This is my paper.
The Case for Horse Slaughter
With a dull coat and protruding bones, the horse stares blankly into a wooden fence post. At first one wonders if there is even a being capable of acknowledging the world behind those shrunken eyes. Standing on emaciated, wobbly legs, the horse barely looks as though he can remain upright through the next breeze. His pen is barren of grass, hay, and water, and he has only the shelter of a leafless tree to protect him from the rain and snow. This gruesome scene is becoming all too common in cities across the nation. Four years ago, this horse’s owners could have sold him to a slaughter plant and been paid to end his suffering. But with no operating slaughter plants open in the United States, the query is: Is this really a better way to die?
For the last three years there have been no horses slaughtered in the United States for the purpose of human consumption. Many people view this as a good thing but numerous others feel that it is not. In the time since the last processing plants were closed in 2007, the number of horse abuse, neglect, and abandonment cases has increased, the number of horses exported to foreign countries for the purpose of slaughter has increased, and the average value of a horse has decreased. These things have caused a great deal of turmoil in the horse industry which is why I believe that the slaughtering plants need to be reopened.
The three processing plants that closed in 2007 were owned by Belgian business men and closed due to the states’ laws. Two of the plants were in Texas - Dallas Crown in Kaufman and Beltex Corporation in Fort Worth - and the third, Cavel International, was in DeKalb, Illinois. The plants in Texas closed due a long forgotten state statute, originally passed in 1949, that says it is illegal to slaughter a horse for the purpose of selling its meat (Harkinson 34). The plant in Illinois closed when the state passed a law against horse slaughter.
There is no federal law prohibiting the slaughter of horses for human consumption, so the question is: why are there no plants operating in the United States? In November 2005, legislation passed that terminated the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) funding for horse slaughter plant inspections (Frabotta 9E). Without the inspections, the horse meat that is produced in the plants cannot legally be sold or exported.
Despite the fact that there is no federal law against horse slaughter, there are states that ban the practice, such as Texas, California, and Illinois. Eleven states have passed, or are attempting to pass, legislation that would make it illegal to ban horse slaughter. Those states include Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Tennessee (Lewis 69).
The horsemeat produced in the United States was primarily exported to Europe or Asia, where horse meat is considered a delicacy. There are numerous foreign markets where horsemeat produced in the United States can be sold. The meat from heavy draft horses is popular in Japan, while Italy prefers young, light horses. Russia, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and France also use horsemeat in their day to day meals. Eastern European countries like Poland and Romania are suppliers of horsemeat to some parts of Europe, but the quality can never be assured. For this reason, several countries look within their own nations, as well as to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for satisfactory suppliers. However, a percent of the meat was used in the U. S. for feeding zoo animals such as birds of prey and large cats. Horse meat was used for these animals because it is higher in protein per pound than beef. The meat was not the only part of the horse that was used; the mane and tail were made into paintbrushes and violin bows, the intestines were used as sausage casings in Egypt, and the hooves were sent to a rendering plant (Osborne).
There is evidence that horsemeat is healthier for human consumption than beef. When compared to ground beef, horsemeat has 55% more protein, 25% less fat, and 30% less cholesterol. Some people could never imagine themselves eating horse but Americans have a habit of using it as an alternative to beef and pork in times of scarcity. During World War II and the proceeding years, horse became a popular meat due to its availability. There have been times when beef and pork prices have gone up too far and horse was used as a cheap substitute. The main reason people reverted back to beef and pork was because horse prices increased beyond the amount they are willing to pay (Evans, P 2).
Since the 1970’s, horses have been seen less as a work animal and more as pet. Because of this shift in the public’s view, animal rights groups have been able to paint a picture of horse slaughter as murder. I will admit that there have been horses unnecessarily slaughtered, but this is not as common as it seems.
The process of slaughter starts when a “kill buyer,” someone who purchases horses for slaughter plants, goes to an auction. It is true that the goal of the buyer is to buy as many good muscled horses for as little money as possible, but most buyers have respect for horses and want to see the best done for them. Once the horse is purchased, it is trailered to the plant the buyer works for; this trip can last as long as five days depending on location. Once the horses arrive at the plant they are inspected by the veterinarian and any horses deemed too sick or injured are taken to another part of the plant and euthanized; they are unsuitable for processing. If it appears that the horse was injured in transport, the driver and buyer are both punished in some form; docked pay or potential termination (Olsson 242).
After the horses have been found sound, they are herded off the trailer and into chutes. Once the horse has reached a certain point in the line, its hind legs are chained and it is stunned by a technician who fires a captive bolt, a spike on a hydraulic gun, into its forehead. The horse, brain dead, is then hung from the ceiling by the aforementioned chains and its jugular vein and carotid artery are severed which allows the blood to drain from the body. The carcass is then skinned, the head, hooves and tail removed, and it is butchered and prepared for packaging and shipment (Olsson 244).
Those opposing horse slaughter have varying views on the process by which the meat is harvested. The staunchest of them believe that slaughter is unethical and should be banned on a federal level, while the more lenient would like to see the methods changed but not the process banned. Some of those methods include the use of flags to herd the horse off the trucks rather than whips, a head-holding device so that chances of missing with the captive bolt are decreased, and using a turn in the chutes to prevent the horses from seeing what is happening (Osborne). All of these are excellent suggestions, and I would like to see them implemented in any plant that opens in the U. S.
Another concern that some have over horse slaughter is the lack of illness and medication regulation. The European Union, in April 2009, issued updated guidelines and regulations for any imported horsemeat. In response to these new guidelines and regulations, Canada had to implement new methods of processing. These new methods include making sure that no horse has any one of the 55 drugs listed on a prohibited medication list, and having illness and vaccination records for each animal that date back six months. The U. S. had no such guidelines when the plants were open. Each plant had at least one veterinarian present to check the horses for signs of illness or unsuitability, but there were no formal was of tracking medications or vaccinations; all other food animal production industries have ways to do that. If the U. S. opens a plant, rules and regulations similar to Canada’s need to be established (“Canada”).
I firmly believe that if slaughter could be made more humane by altering a few of the handling details, than the USDA should be given funding for processing plant inspections. My proposal is that if a plant could be opened in every state, or at least every other, than that would create both jobs and shorter distances the horses would have to travel for slaughter, which would minimize hauling related injuries. I also propose that another advantage to opening a slaughter plant would be that the unwanted horse population would decrease and the desire to purchase a horse would rise again. If the desire for horses goes up, then the value does too, which means the breeders and trainers will begin their work in full once more. If the horse industry can start working the way it wants to, than the need for grain and hay would go up and under the law of supply and demand, the price would go up too. If the price of grain and hay went up, than farmers wouldn’t need government subsidies to make ends meet every year.
I believe that the horse industry needs slaughter because, without it, the number of abuse, neglect, and abandonment cases have increased, the number of horses slaughtered in foreign countries has risen and the value of the horse has fallen.
The first unintended consequence of a lack of slaughter plants in the United States is an increase in the number of abuse, neglect, and abandonment cases. This sad trend is due in part to the lack of funds owners have to take care of their horses. When people want to sell their horses, they find that they cannot, due to little interest of others in purchasing a horse. People typically want to sell a horse for one of three reasons: not being able to afford cost of care, not interested in caring for the animal anymore, or moving away.
It costs approximately $2,340 per year, depending on one’s location, to care for a horse. Most horses, when cared for properly, live into their mid-twenties. Assuming that a horse lives to be 25, and working with $2,340 as an annual figure, the expense incurred for just one horse over a lifetime would be $58,500. The factors that would affect this figure are hay and grain prices, boarding fees, cost of tack for the horse, gas to transport the horse, registration fees for breed associations and/or shows, injuries to the horse that require expensive medical attention, and many more (North 127). Taking into consideration that 45% of horse owners make between $25,000 and $75,000 annually, it is no wonder that some have a difficult time paying the price to own a horse (“Frequently”).
There are several things that typically happen when an owner cannot sell the horse when they need to. The owner can try to donate the horse to a rescue or retirement home; however, these organizations are already understaffed, underfunded, and overstocked with horses. The owner could also euthanize the horse but this cost’s between $200 - $400 (Evans, P 3). That price covers chemical euthanasia with an environmentally toxic drug, Pentobarbital, and body care, which could be cremation or burial. There is a concern over body care for horses euthanized in this manner. If the body is not properly taken care of, the Pentobarbital may be ingested by a predatory animal and could cause environmental contamination (“Frequently”).
When things get tough, owners resort to drastic measures to dispose of their animals. Some horses will stand in a pasture or backyard, with little food and water and no shelter, until they die, are sold, or are taken by law enforcement agencies. If a horse in that condition is sold, it will be sold for a low price and is often times so ill that it must be euthanized. Horses in this condition are never accepted for slaughter and processing by foreign plants because their body doesn’t meet quality standards.
Other owners will just move away and leave their horses unattended; this constitutes abandonment. Additional types of abandonment include owners trailering their animals to areas far from developments and turning them loose or leaving their horses on a rancher’s property, thinking that the rancher won’t notice. In the cases where horses are turned loose on their own, far from humans and other horses, their chances of survival are very low. This is due to the fact that the horses don’t know how to take care of themselves, they never learned skills such as finding safe food and water and avoiding predators.
Horses are herd animals and need to be around their own kind to help teach and protect them. When horses are turned loose on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management, such as the desert west of Tooele, Utah, where herds of wild horses roam, their chances of survival are still low, because they are not likely to be accepted by any of the herds and they will not have the necessary teachers and protectors. Whenever humans are around the wild herds, it is easy to spot the domesticated ones; they will run up to anyone, excited because they think that person is their “saving grace” (Evans, D).
The second, unintended consequence of the lack of horse slaughter in the United States is that there has been a 300% increase of horses exported to foreign countries for the purpose of slaughter (Macejko 22). This has created a problem in that it increases traveling time for the horses. With an increase in traveling time, there is a decrease in bathroom breaks, available food and water and an increase in time spent in a confined trailer. With these two variables in play, the chances of the horses arriving at their destination safely and without harm have decreased. There are regulations in place that prohibit transporting aggressive horses with others, and transporting horses in a trailer that is too confined for them (“Frequently”).
The third unintended consequence is a drop in the value of a horse. It has been estimated that $24,320,000 in horse value will be lost if a ban on slaughter is passed into law (North 105). Even though the ban didn’t pass, the plants are still closed so it is assumed that a figure resembling the aforementioned has been incurred in loses.
If monetary value is what people are willing to pay for something, than the value of middle classes horses has dropped significantly. In a conversation I had with Rebecca L. Winstead, a Utah State University professor who has had twenty-one years of experience in the horse industry, the drop in the value of a middle class horse has several factors. She said that of these factors, the lack of slaughter as an available option for horse owners is huge. It was noted that the economy “hasn’t helped any,” but that the value started to drop before the economy went south.
Professor Winstead added, “It’s the horses between $3,000 and $15,000 that aren’t selling. The low horses are selling and the high horses are selling but the stuff in the middle isn’t.” Most of those horses currently on the market are considered middle class. It is to be assumed that the reason the low end horses are selling is because their price is right, just low enough that people can afford to buy them. The reason for the high end horses selling is most likely because they are excellent, show or race quality animals and very rich people are still willing to buy them.
Think back now to that horse described at the beginning of this paper. It is because of horses like him that organizations such as the American Association of Equine Practitioners (horse veterinarians) and the American Veterinary Medical Association oppose the banning of horse slaughter (“AVMA”). Joining them in the fight against a ban are the American Quarter Horse Association, the largest breed association in the world; the American Paint Horse Association, who believes that slaughtering horses for European consumption is economically health for the horse industry; and the International League for the Protection of Horses, a United Kingdom based group who believes that slaughter is a humane way to end a horse’s life (North 78).
With the reinstatement of funding for horse slaughter plant inspections, slaughter plants will be able to open across the United States. Several states, including Montana and North Dakota, have made plans to open their own processing plants if funding for federal inspections were to be found (Lewis 69). If these plants were to open, they would offer the horse industry an outlet for the more than 100,000 unwanted horses that face neglect (Evans, P 1). The opening of these plants would also offer a much needed job market to the troubled U. S. economy.
If you would like to get involved please email or call your state’s congressmen and inform them that you oppose any ban on the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Also include with that a plea for funding for processing plant inspections.
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