Founded May 2010 by Mary Santagata
The bloody, panic-stricken environment of a slaughterhouse is no place for any horse to meet their end. But as long as horse slaughter is legal in the United States, this covert, predatory industry will have its buyers at American horse auctions, outbidding legitimate horse owners and funneling these animals off to foreign slaughterhouses to be sold as meat overseas. when the remaining 3 horse slaughter houses in the U.S. closed in 2007, they were owned by foreign companies, Dallas Crown, Inc.; Cavel International, Inc. and Beltex Corp., which now operates a horse slaughter house in Mexico, Empacadora de Carnes de Fresnillo.
The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, currently pending in Congress, would prevent any new horse slaughter plants from opening in the United States and as well as prohibit horses from being exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption.
Facts:
The full White Paper can be read at: http://www.vetsforequinewelfare.org/pdf/Hogan.pdf
In Part Dr. Hogan testified:
"I have personally been to a horse slaughterhouse as a surgery resident while in Texas and I found it to be a disgrace. I was not there on an "announced" visit as those who defend horse slaughter were - I was there to collect specimens for a research project. In my ignorance, I had actually never even thought much about slaughter before then. I was absolutely revolted at the way the horses were treated and the behavior of the people that were employed there. I have also been to a beef and a chicken slaughter plant too. The treatment of and reaction by the horses was very much in contrast to that of the other livestock I had observed."It is the united opinion of VEW (Veterinarians for Equine Welfare) that horse slaughter is inhumane, and that it is an unacceptable way to end a horse’s life under any circumstance. One need only observe horse slaughter to see that it is a far cry from genuine humane euthanasia. From the transport of horses on inappropriate conveyances for long periods of time without food, water of rest to the very ugly slaughter process in which horses react with pain and fear, no evidence exists to support the claim that horse slaughter is a form of humane euthanasia. Rather, it is a brutal process that results in very tangible and easily observable equine suffering.
It is worth noting that the suffering of horses in slaughter is accentuated by the very fact that they are not raised for slaughter. Horses going to slaughter have largely been accustomed to close human contact whether through racing, ranch work, pleasure riding, rodeo or any of the other ways in which horses are used in this country. While some are purposely sold into slaughter by their owners most end up at the abattoir through pure bad luck: they were sold at auction and the winning bidder was a ‘killer-buyer’ working for one of the slaughter plants. To suddenly be treated as pure livestock must be disorienting and frightful, and can only compound their suffering as they proceed to slaughter.
We believe that it is an unethical and dangerous practice for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) to attempt to equate horse slaughter with humane euthanasia."
From "Horse Slaughter – Its Ethical Impact and Subsequent Response of the Veterinary Profession", by Veterinarians for Equine Welfare (2008)