By Lily Wan
Above: Photo taken at Greener Pastures, a farm sanctuary on the southwestern edge of Gainesville, Fla.
Distancing ourselves from the faces behind the meat we (well, not me and maybe not you either, but most Americans) eat, we like to call it like it’s not. When we’re hungry, cows are beef and pigs are pork or bacon or ham. Chickens aren’t that cute, so we’ll just call them chickens.
Euphemisms aside, horse meat may soon be coming to a butcher near you. In November, President Obama signed a federal spending bill passed by Congress that included a clause lifting the ban on horse slaughterhouses.
In 2006, Congress cut all funding for horse meat inspections, therein banning horses for human consumption. In 2007, the last three remaining horse slaughterhouses in the United States were shut down.
With the ban lifted, as many as 200,000 horses per year could be slaughtered. And although this bill allows horse slaughterhouses to once again open their doors under USDA inspection, the bill doesn’t provide any money for the USDA to conduct these inspections.
Opponents are claiming that the inspection fees would then come from taxpayers — $3 million to $5 million per year, they’re estimating. Otherwise, the USDA would have to find a way to muster up the money in its already shrinking budget.
Back when these slaughterhouses used to be legal in the United States, the majority of the horse meat was exported to Europe. Since the ban has been lifted, horse meat sales will most likely continue to be export-heavy, but obviously some will also be consumed on the home front.
While the slaughterhouses were banned in the U.S. for the past five years, they were and are still legal in Mexico and Canada. Horse dealers in the U.S. often sell to slaughterhouses in neighboring countries.
Dealers buy horses from auctions or even just from Craigslist, where people who can no longer afford to take care of their horses and offer them either for free or very cheap to “good homes.”
“Someone can give their horse to another thinking it is going to a good home when, in reality, it may become someone’s dinner,” Theresa Batchelor said. Batchelor is the owner of Beauty’s Haven Farm and Equine Rescue in Ocala.
Ocala’s not just “that big city south of here” or another typical retiree-clad Floridan city. It’s actually known as the Horse Capital of the World.
In addition to horse farms, ranches and training centers, Ocala is also home to horse sanctuaries. Debilitated, old or unwanted horses are taken in and cared for in spacious and lush sanctuaries. Beauty’s Haven is just one of Ocala’s many shelters. Unfortunately, not every jaded horse makes it to rescue ranches.
The horses sent for slaughter are ones that can no longer be taken care of by owners who can’t find other homes for their horses or cannot afford to pay for their euthanization. But, as Batchelor pointed out, “there’s a common misconception that a lot of horses that go to the slaughterhouses are old, feeble horses, but in reality, a lot of perfectly healthy horses are sent there, too.”
Horses that breeders or owners feel don’t have good enough conformation, aren’t fast enough, etc., also often end up at slaughterhouses.
“It’s about money. Horse meat is bought by the pound,” Batchelor said.
The crippled economy is the cause behind both the neglected and unwanted horses and the slaughterhouse ban lifting. After all, the slaughterhouses were re-legalized as part of an agricultural spending bill in efforts to keep the government financially afloat.
Batchelor cited over-breeding as one major problem.
“Greedy people are using the slaughterhouse avenue to make money off horses that some people can no longer afford to feed any longer. People are losing their homes – the economy does not discriminate against the animals – including horses.”
“Horses are companion animals,” Batchelor said. “ They’ve been there since day one, carrying humans and goods across the United States. They fought alongside us in wars. Besides, horses are also used for therapy — horses are good for the mind, body, and soul.”
Keep horse meat on horse’s bones and out of the slaughterhouses by contacting your congressperson and urging them to support Senate bill S. 1176 and House bill H.R. 2966.
Horses are very much companion animals and not raised for humans to eat Americans do not eat horses and never will. We all need to get SB1176 and HR2966 passed ASAP and stop the war on horses. We can do it!!!!
I agree on many points with this article. But slaughtering horses has a cost for the tax payers of the area where the plant is located because horses have more blood than cows and the environmental damage is significant. Just look up any of Paula Bacon’s comments/articles, she was the mayor of Kaufman, TX, site of the last slaughter plant to close in the US. There was no tax benefit to the community, only expenses, and the clean up isn’t done even though it’s been years since the last horse was slaughtered. This is a predatory industry and nobody benefits except the people who now have a place to dump the horses they bred and now don’t like that much. The pony mill of the equine industry, the AQHA, the TB industry, the many careless owners who probably aren’t as clueless as to where their horse is going as long as they get a few dollars for them instead of doing the decent thing and euthanizing them by a vet. If you spend 10 minutes on you tube and watch what happens to these horses in transport and at the slaughter plant, there is no way you can justify anyone doing such a thing to a horse. Veterinarians for Equine Welfare said that slaughter was an unacceptable way to end a horse’s life under ANY circumstances. The previous USDA chief inspector testified in 2007 that the captive bolt is not effective for horses because they are flight animals. There is no way to stun them for more than 30 seconds and they are fully conscious when they’re strung up by their hind legs, slit open and left bleeding. As long as slaughter is on the table, there’ll be plenty of victims, in fact, more and more will be found or stolen or whatever, because as long as some low life can make a buck, they will find a way to do it. The economy isn’t the “reason”. The few people who truly could not afford euthanasia could be helped through a combination of resources (the breeder/rescue/charity/fund). But the truth is, very few truly cannot afford it, more like they’d rather spend the money on a new horse or new something else and not live up to their commitment to their horse when it would mean a hardship for them. For an extra month or two of boarding you could easily pay the vet and disposal service and do the decent thing by your horse and not throw him away. Horses are special and when they are subjected to the slaughter experience those responsible are guilty of a grave crime of betrayal and there is no redemption. This is wrong on so many levels that I can’t understand any human who can put a horse on a truck or sell to a killer buyer. I can only hope karma is real and they will get what they deserve, but even that would not come close to making up for what they’ve done to the horse.
Irene,
Thanks for providing all that insight and information! We’ll keep your points in mind if we ever get a chance to write a more in-depth follow-up to this article.
great article, i agree 100% , horses are not meant for food, remember in the bible where it states we are to only eat meat from animals with split hoof? i do. i have contacted my state reps. alot and they keep telling me they will sign this 1176 if it ever comes across their desks, it’s getting it there. i will never eat horse. and president obama lied on his campaign speech when he promised no slaughter houses. but i hear he has taken some money from pro-slaughter people so i guess that’s why he hasn’t signed an exective order to stop the law that he signed in nov. allowing slaughter houses to reopen again, and they want us tax payers to foot the bill. i don’t want to support horse slaughter period. truly makes to ill to even think about it! and i know for a fact that it’s not just older, lame, sick, horses that are sent to slaughter; want proof go to this link and check these horses out they are in pa. broker owned and if not bought in time they go to slaughter, here is link http://www.ac4h.com/BrokerOwnedProgram.htm alot of nice horses, ponies, mule, etc. needing help and homes!!
The main thing about horse slaughter is that horses are NOT raised for meat! They are given many drugs banned from the human food chain, yet the government turns a blind eye and sells the meat overseas to unsuspecting consumers. Here is a link to a USDA article on drugs in horse meat. Especially phenolbutazone known as bute. Would you want your pregnant wife or daughter eating horse meat that no one knows what drugs the living animal received before it was butchered and put on your plate?http://forequestrians.com/Articles/USEF-Equine-Drugs-Medications-Program/?C=5746
I eat horse meat. I’m an American. Just because we like one animal and not another doesn’t mean it’s okay to eat the one we don’t like and not eat the one we like. Horse meat is very good. It’s delicious. If you’re not going to eat horse’s then you shouldn’t be able to eat any other animal. Here, enjoy this tasty rock because plants are animals too you psychotic shit brains.
As a veterinarian, i hope that horse slaughter returns to the u.s. I don’t trust mexican slaughter practices, and the added cost of shipping horses south to slaughter leads people to try to kill them themselves, which can be disasterous.
I totally agree with horse slaughter. It does in fact reduce the amount of horse suffering as whole, which is why they lifted the ban. Why should horse starve or die of dehydration/exposure due to neglect. I also enjoy a rare piece of horse meat. It is excellent and much healthier than beef and would buy it regularly if it was available. Living in Europe for several years provided the opportunity to expand not only my mind, perspective, but also my palate. Which is something we Americans are in great need of. As far as the cruelty and mistreatment by “killer buyers” and slaughter houses; it is present in every food industry, in every country. I sincerly hope that I will soon be able to go to any supermarket or butcher and buy horsemeat. If not, I guess one could buy a temporary holding pen.
Horse slaughter is gross. And cruel. Horses are pets..be nice
Meat is meat, you don’t want to eat it then don’t, but don’t deprive others from it’s excellent flavors. I wanted to ask Caleb Sutton where he buys his horse meat from (and if they would ship it). I am only able to find it when I cross the border into Canada or travel abroad. And you religious nuts, get a life.
Next they will want to eat dogs and cats. Oh i read somewhere euthanized
animals are already in our pet food.. Thanks bjbforgiven
Could you please email me this question? Where is horse meat selling at? I want to make sure fast food restaurants are sneaking in horse meat into their burgers as fillers. If this is legal, where in the US is it selling and how can we trust it’s not being used in fast food restaurants, etc.??
For the record, I am a vegetarian. I do not eat any meat, but I want to make sure that my family and friends aren’t eating horses whenever they eat a burger!
*aren’t sneaking in not are.
Sorry.
I would like to know if you can 25 head of horses from okla.We cannot feed them and there is no grass.They will have to do the best they can otherwise….
Americans are the lst adventrious when it comes to food. Horse meat is good lean meat that is good for you. In Italy horse meat is accepted as a main Stay. Americans can’t see anything they consider a pet, as something to eat-Grow up America.
Horses are livestock, just like cattle, sheep, goats, bison, chickens, and pigs. All livestock is food… for someone, even if not for me. I love my horses and, personally, wouldn’t eat THEM. But, I had a calf we raised when I was a kid and one day, upon coming home after school, found that he was gone. A week later, I was told I was eating him for dinner. I cried for days. I love beef, but didn’t love THAT particular piece of meat. There’s a difference between eating meat, and eating my pets. I am neutral when it comes to horse slaughter. The captive bolt doesn’t work on horses like it does cattle, and therein lies the torture. If we could ensure horse meat is not tainted with illegal drugs (for human consumption) AND had a more effective method of knocking them out before slitting them open, I wouldn’t necessarily oppose slaughter. But, ALL animals should be slaughtered quickly, effectively, and cleaning… without unnecessary pain and torture committed. The economy and the horse industry have both suffered tremendously. Farms have shut down and animals have been neglected. Responsible horse slaughter WOULD help to reduce the vast quantities of homeless horses on the market currently being slaughtered in neighboring countries. If I were forced to choose between slaughter in the US or slaughter in Mexico, I would have to choose America… particularly if the slaughter industry is improved. Let’s feed and care for the animals properly before they end up on someone’s dinner plate, and let’s kill the responsibly and quickly. Slaughter is a necessary evil. But, my horses will not have their lives ended that way. They will be put down quickly, at home, if the old farmers have to do it themselves. And, then they will be buried on the farm.
I have to agree with Cheryl. I’m a horse lover and have several. I would never eat my horses or pets but if someone else chooses to eat horses that’s fine. I think the efforts should be pointed at trying to make the whole process better and less brutal . They should not have to suffer because someone wants to eat them.
I would not shop at any store that sold horse meat. I hope the US never allows this, what will be next dogs and cats like China? Isn’t there enough meat in the country already?