Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Cavel International Inc., owner of the last U.S. slaughterhouse for horses, lost its challenge to an Illinois law banning horsemeat production for human consumption.

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago today ruled the Illinois Horse Meat Act doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution. Cavel has said if it lost the case, it will be forced to shut down.

``Even if no horses live longer as a result of the new law, a state is permitted, within reason, to express disgust at what people do with the dead, whether dead human beings or dead animals,'' U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner wrote for the court.

Cavel, based in DeKalb, Illinois, kills as many as 60,000 horses a year, according to the court's ruling. All of the meat it butchers is exported to other countries. The slaughterhouse company is owned by Velda Group NV, based in Zele, Belgium.

Belgium imports the most U.S. horse meat, with more than 5.5 million pounds (2.5 million kilograms) last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. France was second with 3.62 million pounds, followed by Russia at 2.72 million pounds.

The company's plant, which has operated for 20 years, generates $20 million in annual revenue and employs about 60 people, according to court documents.

Company attorney J. Philip Calabrese of Cleveland's Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, said he is disappointed at the ruling and is ``assessing our options.''

Cavel lost a lower court bid in July to delay enforcement of the Illinois law pending the outcome of the case. The appellate court ruling today dismissed the case entirely.

`Great Relief'

``The court has slammed the doors of the last horse slaughter plant in the country, to the great relief of the citizens of Illinois and horse advocates everywhere,'' Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for the Humane Society.

After the Illinois Legislature in May passed a law prohibiting horse slaughter in the state, Cavel filed a suit challenging whether the law violated international commerce rules. Texas, Arizona, California, Ohio and Oklahoma have bans on slaughtering horses or selling their meat.

Before the DeKalb facility, the last two U.S. plants for horse slaughtering in operation were closed in January after a Texas law banning the practice was upheld.

``The lone cowboy riding his horse on a Texas trail is a cinematic icon,'' Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Fortunato Benavides wrote. ``Not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse.''

The case is Cavel International v. Madigan, 07-2658, U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (Chicago.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris at the federal court in Chicago: aharris16@bloomberg.net or Tony C. Dreibus in Chicago at tdreibus@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 21, 2007 15:49 EDT