Sen. Sharp votes against horse slaughter legislation

OKLAHOMA CITY – History repeated itself Tuesday when Sen. Ron Sharp found himself voting on House Bill 1999 dealing with the issue of horse slaughter – an issue his father, H.K. Sharp, dealt with in the early 1960s working at the State Department of Agriculture.  The bill would allow for the slaughter of horses in Oklahoma, but not for human consumption within the state.  Even with the Shawnee Republican’s “no” vote, the measure still passed 32-14.

“It’s interesting that when my father worked for the State Department of Ag fifty years ago, this was a highly controversial issue and now it’s come back around,” said Sharp.  “The people of Senate District 17 made themselves clear on this issue.  They are vehemently opposed to the slaughter of horses and their voice was heard in the Senate today loud and clear.”

Sharp noted that in 1962 two fast food restaurants were closed for selling horse meat in hamburgers.  The story made front page news across the state leading the State Legislature to enact the Meat Inspection Act in 1963 to ban the sale of horse meat and begin more thoroughly inspecting beef sold in the state.