Several provisions that impact the horse industry, including maintaining a ban on horse slaughter, were included in the omnibus appropriations bill passed by Congress Dec. 13.

The bill is a package that includes parts of the fiscal year 2015 appropriations bills and will fund most government agencies and programs until the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, 2015.

The legislation includes language that prohibits the USDA from using any funds to provide inspectors at meat processing facilities that slaughter horses, continuing a block that has been in effect since 2005, except for a brief period in 2012-13.

No horse slaughter facilities are operating in the United States, and the bill would effectively prevent any such facility from opening until Sept. 30, 2015