Two bills aimed at repealing Oklahoma’s ban on horse processing in the state are a step closer to becoming law after passing through their respective legislative houses by substantial margins.

Oklahoma iscurrently one of four states where state statute forbids horse slaughter for human consumption. California, Illinois, and Texas have similar legislative prohibitions.

Horse processing has not taken place in the U. S. since 2007 when a combination of legislation and court decisions shuttered the last remaining horse processing plants in Illinois and Texas.

Commercial U.S. horse slaughter became possible again in 2012 when Congress passed legislation that did not specifically deny the U.S. Department of Agriculture the funding to carry out inspections at domestic horses processing plants