The Horse Protection Act (HPA) would be amended to include a ban on the transport, purchase, possession, or sale of horses for slaughter under new legislation introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives this week. Currently the HPA prohibits "soring," the deliberate injury of a horse’s feet and legs to achieve an exaggerated high-stepping gait.

Horse processing has not taken place in the U.S. since 2007 when the last processing facility operating the U.S. was shuttered. Since then, horses have been transported to Mexico and Canada for processing. Previous legislative attempts to ban the transport of horses to foreign processing plants have been unsuccessful.

The new legislation, H.R. 2966, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011, was introduced into the U.S. House on Sept. 19 by Representatives Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). If passed, H.R. 2966 would amend the HPA to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption and other purposes.

The bill would authorize the USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service officials to detain for examination, testing, or evidence gathering any horse or other equine if those officials have probable cause to believe the animal is intended for processing for human consumption