No home on the range: Domestic horse slaughter ban one year later

Last year I did a post about my mild opposition to a domestic ban on the slaughter of horses for the purposes of using the meat for human consumption. The comments are archived on Haloscan, but take my word for it--until my February 16 Bill Ayers post, my first horse slaughter post attracted the greatest number of comments in the almost four year history of Marathon Pundit.

Here's a brief rundown: In 2007, the last three slaughterhouses that processed horse meat for human consumption--the meat was sent to Europe and Asia--were closed down by legal maneuvering involving the pulling of USDA inspectors from the plants. Fine, if that's the people's will, so be it. But I criticized the sentiment behind the ban, making the claim--which I still stand by--that society is ill-equipped to deal with a population boom of unwanted horses.

Because of soaring feed prices--thank you ethanol--maintaining a horse is more expensive than ever. There are reports of increased sightings of wild horses throughout the nation--although the anti-slaughter lobby says those horse herds have been around for decades. Perhaps, but are these herds getting bigger? If they are, it wouldn't surprise me. The horses in the picture, by the way, live off the land in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The photograph was taken in 2004.

My conclusion in my first equine slaughter post, was that herds like these would continue to grow, and horses would suffer. Which would be quite inhumane. One more prediction I made last year: The unwanted horses would be transported to Mexico and Canada.

Meanwhile, a bill is being reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee that could send veterinarians, horse dealers, and horse owners to prison for three years for knowingly shipping a horse to a slaughterhouse that processes horse meat for human consumption.

Should these actions be criminalized? And in such a harsh manner? I don't think so.

And since the closing of the domestic slaughterhouses, what has happened? The Billings Gazette tells us:

Making slaughter a crime, however, will force some people to turn their domestic horses loose to face death on the roads or starvation, (veterinarian Doug) Corey) said. This year alone in Colorado, cases of horse abuse, including starvation, are up 40 percent, Corey said. Hay prices have doubled or tripled. Horses are bringing far less money at resale, and the economic crisis is making many owners struggle to care for them.

"All these factors are coming together to create a crisis of horse abuse, neglect and abandonment," Corey said. "More owners who are desperate haven't found options for what to do with their horses."

A Time Magazine article in May said sanctuaries are being swamped with unwanted horses because people are unable to care for them.

Corey also is involved in the Unwanted Horse Coalition, which is trying to reduce the number of abandoned or unwanted horses. No one knows how many horses now live in sanctuaries, but he estimates that it could be as high as 12,000.

The Gazette reports the number of horse shipped in Canada and Mexico since the domestic abattoirs closed has doubled.

Hiring a vet to euthanize a horse and burying it costs hundreds of dollars. Even shooting a horse and burying it on your own land--a workable option only for rural landowners with many acres of property--is expensive. Renting a backhoe to bury the equine costs $125 in Montana.

Horse lovers who commented here and sent me e-mails made the claim last year that there is a vast network of horse sanctuaries in the United States. I remain unconvinced.

The intentions of the anti-slaughter groups are noble, but as is often the case with such idealists, they don't anticipate the ramifications of their actions.

I'll leave the final words to John Chaffee, who had this to say to The Billings Gazette:

Our (domestic) killing plants are more humane than letting them lay out there and die. Not all horses have heart attacks. An old horse will lay there and beat his head on the ground because he can't get up.

Related posts:

Horse of a different color on abandoned equines story

Abandoned horses in Eastern Kentucky

Hey, another horse slaughter post

Last US horse slaughterhouse shut down, unwanted horse problem will worsen

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