By MEGGIE. I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. —Despite major opposition and multiple U.S. closing in 2007, horse slaughter continues to make headlines as one of the most controversial topics in the equine industry and amongst animal activist groups.

In fact, the final horse slaughter plant in Illinois was effectively shut down by then Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the fall of 2007, with help from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Earlier in 2007, two other facilities in Illinois and Texas were closed that were used to process unwanted horses for human consumption, pet food and for zoo carnivores.

However, that hasn’t stopped many equine organizations, such as the United Organization of the Horse (UOH), to revive the discussion on horse slaughter in hopes of renewing the practice once again in the United States, under specific humane treatment guidelines.

“Why do we want to do this … to save the horse industry from going down the drain too quickly,” said Dave Duquette, a horse trainer from Hermiston, Ore., and leader for UOH and The United Horsemen’s Front during the Indiana Livestock, Grain and Forage Forum on Jan. 15.

Duquette went on to discuss the overpopulation of horses, due in part, to the end to horse slaughter in the United States made three years ago.

“Today, we have 10 million horses in the United States, that’s 3 million more than we had in 1850, when we used horses for everything,” he explained. “A lot has happened since the plants have closed. Everything we said would happen, did.”
In 2006, more than 100,000 horses were processed in the United States. Since the plant closings in 2007, Duquette claimed an up-tick in the reports of neglected, starved, abandoned and abused horses.

“People want to say it’s the economy, it’s not,” he said. “Horses that used to sell for $1,000 to $2,500, 80 percent are now a liability. The most humane thing you can do is put a horse down, when it is no longer useful. But, instead, we’re finding people abandoning horses and starving them because they don’t know what else to do.

“A quick, painless euthanasia while still in good condition, and providing nourishing meat for hungry people is a far more humane fate than an agonizing prolonged death of starvation.”

According to Duquette, horse slaughter is still active in Mexico and Canada, “but they can only take the ones – the worst of the worst. Whereas in the past plants used to be able to take twos and threes – including old, weak and crippled horses.”

The HSUS recommendation for owners who can no longer care for a horse is to give it to a rescue group or have it humanely euthanized.

“Some rescue groups will charge owners upwards of $25,000 to take care of a horse for life and then they turn around and sell it for slaughter in Canada,” said Duquette.

Proposed H.O.R.S.E. Act

Shortly after the Indiana Livestock, Grain and Forage Forum, Duquette headed to Washington, D.C. to discuss the proposed H.O.R.S.E. Act, The Humane and Optimal Restoration and Sustainability of Equines. The H.O.R.S.E. Act, sponsored by Rep. Leonard Boswell (R-Iowa) is an alternative to bills from the animal rights groups, which would ban horse processing such as House 503 and Senate 727, The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act.

“The current federal legislation pertaining to horses, are misguided feel good bills that at first glance, and to a misinformed, emotionally-manipulated public seem to protect horses – while in fact, they do the exact opposite,” said Duquette.

“These bills and there horrific unintended consequences would institutionalize and codify a miserable, cruel and barbaric death for hundreds and thousands of horses. Horses suffer from starvation, abandonment and neglect by owners unable to sell or even give their horses away.”

Hoping to gain some momentum on Capitol Hill, the H.O.R.S.E. Act emphasizes the humane treatment of horses from birth to death. Key points include protecting the rights of horse owners who wish to salvage some value from an unusable horse, as well as the rights of those who choose not to send their horse to processing. The H.O.R.S.E. Act also addresses the safe and humane transport for horses, as well as inspection at international borders.

Specific requirements ask that all horses to be euthanized must be humanely killed using a method that is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. and the American Assoc. of Equine Practitioners (AAEP); recommend that state and local agencies responsible for overseeing equine rescue and retirement operations follow AAEP care guidelines; require and provide for training and certification for employees at equine processing facilities; require signage at sale facilities that do not have a $1,000 minimum bid requirement that indicate that horses sold may go to slaughter; require that sellers to processing facilities present the plant, or a border inspector, with a document statement the seller consents to processing; and require inspecting horses at the plant, and at international borders, and holding those with lip tattoos or microchips that match numbers or chips than an owner has registered with a national “do-no slaughter” registry. Such horses to be held for 48 hours to allow the owner to claim the horse by paying for costs.

As for transportation guidelines, the H.O.R.S.E. Act would repeal current laws restricting the use of double deck trucks transporting horses bound for slaughter and in turn, require that the trailer used to haul horses be sized adequately with a minimum of six-foot clearance above the withers. Additionally, the H.O.R.S.E. Act would require training for horse-to-plant haulers that would be similar to the TQA (Transport Quality Assurance) program in the pork industry
To support the work of the United Organization of the Horse in pursuit of humane care and slaughter for U.S. horses, visit www.unitedorgsofthehorse.org

Basic membership is $25, which includes a chance to win a Stetson/Resistol cowboy hat or for every $100 donation buys a chance to win a new Dodge 2500 SLT truck. Only 2,000 tickets for the truck will be sold, according to Duquette.