Horses as livestock bill has whinnying day in House committee
A horse as livestock bill carried by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, was sent to the House floor today (March 2) after a hearing in the House Agriculture, Rural Economics and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Although several heavy horse puns accented the hearing — Emmer quipped about those opposing the bill voting “neigh” — horse breeder David Dayon of St. Michael, who keeps some 35 to 40 horses, argued the legislation was important as it legitmized the industry.
True, he argued, a person might drive past a horse farm and not even see a horse as the animals for various reasons are often kept inside.
But horses are the third most common stock after cattle and pigs kept in the state, he said. There maybe as many as a quarter of a million, he opined.
Others thought the livestock definition was important.
Greg Johnson of Sherburne County, engaged in the horse industry, spoke of federal implications of the definition — that the industry is big business and the U.S.D.A. ought to be involved in monitoring it.
But some committee members were uncomfortable with langague in the bill dealing with horse hides and horse meat.
Bill advocates argued the langauge had nothing to do with slaughtering horses — one state official testified that no such operation existed in Minnesota — but it had implications for getting a renderer to come and pick up horse carcasses.
The langauge was removed.
Emmer first became interested in carrying the bill after reading a comment from a state tax official styling horses as pets.
Several committee members wondered aloud what the tax implications and other implications of the bill might be, but the committee passed the amended bill and sent it to the floor.
