Horse Slaughter to Resume in US

Due to the growing number of neglected and abandoned horses, the de facto ban on slaughtering horses in the US has been lifted.

US Congress and President Obama, on November 18, 2011, signed into law a bill that allows for federal funding of USDA inspection of horse meat for human consumption, withheld since 2006, to resume.

The effective ban on horse slaughter came about as a result of protest by animal rights groups who argued that the slaughter of horses and subsequent human consumption of their meat is immoral given the iconic role of the horse as a companion, recreational, and sport animal. 

Reasons for re-instating the funding of horse meat inspection come mainly from the General Accountability Office (GAO) who recently published a report concluding that the ban is directly responsible for a dramatic increase since 2006 in the number of cases of horse abuse and neglect in the US.

The report, entitled “Horse Welfare: Action Needed to Address Unintended Consequences from Cessation of Domestic Slaughter”, examines the connection between the ban and the increasingly large number of neglected and abandoned horses, the substantial drop in the price of horses, and the increase in the number of horses being exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. The report shows that in 2010, approximately 138,000 horses from the US were sold to slaughter plants in other countries.

The increasing number of horses that are being exported for slaughter means longer travel distances and perhaps less humane conditions while travelling, being processed while at the slaughter facilities, and even in the method of slaughter itself.

"We can’t monitor horse slaughter in a plant in Mexico or Canada … [a]nd so we don’t know if it’s being done humanely or not because the USDA obviously doesn’t have any jurisdiction there,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (R) of Georgia who supported the reinstatement.  “These horses are having a rough transit. The USDA does not have the jurisdiction over how the animals are treated along the way."

On the other hand, the animal rights community contends that the slaughter practices are inhumane.  “They’re signing the death sentence for thousands of our American horses,” said horse advocate Stephanie Graham. “Horses are going to die and it’s going to be brutal.”

Slaughterhouses are tentatively scheduled to open in states such as Georgia, Montana, Nebraska, and Oregon within the next 6 months.

With files from www.11alive.com, www.reason.com, and  www.newsOK.com.