Oklahoma lifts 50-year-old ban on horse slaughter for meat

Apr 01, 2013

Oklahoma governor signs bill to allow horses to be slaughtered for meat in the state

Despite opposition by animal activists, Oklahoma’s Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill on Friday that will allow facilities to process and export horse meat.

The move marks a 50-year-old ban on horse slaughter in Oklahoma. Instead of shipping horses destined for slaughter out of the country to places like Mexico and Canada, which is often argued to be a humane alternative for aging or starving horses, facilities will now be allowed to operate within the state.

The legislation received bipartisan support in both the state House and Senate and was backed by agricultural groups including the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and American Farmers.

Opponents to the bill including the Humane Society of the United States were disappointed that the bill passed. The group also notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has recently received an application for horse slaughter inspection permits from a meat processing company in Washington, Oklahoma.

The new law is set to take effect Nov. 1, 2013.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.