DeKALB | When a concerned citizen says they are against Cavel International, a DeKalb horse slaughter facility, you might think they are taking a stance for animal rights.

For Sycamore resident Angela Valianos, the issue isn’t about the slaughter, but the by-product.

“It has to do with sanitation and wildlife,” Valianos said.

Valianos said some of Cavel’s horses contain pharmaceuticals not intended for human consumption.

Cavel ships its meat outside the country, but Valianos said there are consequences for DeKalb and surrounding areas, as well.

Valianos said if these products are getting into the Kishwaukee River or into the soil, it could cause drinking water to be contaminated and also hurt wildlife around the river.

“If it doesn’t affect DeKalb, it affects communities north of the [Kishwaukee River].”

These pharmaceuticals are not administered by Cavel, but Valianos said they could already be in the horses when purchased.

“These drugs are deadly to humans and wildlife,” Valianos said. “We’re trying to get the community more involved in finding the truth.”

Valianos said Cavel sells sludge to farmers to use on fields, which could contaminate crops.

“Their argument is bogus,” said Jim Tucker, general manager at Cavel. “[Valianos] makes the invalid assumption that our horses have pharmaceuticals.”

Tucker said Cavel doesn’t take horses with these pharmaceuticals and the very basis of Valianos’ claims is false.

Tucker said even if a horse has taken these medicines recently, “the horse metabolizes it.”

Tucker also said Cavel doesn’t sell sludge to farmers and does not dump waste into the Kishwaukee River.

“All of our waste is pretreated down to certain levels and then goes to the Sanitary District,” he said.

Mike Zima, manager of the DeKalb Sanitary District, doesn’t buy into Valianos’ accusations.

“The purveyors of this info are very emotional,” Zima said. “They have no proof these chemicals are doing what they say they are.”

The DeKalb Sanitary District handles waste-water treatment and Zima said there is no evidence in their bio-monitoring tests of acute toxicity.

“Their discharges are not pharmaceutical,” Zima said.

Zima said the fines Cavel has received have been for amounts of ammonia and biochemical oxygen demand being over the set limits, and can still be handled by their system.

“Crying wolf without facts is not beneficial to their cause,” Zima said.