Judge lets Cavel stay open while he mulls issue

ROCKFORD - DeKalb horse slaughterhouse Cavel International was granted another reprieve Thursday when a federal judge extended a temporary restraining order that allows the plant to slaughter horses for two more weeks. U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala extended the order, initially issued June 1, to June 28. The order allows the plant to remain in operation while he considers Cavel's motion to nullify a new state law banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption and banning the possession, import or export of the meat for human consumption. Cavel General Manager Jim Tucker estimated that less than 1 percent of the meat packaged by Cavel remains in the United States, where it is sold to zoos, while the rest is shipped to Europe, w