Horsemeat processing plants in Texas and Illinois have petitioned the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to change the current federal inspector payment system to a fee-for-service system, by which the plants would pay for their own inspectors, according to Steven Cohen, a USDA spokesperson. The petition, sent on Nov. 23, 2005, was in response to the passage of the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations bill (section 794), which prohibits using federal funding to pay for inspection of horses for slaughter after March 10, 2006.

Jim Bradshaw, a lobbyist representing Dallas Crown Inc. in Kaufman and Beltex Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas, told The Star-Telegram online, “We are fighting to save our business–that’s natural.” According to The Star-Telegram article, the Texas-based plants take in $41 million per year, have combined payrolls of $11 million, and pump about $6 million into the Dallas/ Forth Worth Airport air freight industry. Additionally, the Illinois-based Cavel International spends about $1.5 million transporting livestock and another $8 million purchasing livestock.

The three American-based plants are fighting to keep their business operating by using a possible loophole in the legislation to circumvent the lack of federal funding for inspectors. The plants already have a fee-for-services system in place for several other species of animals being processed. “The current fee-for-service agreement was set up for animals that are not covered by the act, but it also set fee schedules for paying inspectors for overtime and holidays,” Cohen said.

However, the petition is unsettling to many of the legislation’s advocates. “The petition from the slaughter houses requested that the public comment period be suspended, saying that it would be in the public’s interest,” said Nancy Perry, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. “I don’t see how that is in the public’s best interest. However, we are anticipating that the USDA will provide some type of public session. I believe that the amendment will go forward as intended on March 10