Animal Abuse: Horse Slaughtering

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

13 Mar 2007 05:46 PM

Although horse meat is not eaten in the United States, nearly a hundred thousand horses are slaughtered here annually for human consumption. After death, the flesh is processed and sent overseas to parts of Europe and Asia where horse meat is desirable.

Horses of all ages and breeds may find themselves on the auction block and headed to the slaughter house, including:

• Unsuccessful race horses
• Sick or lame horses
• Surplus horses from riding schools and camps
• Mares who are not producing "valuable" foals
• Foals born as a result of the Pregnant Mare Urine industry, which produces the estrogen-replacement drug known as Premarin
• Ponies, mules, and donkeys

Only three plants in the United States handle all those horses. Unfortunately, the journey of a horse from auction to slaughter is not a pleasant one. Horses bound for slaughter are often shipped long distances without food or water. The mode of transportation is usually a double-deck truck intended for much shorter animals, like cows and pigs; the horses often don't have room to hold their heads up. The floors of these trucks are often slippery, and a fallen horse can be trampled to death by the other horses.

The slaughterhouse itself is no better. Federal law requires that the animals be unconscious before slaughter; for horses, that is done with a captive bolt gun that stuns the horse with a metal bolt shot into the brain. If the shot is not done correctly, the horse is conscious and aware when it is hoisted and killed.

A handful of states -- California, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia -- have laws intended to prevent some of these abuses. However, enforcement is spotty at best. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was given the power to set regulations for the commercial transport of horses for slaughter, but the deadly double-deck trailers are still permitted until the end of this year. Under the USDA regulations, horses may also be transported for 28 hours without food, water, or rest and the transport companies themselves are allowed to certify the care given. There isn't much in the way of outside supervision.

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