasonably have known that the flesh or the product made of the flesh was from a horse. The amendment also bans the transport of horses for the purposes of slaughter for human consumption and bans the construction or operation of horse slaughtering facilities. Violations of these prohibitions are civil violations for which a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000 may be adjudged for each violation.

FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED

(See attached)

HP0913 LD 1286	Session - 126th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number H-376, Sponsored by		LR 984 Item 2
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