This management practice is needed for horses in the U. Horses are not native to North America and were introduced in There are 81, total feral horses and burros living on 40, square miles across 10 western U. These animals are managed by the Bureau of Land Management BLM , and part of responsible land management is population control.
The BLM will regularly adopt horses to private owners. However, this is not a sustainable solution. Currently, there are 9 million unwanted horses in the U.
This overpopulation compromises horse welfare—competition for food and water causing horses to die of starvation—and has resulted in irreversible damage to western rangelands, a scenario that mirrors the damages caused by feral hogs in the southern U.
Alternative population control methods e. Animals must be either caught and processed or shot with a dart gun on an annual basis for birth control to be effective. This process is stressful for the animal, influences natural selection processes, and is unrealistic to implement.
These ethical and logistical challenges make alternative population control methods not a pragmatic option. Therefore, if horse population management is to be conducted using a scientifically supported, economically viable, and professionally executed manner, we must begin to embrace horse slaughter. The three AVMA approved methods of humane euthanasia for horses include: 1 penetrating captive bolt, 2 gunshot, and 3 chemical euthanasia, with pentobarbital or a pentobarbital combination.
Chemical euthanasia is cost prohibitive, highly variable in efficacy, and carcass disposal presents environmental contamination and wildlife poisoning risks. Penetrating captive bolt or gunshot presents the best choice for humane horse euthanasia, indicating that horse slaughter is a humane, sustainable, and logical solution for carcass disposal. Horse slaughter mirrors cattle slaughter.
In American culture, horses are considered pets, therefore, many cannot fathom using horses for meat. However, humans have domesticated a handful of species across the animal kingdom, partly because they are efficient sources of human-edible, high-quality protein. These species were selected for meat production because they were efficient and easy to manage, not because of their charisma — or lack thereof.
Notably, communities with experience hosting horse slaughter facilities do not want them back: Texas and Illinois have enacted laws that specifically ban selling, giving and possessing horse meat intended for human consumption.
Though exports have been dropping in recent years, tens of thousands of American equines continue to be shipped to slaughter across our borders annually. Looking at data from to , an average of , American horses were trucked over our borders each year to slaughter facilities in Mexico and Canada. In , that number dipped to under 40, Reopening slaughterhouses in America is not the answer to ending this form of cruelty. In fact, even when horse slaughter facilities operated in the United States, tens of thousands of American horses were still exported to other countries for slaughter.
Additionally, long-distance transport without welfare and safety protocols that are enforced is an inherently cruel aspect of this industry. These individuals also often pose as good homes to owners looking to rehome their beloved equine partner, and later sell the animals to abattoirs in Canada and Mexico.
The fear that this predatory behavior strikes into the equine community can create additional risks to equine welfare. The ASPCA is at the forefront of addressing risks on the ground , but such negative outcomes will persist so long as American horses are shipped across our borders for meat. Until a ban is in place, every American horse is at risk of meeting this fate. The bill would prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and ban their export abroad for that purpose—but we need your help to ensure Congress passes this important legislation.
End Horse Slaughter. The Safeguard American Food Exports SAFE Act contains clear provisions prohibiting the export of horses for slaughter abroad, as well as clear enforcement and penalty provisions.
Risk of federal prosecution and the high costs associated with illegally transporting horses long distances for slaughter abroad are strong deterrents. Ironically, the very organizations most critical of the recent closure of the three domestic horse slaughter plants due to the subsequent surge in horses going to slaughter in Mexico are working to defeat passage of the Safeguard American Food Exports SAFE Act.
In doing so, they are working in tandem with the companies that until recently slaughtered horses here and which now are buying horses in the US and shipping them to their plants in Mexico and Canada. These and other materials are being incorporated into an expanded sanctuary accreditation program via the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. Additionally, Horse rescue groups must also provide for the welfare of horses in their custody in compliance with state and local animal welfare laws.
Facts about Horse Slaughter The former US-based, foreign owned horse slaughter companies and a handful of trade associations that support horse slaughter have contributed to the continued export of tens of thousands of America's horses for slaughter in Mexico and Canada either by physically shipping horses to slaughter or by actively opposing legislation banning horse slaughter. Slaughter is not humane euthanasia. Horses suffer horribly on the way to and during slaughter. The current patchwork of state laws on horse slaughter—including statutes prohibiting slaughter in Texas and Illinois where the only domestic horse slaughter plants operated until very recently—is insufficient.
Passage of the Safeguard American Food Exports SAFE Act will reduce animal suffering, hence its wide support throughout the equestrian and veterinary world, as well as the humane community. Americans overwhelmingly support an end to horse slaughter for human consumption recent polls from Kentucky, Texas and Utah respectively show that 82, 72 and 69 percent of those questioned oppose the practice. A recent national poll found that almost 70 percent of Americans support a federal ban.
In California, a ballot initiative Prop. Frequently Asked Questions Is banning horse slaughter a states rights issue?
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