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There are currently three operating horse slaughter facilities in the United States, two
are in Texas, the other is in Illinois.
Dallas Crown, Inc
2000 West Fair
P.O. Box 467
Kaufman, TX 75142
972-932-3436
972-932-3062 (fax)
Manager:Geert Dewulf
Horse Inspector:Randy Williams
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Beltex Corporation
3801 N. Grove St.
Fort Worth, TX 76106
817-624-1136
817-624-4594 (fax)
President:Eric Nauwelaers
Horse Inspector:Ronnie Ober
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Cavel International, Inc.
International Meat Exporters
108 Harvestore Dr.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-756-8051
Owner:Luc Van Damme (Belgian)
Plant Manager:Jim Tucker
(re-opened 7 June 2004)
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Dallas Crown Packaging is Belgian owned in Kaufman, TX and slaughters horses for
Belgium, Italy, Japan, and France. Bel-Tex Corporation is a French owned horse
slaughterhouse at 3801 N. Grove Street, Ft. Worth, Texas 76106. They export
horsemeat to France and other European countries.
It is a dirty secret of the horse industry that these two equine
slaughterhouses are operating in Texas - the Beltex "Plant" and the
Dallas Crown "Plant." A third plant, Cavel, in DeKalb, Illinois recently
reopened.
Many people think that the only horses that make this journey are
those that are too old, too injured, or too sick to be useful to
their owners or to anyone else except as dog food or as glue. This
is not the purpose of these plants. Their purpose is to supply horsemeat
to diners in other countries. Horsemeat is a delicacy in France, Belgium,
and Japan, and tens of thousands of young, healthy American horses a year
are brutally slain to supply this for them.
The horses supplied to these facilities may be stolen (as occurred to
a horse that belonged to a Texas Representative). They may have been
a family pet that was purchased at auction. Killer buyers frequently
misrepresent the sale of a horse by telling the sellers they are "buying
their horse for a child" and "it's going to a good home". (Texas State
Representative Charlie Howard (R-Sugarland) learned that his stolen horses
ended up at a Texas slaughter plant. He said this on the floor of the
Texas House of Representatives on April 23, 2003 during the debate over
Bloody Betty Brown's HB 1324 to legalize the two Texas horse slaughter
plants.)
Stolen Horse Slaughtered
BelTex Killer Buyer List
All of the horses are terrified and afraid as they wait for their turn
to be forced into the killing pen.
Under federal law, horses are required to be rendered unconscious prior to slaughter,
usually with a device called a captive bolt gun, which shoots a metal rod into the horse's
brain. Some horses, however, are improperly stunned and may still be conscious when they
are hoisted by a rear leg to have their throats cut. In addition, conditions in the
slaughterhouse are stressful and frightening for horses.
Please contact your Congressional representatives in the House and
Senate to urge them to vote for HR 503, which will prohibit the
slaughter of horses for human consumption and stop the trade and
transport of horseflesh and live horses intended for human
consumption.
Click here for update on Cavel re-opening
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