Posted on 07/20/2007 7:02:37 AM PDT by metalmanx2j
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Cavel International can resume slaughtering horses in it's DeKalb facility while it awaits a final decision on its appeal of a state law forbidding the practice.
Cavel attorney J. Philip Calabrese said an injunction was granted Wednesday that allows Belgium-based Cavel, which has been shuttered since June 28, to operate while the appeal is being heard.
“It allows Cavel to operate pending resolution of the appeal,” he said. “I imagine it's going to take a little bit of time to get everything together, but they'll reopen shortly.”
The plant “will be operating soon,” Cavel Manager Jim Tucker said Thursday.
Cavel's courtroom saga began May 25, when it challenged a new state law forbidding the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
The last remaining horse slaughterhouse in the country, Cavel ships most of the meat overseas to diners in Asia and western Europe, though a small portion is sold to U.S. zoos.
The company was granted two temporary restraining orders that allowed it to keep operating while the case was being heard in federal court, the last of which expired on June 28.
On July 5, U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala ruled that Cavel had failed to show the law was unconstitutional.
Cavel appealed the decision last Friday. No court dates had been set in the appeal as of Thursday morning, Calabrese said.
Dana Herra can be reached at dherra@daily-chronicle.com.
Yum! Horseburger is delicious!
I hear you can get a real kick out of it.
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