Congress moves to ban horse slaughter for human consumption

What it does

This bill amends the 2018 Farm Bill to expand an existing prohibition on slaughtering dogs and cats for human consumption to also include horses (equines). Currently, U.S. law bans the slaughter of dogs and cats for food; this bill adds horses to that same ban, effectively ending the practice of processing horse meat for human consumption in the United States.

Why we flagged it

The bill straightforwardly extends an existing animal-welfare prohibition (dogs and cats) to a third species (horses). It is a narrow, transparent amendment with no hidden mechanisms or riders—exactly what its title says it does.

What the text implies

• The bill does not address the current fate of horses already in the U.S. slaughter pipeline or those exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter—it only prohibits domestic slaughter, leaving a potential loophole for export.
• No enforcement mechanism, funding, or penalty structure is specified in the bill text itself; those details would live in Section 12515 of the 2018 Farm Bill, which is not quoted here.
• The amendment affects a small but organized industry (horse slaughter facilities and related businesses); political opposition from that sector may emerge during committee review.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill restricts a commercial practice (horse slaughter for food) that most Americans oppose on animal-welfare grounds. It aligns U.S. law with broad public sentiment against the practice and closes a gap in existing animal-protection law. The restriction imposes minimal direct cost on ordinary citizens—horse meat is not a significant food source in the U.S. market—while advancing a widely held ethical position on animal treatment.

Named in the bill

House Committee on Agriculture, Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Section 12515

Where it stands

238 cosponsors: 199 Democrats, 39 Republicans.

• Feb 27, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 27, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

14 lobbying clients named this bill on 18 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $994,500 in lobbying spend. A filing names 5 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 94% of bills with at least one filing.

Vern Buchanan, the sponsor, reported $544,700 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — $462,000 on 3 filings
• Humane World Action Fund — $280,000 on 1 filing
• United States Trotting Association (usta) — $60,000 on 2 filings
• National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (hbpa) — $40,000 on 2 filings
• Animal Welfare Institute Fka Society for Animal Protective Legislation — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 23, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.