Anyone who slaughters a horse and sells its meat for human consumption in Florida now faces criminal felony charges under a new measure signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist on May 14.

HB 765 prohibits the mutilation or killing of any horse, and forbids the transport, distribution, sale, and purchase of horsemeat for human consumption. Violators face felony mandatory minimum penalties of $3,500 in fines and one year in prison, and maximum penalties of five years in prison and $5,000 in fines for each offense.

The new law responds directly to a series of horse poaching incidents in south Florida, where the butchered remains of more than 22 horses were discovered in Miami-Dade and Broward counties last year. Criminal cases connected to those incidents remain pending.

Jeannette Jordan, president of the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the new law sets Florida apart from other states that are eager to embrace the horse processing industry