"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who,
in times of moral crisis, remain neutral"
- Dante
Horse Slaughter Facts
What's the truth?
Get the myths and the facts about
horse slaughter and continue to educate yourself. The more you know
the better, just remember to stick with the facts.
1. Myth:
Disposition of Affected Horses. Should the American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act pass, approximately 70,000 horses per year
will need to find an alternative home or be euthanized and disposed
of properly.
2. Myth:Cost Related to
care of Unwanted Horses. This bill
does not address financial support for horses that are voluntarily
given up by their owners to horse rescue facilities.
Fact: Horse Rescue Facilities work on private
donations and do not require financial support by the government to
operate.
3.
Myth: Animal Welfare. The American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act does not address the welfare of horses that will no
longer be slaughtered. Unwanted horses might be donated to rescue
and retirement facilities, but currently no standards or regulations
exist to ensure that horses living in these facilities will be cared
for appropriately.
Fact: General welfare is addressed by state laws.
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act will up the standards
for welfare of horses as it bans one of the most brutal kill
methods: slaughter-transport and slaughter.
Horses will definitely be cared for better at a rescue than at
the unregulated slaughter feedlots in Montana, Texas and throughout
the country. Most rescue facilities operate under the "Basic
Guidelines for Operating an Equine Rescue or Retirement Facility." A
publication by Doris Day Animal League.
Sources: http://www.ddal.org/
4. Myth:
Environmental Concerns. If American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act were to pass, euthanasia would likely be selected in
lieu of slaughter for many unwanted horses. This bill does not
address environmental concerns associated with the disposal of
thousands of additional horse carcasses.
Fact:
About 15 million dogs
and cats are euthanized yearly in animal shelters and disposed of in
city dumps. 70,000 horses does not appear a significant number
enough to make an impact. On average, it would equal to 116 horses
per state per month compared to 25,000 cats and dogs. Also to
consider, many horses will find alternative homes instead of being
euthanized or disposed of. In these homes, they may be allowed to
die a natural death which will later allow them to be processed at a
rendering facility.
Sources:
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/news/acc0505.htm
5. Myth:
Dropped slaughter numbers. Over the decade, the number of horses
slaughtered went down due to less breeding and more rescue
organizations being established.
Fact: Most rescue
organizations work mainly with law enforcement to rehab seized
horses from neglect situations. The best handle a few hundred a
year.
Less breeding is not an argument as the horses registered with, for
example the AQHA has steadily increased.
In 1989, 342,877 horses were slaughtered. The number continuously
went down as the number of slaughter houses decreased from about 13
to only 2 in Texas in 2002. In 2002, 42,312 horses were slaughtered
in the U.S. with only a slight increase in export of horses to
Canada and Mexico for slaughter.
With the slaughter house in Dekalb, IL reopening in 2004, the number
rapidly increased again to 65,976 for that year and 94,037 in 2005! Slaughtering the
most horses since 1998. Dekalb had rebuild their slaughter house
into an state-of-the art slaughter house, being able to slaughter as
many as 500 horses a week.
The number of exports never really changed over the decade.
The number of slaughtered horses is driven by European demand of the
meat and number of
slaughterhouses, not unwanted horses.
6. Myth:
Abuse and Neglect. Abuse and neglect would increase should
the option of slaughtering horses be taken away from horse owners
Fact: The state's
Animal cruelty laws will not change and are enforced as they are.
Actually, cities such as Houston are beginning to employ
animal cruelty law enforcement officers and reporting of
incidences is more successful and reflecting in an increase of
handled cases.
California has
banned horse slaughter in November 1998. The rate of abuse has not
increased in California. The export of U.S. horses for slaughter to
Mexico have not
significantly increased.
In Texas, where two of the three slaughter houses are located, the abuse rate
of neglected horses is extremely high. Organizations such as
Habitat
for Horses/Lone
Star Equine Rescue are increasingly training civilian equine
cruelty investigators to assist law enforcement.
Transports to slaughter
can be very cruel.
While the slaughter house in Dekalb, IL was being rebuild and was
not operating for two years, the number of slaughtered horses and
the abuse rate of horses nationwide actually dropped.
7. Myth:
Old and Sick horses. Only old and sick horses are
slaughtered. There are still a few people who believe this, even
though killer buyers themselves have stated that this is false.
Fact: Most slaughtered
horses are actually fat and young to middle-aged. The fatter and
bigger the horse, the higher its chances are it ending up at
slaughter. Horses that are too skinny are often refused.
The horses must endure long hours of transport. Often up to 36 hours
with no food or water or rest. The killer buyers get paid by the
pound. Therefore, the healthier and fatter the horse is, the better
the profit.
If the horse is cheap enough for the killer buyer to make a small
profit from it and it is suitable for transport, he will purchase it
at an auction or wherever else and put it in his next transport to
the slaughter house.
The breed most slaughtered is the American Quarter Horse, one for
being so muscular and heavy and second because there is no
retirement program for these horses initiated by their breeding
organization, the AQHA.
Quote: "What is the difference
between a horse and a steer and a hog?
The horse is an icon along with the bald eagle. What is the difference
between a bald eagle and a pigeon or a turkey? And if you do not know
the difference, we cannot explain it to you."
-- Rep. Jim Moran, Virginia, 6/8/05
