The Slaughter Debate: A Two-Sided Issue
Horse slaughter. The topic ignites passion on both sides of the debate. Anti-slaughter groups see the practice as an inhumane and tragic end to an animal that some say occupies a gray area between livestock and pet. Their vocal opposition has led to a proposed slaughter ban that was passed by the House and, as of press time, remains in the Senate. (More on that in a minute.)
Anti-ban advocates see slaughter as a necessary evil until funding, or at least a plan, is in place to care for the tens of thousands of horses deemed "unwanted" that had previously been slaughtered. They say without it, these horses will flood a market ill-prepared to deal with them, so could face a lifetime of abuse or neglect.
Who's right? You may have your own strong opinion. In what's often seen as a collision between emotion and reality, there seems to be no middle ground. Both sides, after all, claim to be looking out for the horses' welfare. Here we'll provide an overview plus insights from those for and against a slaughter ban.
A Change of Roles
Why the recent spotlight on slaughter? One factor is the sea change in modern American culture toward animal advocacy and away from viewing animals as a food or labor source. Another is the decrease in open land due to urban sprawl. That, coupled with increased costs in boarding, farriery, hay, and veterinary care is making it harder and more problematic to keep a horse until its natural end. When owners are unable or unwilling to maintain a horse throughout its life-time, it is sold. When age, physical disability, or behavior problems decrease the horse's value below a certain point, it may wind up at a slaughter plant.
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In 2006, about 100,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S., with the meat shipped to Belgium, France, Japan and Italy. (Unlike the U.S., many countries consider horsemeat a delicacy or staple; that U.S. slaughter figure represents only about 2 percent of horsemeat eaten worldwide.)
As American sentiments have changed, so has legislation. In 1998, California became the first state to ban the shipment and slaughter of horses for human consumption. A federal bill introduced in January of this year, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R.503), would prohibit the transport and slaughter of horses in the U.S. for human consumption. It's been passed by the House, but not to date by the Senate.
As of press time, two of the last three U.S. horse processing plants--those in Kaufman and Fort Worth, Texas--no longer process horses for human consumption. The third plant--in DeKalb, Ill.--closed in June of this year following passage of an Illinois ban, but on appeal July 19 won the right to re-open.
While H.R.503 is in committee and U.S. plants close, transporting horses to slaughter remains legal outside of California. Indeed, more horses than ever are being shipped to Mexico for this purpose. According to USDA figures, 23,818 horses were exported to Mexico in the first seven months of this year; during the same period of '06,when processing plants in the U.S. were open, the number was 6,531. The difference represents a 265-percent increase.
Provoking Change
A prime mover for the slaughter ban is The Humane Society of the United States, a lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., with 9.9 million members and a $122 million annual budget. Keith Dane, director of equine protection for HSUS, says the recent U.S. plant closings underscore the need to pass the ban.
"We anticipated killer buyers wouldn't just fold up shop and go away when the plants closed," he explains. "Some continue in this grisly trade and ship horses outside the country to slaughter, but the numbers we're seeing don't equal those being slaughtered earlier. It's a huge concern, though--horses going longer distances to worse deaths. It's up to Americans to let Congress know we are sending horses to slaughter in Mexico. There is no solution other than a federal ban."
"Our position is, if you can't take care of the horse and nobody wants it, you should humanely euthanize it," Dane adds. "That's what we ask of dog and cat owners. It's common decency."
Dane goes on to deny that the lack of slaughter outlets is causing a drop in auction prices. He says HSUS investigators report prices for horses under saddle as well as for loose horses sold by weight "are maintaining historical prices."
Yet at a sample of sale barns, prices for "loose horses" are in fact depressed: in Waverly,Iowa, from 50 or 60 cents per pound to 10 or 15 cents; in northern Idaho, from 50 or 55 cents to 35; in Missoula, Montana, from 30 or 40 cents to 10 or 15.
