Horse slaughter has been a hot topic in the United States for many years. There were three horse slaughter houses in the US that were closed in December of 2007; two in Texas and one in Illinois (American Veterinary Medical Association) . With the ban on horse slaughter in the US, more horses are being shipped to countries like Mexico and Canada for slaughter. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), since the closing of these plants in 2007, 45,000 horses were shipped to Mexico for slaughter which is a 312% increase over 11,000 horses shipped in 2006. With the ban on horse slaughter in the US and the risky travel to other countries for slaughter, many horses are finding themselves as “unwanted horses”. However, before owners consider shipping horses off for slaughter, they should look into other forms of euthanasia and other places to send them.
According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), an “unwanted horse” can be defined as “those no longer wanted by their current owners because they are injured, old, sick, unmanageable, or fail to meet the owner’s expectations.” The horses that fell into the unwanted category in 2007, were processed for slaughter in the US, shipped to Mexico or Canada for slaughter or were adopted (AAEP). The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), funds long-tem sanctuaries for horses that are too old for adoption, feral, or neglected. This is a good solution to keep horses out of slaughter houses but it comes at the cost of $38.8 million dollars a year to fund (BLM).
In the past when a horse was lame, old or generally unwanted the owner would send the horse off for slaughter. However, that is no longer the case because most owners are looking into different forms of euthanasia and disposal of their horses. Euthanasia can be termed as when a good death occurs with minimal pain and at the appropriate time in the horse’s life to prevent unnecessary suffering and pain (Lenz). However, the request from the owner to end their horse’s life because they do not want it or cannot afford to take care of it anymore may not be an option in the future. Bans on putting a horse down because they are old and lame are in the talks because there is not a medical purpose to kill the horse, such as disease or infection (Lenz). This might shift the owners back to sending their unwanted horses to a slaughter house for money or just to get rid of them.
According to the AVMA, there are three ways to euthanize a horse; one is an overdose of barbiturates, two a gunshot between the eyes, and third a penetrating captive gun bolt (Lenz). For euthanasia described in method one, sodium pentobarbital is the most commonly used drug because it is fast acting and causes minimal discomfort to the horse. The drug is administered intravenously, depresses the central nervous system and causes unconsciousness which then progresses to respiratory and cardiac arrest (Lenz). The disadvantages of administering the drug are; the horse must be restrained, there are muscle spasms, gasping and vocalization that occur before death, and with the high level of barbiturates in the horses system disposal of the body is limited (Lenz). This also means that the horse cannot be sold as meat with the levels of barbiturates in its system making this method of death unacceptable in slaughter houses.
The physical methods of euthanasia are a gunshot and penetrating captive bolt, that both cause trauma to the cerebral hemisphere and the brainstem, resulting in immediate unconsciousness and a painless, humane death (Lenz). When using gunshot, the best site for penetration of the horse’s skull right between the eyes. The impact should be made perpendicular, where the gun is held horizontal in proportion to the horse’s vertical face, 2 to 6 inches away with a .22 caliber long rifle (Lenz). The penetrating captive bolt gun is either powered by gunpowder or compressed air that provides enough energy to penetrate the horse’s skull and cause trauma to the brain resulting in instantaneous brain death (Lenz). Both of these methods are used in slaughter houses and when they are preformed correctly there is no pain to the animal and it results in a humane death.
With the slaughter plants closed in the US, horses are being shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. The meat from these plants is then shipped to Europe and Asia for human consumption. The horse slaughter plants in the US were subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 which required the USDA to inspect all equines slaughtered and processed into products for human food (Congressional Research Service). The meat inspectors were also required to enforce the Humane Method of Slaughter Act that required livestock be rendered unconscious prior to slaughter (Congressional Research Service). With the slaughter houses following these rules to the letter, the horses were killed humanely and the meat was sold overseas. However, some of the slaughter houses in Mexico and Canada do not have the same rules and regulations the US does so who knows how the horses are treated there.
The best solution over euthanasia and slaughter is a retirement home for horses that are funded by private companies. Horses that are government property (seized by law enforcement and rescued by Humane Societies), old or were used in other programs can go to a retirement home for horses and live out their lives being a horse (Mill Creek Farm). The horses at these farms are put up for adoption and adopted by people that have a need for them. These farms are across the country and the adoption fees vary based on the horse. This is the best way to keep a horse alive and let them die from having too much fun with other horses.
References
Lenz, Tom R. DVM. The Unwanted Horse in the United States: An Overview of the Issue. May 2009. The Journal of Equine Science: Volume 29, Issue 5: pgs 253-258.
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