SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (AP) -- The Illinois House has rejected a push to overturn the state's ban on slaughtering horses for meat.
Lawmakers approved the ban two years ago to shut down a slaughter house in DeKalb. But critics say it had the unintended consequence of increasing cruelty to horses.
They say that without an affordable way to dispose of unwanted horses, some owners are neglecting or even abandoning their animals. Other owners are sending horses to Mexico, where they may not be slaughtered in a humane way.
The legislation would have allowed horses to be slaughtered in Illinois so they could be sold as food overseas.
The measure was failing 50-67 Wednesday when the sponsor halted the vote.
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