ROCKVILLE, Mo. — Proponents of horse slaughtering, led by a Wyoming legislator, say they plan to retrofit a shuttered beef packing plant in the tiny Missouri town of Rockville, about 100 miles south of Kansas City.

It will be the second time this year the group is pushing to open a horse slaughtering plant in Missouri; residents of Mountain Grove and local leaders stopped the group’s initial plans to open one there. Under the name Unified Equine Missouri, the group hopes to be the first to open a horse processing plant since Congress last year lifted a USDA funding ban on horse plant inspections.

The ban was lifted in large part because reports of abuse and neglect of aging horses skyrocketed since the funding ban was put in place about five years ago. Horses still are being slaughtered in Mexico and Canada, with meat largely shipped to Asian and European markets. Japan and France are big consumers of horsemeat.

Proponents pushed for the ban in the first place principally because of the horse’s iconic standing in the United States, and by arguing it was inhumane to process horses for food.

Sue Wallis, a Republican Wyoming state representative and the head of Unified Equine, said the group is in the process of renovating a beef packing plant on the edge of the town with 150 residents. They hope to open the plant by the end of summer and employ about 50 people.

“We are excited to be bringing jobs and opportunity to rural Missouri,” she said in a prepared statement. “And (we’re) even happier to provide a humane and viable option to the horse industry, decimated by misguided efforts to end humane horse slaughter.”

The group originally eyed the south-central Missouri town of Mountain Grove, and the attorney there who led the opposition effort said she will push hard to keep the Rockville plant from opening.

“(Wallis) thinks it’s a done deal – it’s not,” said attorney Cynthia McPherson. “We’re going to do what we can do to stop her. But we’ll need the town’s help.”

The only pending application with the USDA for a slaughterhouse is in New Mexico, but Wallis and United Horsemen’s Front founder Dave Duquette said they could see several opening throughout the United States. Wallis also wants to open one in Oklahoma.

“We believe this is a win-win-win for both horses and people,” Wallis said.

“By ensuring every horse has value, we ensure they are handled appropriately at every stage, that they are used for good purposes that contribute to the overall economy, that owners have the option of selling a horse they no longer want or need for a good price and that as many as 50 good jobs that were lost almost a year ago are restored to a deserving rural community,” she added.

Opponents say they will fight to prevent any slaughterhouse from opening. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said his group plans to sue the USDA to prevent a plant’s opening, citing waste management concerns.

“It’s ultimately a value question on how we value horses in the United States,” Pacelle said. “Last thing we’re going to do is set up a commercial operation and sell the meat of dogs and cats in other countries. It’s unthinkable.”