A Florida man has been charged with animal cruelty in connection with operations at a farm in Lee County that allegedly supplies horsemeat. Meanwhile. the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is reviewing activities at the Fort Myers farm.

The FSIS inspects meat products for safety before they can be sold. A provision in the federal budget forbids the USDA from using any to fund horsemeat inspections, thereby preventing U.S. horse processing plant development.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office records indicate that, on April 16, the office’s Agricultural Crimes Unit responded to a report about livestock being kept at four Fort Myers locations without food or water access. Investigators found several hog pens, including one containing an animal with an apparently broken leg, with no water and little food.

In a written statement, Richard Cuoto, founder of the Animal Rescue Mission (ARM), said an ARM investigation revealed the farm’s animals—including horses—are kept in inhumane conditions before they are inhumanely butchered. He also alleges that some are sold for illegal animal fighting

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