JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri senators have voiced their support for the renewal of horse slaughtering in the United States.

Rural senators say old horses can make good meat for animals and are considered delicacies by some people in other countries.

Since the last of the U.S. slaughterhouses closed in 2007, thousands of horses have been trucked to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. Legislation in Congress would prohibit the export of horses for slaughter.

Missouri senators passed a resolution today encouraging the federal government to offer incentives for horse slaughtering plants to open in the United States. They say it’s cruel to force old horses to wait for a natural death.