In Japan, they enjoy it raw and sometimes mix it with ice cream; in Italy, they like it with stew; in Belgium they eat it as a steak. Although it is considered taboo to eat horsemeat in the U.S., 100,000 horses were slaughtered for that very purpose in 2006.

Until recently, horses were slaughtered in the U.S. for human consumption overseas. The meat went to countries such as Japan, China and France, where consumers paid a premium price -- $15 to $25 per pound -- for the delicacy, which is considered an alternative to beef.

However, on March 28, a district court judge ruled that the slaughter of horses in the U.S. violates federal law and the ruling effectively shut down the last horse slaughter plant still operating, located in Illinois. In January, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was reintroduced in both the House and Senate.

Jacob Werner, attending veterinarian for agricultural animals and wildlife at Penn State, said a ban on horse slaughter would impact the way Pennsylvania horse owners can humanely get rid of their horses when they no longer have a use for them.

One option for horse owners is to have a vet euthanize the animal, but this can be costly, he added.

"If people can't afford to euthanize their animals, then what are they going to do with them and how are they going to care for them?" Werner questioned.

At Penn State, some who work with horses believe horse slaughter is necessary.

Ed Jedrzejewski, horse barn manager at Penn State, said he doesn't see the difference between slaughtering a horse for meat and slaughtering a cow for the same purpose. He also questioned what would happen to the unwanted horses.

"You could just put them down like dogs and cats," he said. "But it seems a shame to put them down when another country could use their meat."

Jess Rivera (senior-animal bioscience) said she believes abuse and neglect could increase if a ban was enacted.

"There are those people that if they have too many horses and they can't send them to slaughter. They'll just let them starve," she said.

Margi White (senior-animal science) said she supports horse slaughter "within reason."

"What are they going to do with the horses no one wants?" she asked. "I would save them all if I could, but you have to be realistic."

Horse organizations such as the American Quarter Horse Association do not support the ban, but this does not mean that they are pro-slaughter.

"AQHA does not favor slaughter as a way to deal with America's unwanted horses," Tom Persechino, senior director of marketing at AQHA said.

"A ban on slaughter really does nothing to address the bigger issue of unwanted or unneeded horses and in the long run, will actually create a larger problem," Persechino said.

AQHA believes that a ban on horse slaughter will only increase the amount of horse neglect and abuse, which has already started to occur, Persechino said

Christopher Heyde, deputy legislative director of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL), argued that abuse will not increase.

"It didn't happen in California when they banned horse slaughter in 1998," he said. "They have the second-largest horse population in the country and there was no increase in abuse of horses."

John Holland, a freelance writer on horse advocacy issues, conducted a statistical study that analyzed data from Illinois during the two years its plant was closed after a fire occurred in 2002.

The study found that there was no relationship between horse slaughter and the number of abuse and neglect cases. In fact, in 2003, when the plant was closed, there was a decrease in abuse, Holland said.

"It clearly has to do more with weather or economic conditions," Holland said.