Horse meat set to be banned in Italy amid draft equine bill

"Italy could soon be set to ban horse meat as part of a law that would define equine animals including horses, donkeys and mules as pets, therefore making it illegal to kill them. The bill has been drafted by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, a politician with Noi Moderati, a member of Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalition, and is backed by opposition parties. If approved, it would impose jail terms of up to three years and fines of up to 100,000 (87,000) for the slaughter of equines."

"We're in the 21st century and yet equines continue to be exploited in a wide variety of ways, said Brambilla, who is also president of Leidaa, an animal rights association. Horses in particular while in the Anglo-Saxon world, eating horse meat is almost inconceivable, in our country the species is literally exploited to the bone. But friends are not to be eaten."

"But not everyone is convinced. Gian Marco Centinaio, a former agriculture minister and politician with the far-right League, a fellow ruling coalition member, said banning the consumption of equine meat would mean erasing a piece of the history of Italian cuisine, which in December was inscribed on Unesco's intangible cultural heritage list, and also the identity of some regions from the horse meat stews of Verona and Salento to the meatballs of Catania."

A proposed Italian law would classify equine animals — horses, donkeys and mules — as companion animals, criminalizing their slaughter and sale for meat. The draft mandates microchipping, a national monitoring system, and a 6m fund to help breeders adapt their businesses. If approved, penalties would include up to three years imprisonment and fines up to €100,000. The bill is drafted by Michela Vittoria Brambilla and has cross-party backing. Horse meat consumption has declined but remains regionally important in Italy, and some politicians warn the measure would erase culinary heritage and regional identities.

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