The $1.1 trillion spending bill passed by Congress on Dec. 15 and signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 17 includes language that maintains the ban on horse slaughter in the United States. 

The legislation prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from using funds for inspections at equine processing plants, and it means no new slaughterhouses can open before Sept. 15, 2015.

The previous ban was lifted for a short period of time at the end of 2013 before the FY 2014 spending bill again banned slaughterhouses. No horse processing plants have operated in the United States since 2006. 

This news comes shortly after the European Union council announced the countries are suspending imports on horsemeat that originates in Mexico.