For the first time in six years, Congress has opened the doors to restarting horse slaughter in the US. The bill to fund the US Department of Agriculture for the rest of FY 2012 was stripped of language prohibiting USDA inspections of plants that slaughter horses for human consumption. As a result, in this time of runaway deficits and cutbacks in essential programs, and against overwhelming objections from the public, Congress has given the USDA the green light to resurrect an expensive and unnecessary program if foreign interests again decide to start killing American horses on American soil to satisfy foreign appetites. This development underscores the urgency of passing the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 2966/S. 1176).