by Jeff Apel

A decision by the Supreme Court to decline an appeal by the last remaining horse slaughterhouse in the United States was praised by Gail Vacca, an Illinois-based Thoroughbred trainer who is the volunteer equine coordinator for the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C.

Without comment, the court declined to allow Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Illinois, to reopen. The plant closed in 2007 after a federal appeals court upheld an Illinois law banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

“We anticipated that the Supreme Court wouldn’t take the case,” Vacca said. “Nevertheless, it’s great news. We’re happy to put that part of the issue behind us.”

Two other slaughter plants that were previously located in Fort Worth and Kaufman, Texas, also closed in ’07.

Jeff Apel is a Thoroughbred Times assistant daily news editor