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? Shouldn't the federal government not get involved?
Is it true that slaughter is a last resort for infirm, dangerous or no longer serviceable horses? Will horse abuse and neglect cases rise significantly following a ban on slaughter?
If there is a ban on horse slaughter, will horse rescue and retirement groups have the resources to take care of unwanted horses? Should the government have to pay for the care of horses voluntarily given up by their owners? If slaughter is not an option, what will we do with sick, old and unwanted horses? If there is a ban on horse slaughter in the United States, will there be an increase in the export of horses for foreign slaughter?
Will horses suffer from longer transport for slaughter in countries where there may be weaker welfare laws? The Humane Society says that most of the horses sent to slaughter are young and healthy and could have productive lives if rescue groups were not outbid at auctions by "kill buyers" who often abuse the animals before they are slaughtered.
They are often seriously injured or killed in transit. The renewed ban on horse slaughter in the U. Facebook Twitter Email. Ban on slaughtering horses for meat gets last-minute renewal in spending law Trump signed. Share your feedback to help improve our site! 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.
For example, if giraffes were the most efficient ruminant, then we would have feedyards filled with giraffes instead of cattle. Yet, with horses in the U. The belief that killing horses for human consumption is wrong has changed policy, generated unintentional consequences that challenge animal welfare, and limited the tools available to manage this species.
Horse slaughter for human consumption should be reinstated in the U.
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