Horse-Slaughter: America's Dirty Little Secret - Should horses be slaughtered? In September the U.S. Congress will vote on a bill that would make horse slaughter illegal in the U.S.

Call your Legislators Immediately:
Ask them to vote against any legislature that would allow the slaughtering of horses for human consumption. If you are not from Texas, please call your Senators and ask them to call Texas Senators to put pressure on them and request that they vote against horse slaughter for human consumption period. Slaughtering horses for the profit of foreign companies and foreign consumption is despicable to say the least. Moreover, these companies do nothing but drain the U.S. economy and give nothing in return but a dirty name to us.

By John Holland

Bring in your children and potted plants and barricade your door…they’re coming! No, it is not Al Qaeda or even the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The abandoned horses are coming and the destruction will be biblical!

At least that is the message of sensationalized articles appearing all over the country. They warn that horses are being abandoned because of the closing of U.S. horse slaughter plants, and because of the severe hay shortage in much of the Southeast.

An AP article by Richard Cockle of the Oregonian carries the headline Abandoned horses pose dilemma for ranchers, while another AP story quotes the executive director of the North Carolina Horse Council as saying an estimated 120,000 horses have been abandoned already. A month earlier, Dave Russell in the Yankton Press and Dakotan put the estimate of unwanted horses at “212,000 and counting!” And an official from the American Horse Council was quoted in a Dallas paper as saying owners would soon be abandoning 312,000 unwanted starving horses because of the recent closing of three U.S. horse slaughter facilities.
Betsy Scott of the Northern Ohio News Herald even offered up an image of horses ruining our next outing by cantering across our picnic blankets! As proof, Scott quoted a horsewoman as saying that the President of the Ohio Horse Council had reported horses being abandoned in the state’s parks.

But before you head for the basement with an armload of groceries, you should know that this is, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “deja vous all over again.” In 1998, California banned horse slaughter and almost immediately a series of stories popped up about horses being abandoned in the desert, just as the slaughter proponents had warned would happen. Unfortunately nobody could find the horses.

In February, the two Texas horse slaughter plants closed after a long court battle with the state over a 1949 law prohibiting the sale of horse meat. Within weeks AP college basketball stringer Jeffrey McMurray did a shocking investigative report that was published around the world with titles such as Kentucky, land of the thoroughbred, swamped with unwanted horses!

The McMurray article was based on horses seen free grazing at a reclaimed strip mine in Eastern Kentucky. The only problem was that the horses were all privately owned and had not been abandoned. The Kentucky State Police and animal control officials immediately debunked the McMurray story but it raised such a furor that Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher responded with a letter saying it was “filled with inaccurate statements and information.”

Undeterred by these denials, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a leading horse slaughter proponent, sent the McMurray article to its member veterinarians as proof that they had been right all along about the dire effects of a ban on horse slaughter.
So were these stories more of the same? After extensive research, our findings indicate that confirmed cases of abandoned horses rank somewhere between the number of sightings of the Lock Ness monster and those of Big Foot, but without the solid photographic evidence.
Starting with the story about the horses becoming such a “dilemma” for Oregon’s ranchers one has only to read beyond the sensationalized headline to see it was based on a staggering nine (9) horses that had shown up at a ranch in Oregon. More tellingly they had shown up over a 24 month period, putting their appearance at the ranch before the U.S. slaughter plants were even closed.

But the Oregonian story has worse problems. Horse abandonment is a crime, and Cockle quoted Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe as saying he tried to determine the owners of such animals but that they were rarely branded. This implied that Wolfe had investigated the incident. When contacted, Wolfe said he knew nothing of the situation. Official reports showed only three cases involving horses since 2005; a case of an injured horse found on an abandoned property with other animals, a case of a horse carcass dropped at a gravel pit and a report of an abandoned horse which was determined to be unfounded.

So our investigation turned to those picnic wrecking horses being turned loose in the Ohio parks. The President of the Ohio Horse Council responded to our enquires saying that he never made the statement on the record but that he had “heard” that horses had been turned loose in the Perry Forest. Perry Forest officials said that no horses had been abandoned there.

Next we checked with every agency in North Carolina that governs forest or park lands and found no record of abandoned horses. So we contacted the North Carolina Horse Council about their claim. They were helpful but could only recall that the number (actually 90,000) had come from the American Horse Council, possibly as an email that “probably no longer existed.”

Thanks to the American Horse Council for the Report By this point we had estimates ranging from 90,000 to 320,000 abandoned horses and most seemed to be attributed to the American Horse Council. I contacted Sara Chase, the AHC Director of Communications to ask how the estimate/s were made and which estimate was correct. Ms. Chase stated for the record that neither the AHC nor their Unwanted Horse Coalition had ever put out a number, and that none of those quotes should have ever been made!

Meanwhile, Harper’s Magazine quoted Pat Evans of Utah State University Veterinary Sciences Department as saying that more horses are being abandoned now that the slaughter houses were closed. But when asked for her sources Dr. Evans declined to disclose them. So we contacted every appropriate state agency in Utah. We found no documented cases of abandoned horses there either.

Unfortunately, the impression that all these baseless stories and their tabloid style headlines convey persists long after they are disproved. If you can produce enough smoke people will believe there has to be a fire, and as Joseph Goebbels observed, people will believe a big lie sooner than a small one.

Ironically, even if these stories were true they would tell us nothing about the impact of closing the horse slaughter outlet because it has not been closed. American horses are merely going over the borders to slaughter in Mexico and Canada in nearly the same numbers (down just 17%) as before the closings.

The question is what is likely to happen when Congress passes HR.503 / S.311 and really ends the slaughter of our horses? To predict that future we have only to look at the past, and it is this historical record that has the pro-slaughter forces pumping out smoke screens because it directly contradicts their fear mongering.

For example, in 1989 the USDA reported 379,571 American horses were slaughtered or exported for slaughter. By 2002 that number had plunged to just 77,713 as a result of reduced demand for their meat. There was no government sponsored rescue effort and no documented increase in either neglect or abandonment.

Likewise, when the Cavel horse slaughter plant in Illinois burned on Easter Sunday in 2002, it took about 40% of U.S. horse slaughter capacity off line for over two years. Yet, the year after the fire the number of cases of abuse and neglect reported by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (which had doubled in the three years before the fire) actually went down.

None of this is to say we are not facing a hard winter, but horse owners have seen worse. "Last year in Texas we had a horrible hay shortage when stocks were depleted by the commercial suppliers," said Steven Long, author, and Vice President of the Greater Houston Horse Council. "Not only did we suffer a hay shortage, we had a frightening water shortage when the stock tanks dried up. Yet I don't know of a single case of an abandoned horse."

John Holland is a freelance writer and the author of three books. He frequently writes on the subject of horse slaughter from his small farm in the mountains of Virginia, where he lives with his wife, Sheilah, and their 10 horses.

Texas Humane Legislation Network
Texas Horse Slaughter Plants Could Legalize Horse Slaughter Through Last-Minute Amendment

For immediate release: May 23, 2007

Austin, TX -- Horse advocate and animal welfare groups throughout Texas are on high alert after learning that horse slaughter proponents are trying to amend bills on the Senate floor that would repeal the ban on horse slaughter for human consumption.

A pro-horse slaughter amendment by Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) was tacked on to a Senate bill a few weeks ago, but that bill was killed in the House. The language used in Sen. Hegar’s amendment did not include the words “horse slaughter,” but stated only “Chapter 149 does not apply to animals tested by the commission under this section.”

Chapter 149 of the Agricultural Code states that it is a criminal offense to sell, possess or transfer horsemeat for human consumption. The repeal of this code would legitimize an industry that has been illegal in the state since 1949.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Texas horse slaughtering plants’ petition for writ of certiorari, which means the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding the Texas law banning horse slaughter is final.

Last week, the Illinois State Senate voted 39 to 16 to ban horse slaughter for human consumption, following the measure’s overwhelming approval last month in the state’s House of Representatives. Governor Rod Blagojevich reaffirmed his support and has promised to sign the bill.

If the Texas Legislature legalizes horse slaughter, Texas would be the only state in the union to legitimize this barbaric industry.

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Contact information: Susan Hendrix (512) 413-1602; Cile Holloway (214) 537-3531

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 26, 2007) – The US House of Representatives today resoundingly reaffirmed what it originally declared in 1971 – America’s wild, free-roaming horses and burros must be protected from commercial exploitation and the cruel slaughter industry. In a tremendous victory on behalf of all horses, the House passed H.R. 249 with a vote of 277 to 137, restoring the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros.

“Today, our elected representatives have listened to the truth about wild horses,” said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation. “Despite the enormous amount of misinformation being spread by pro-horse slaughter individuals, the facts remain clear: wild horses are not to blame for rangeland destruction, and they are not starving to death.”

In late 2004, a rider stripping away the original Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act’s decades-old protections was adopted without public awareness or Congressional oversight. Passage of H.R. 249, reintroduced in the 110^th Congress by House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), effectively stops the Bureau of Land Management from implementing this reprehensible measure. The measure must now be considered before the US Senate before becoming law.

“We knew the House of Representatives would continue to listen to the will of the American people, and now they must put a permanent end to horse slaughter for human consumption,” Heyde said. “There are far too few of these national treasures. They deserve to live free on our public lands, and we must ensure their future welfare.”

With the will of the people being heard in the Halls of Congress, the House and Senate are poised to take the next step in finally ending the inhumane practice of horse slaughter. The public must demand passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 and S. 311) – the only bills to permanently ban all horse slaughter for human consumption – by calling on their Members of Congress to act immediately.

ALERT! First, the good news: A federal appeals court has opened the way for authorities to shut down horse-slaughter plants in two Texas cities, Kaufman and Fort Worth, ruling that a state ban on killing horses for human consumption remains in force despite legal challenges. Your comments are being heard! Now, the airlines shipping horse meat out of the country have suspended doing so for an indefinite period. We must keep up the fight, however.

Next, the not-so-good news: The 5th Circuit of Appeals ruling involves only two of the nation's three horse slaughtering plants -- the Dallas Crown Inc. facility in Kaufman and Beltex Corp. in nearby Fort Worth. The foreign-owned companies are considering legal appeals, and could remain open until that legal action is decided. A third plant run by foreign-owned Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Ill., is not affected by the ruling.

Let’s be absolutely clear: A federal ban is the one and only answer, and it is more critical and time sensitive given the 5th Circuit ruling. Without the legislation we are seeking, horse slaughter is still legal in this country, and the Texas plants could relocate in another state, or even worse, start taking horses even greater distances to Mexico and Canada, where their abuse and neglect will be even worse. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act will prevent that, so we must demand action now.

In September, the U.S. House voted to ban horse slaughter but a Senate version fell victim to scurrilous stalling actions by misguided opponents before lawmakers adjourned for the year. We must make our voices heard by the new Congress, and focus on passing the same bill in both houses. A key component to our victory in the House last year was your phone calls to Congress leading up to the vote. For the first time since we began this fight, the voices of the opposition are raising above our own. Senators have reported hearing equally from compassionate advocates in support of the bill and those in favor of slaughter opposed to the bill.

We need to raise our voices above the cries of our opponents and make sure we are ten times as vocal as our opposition!

We cannot fail! The lives of countless horses are at stake. Last year, more than 100,000 horses were sent to slaughter. It is time to shut the doors on the three remaining U.S. slaughterhouses. We have to begin this process again for a new Congress, and make certain we prevail!

Call this week, call next week, and call the following week. With your help we can save the lives of thousands of horses from cruel and inhumane slaughter.

There are only three slaughterhouses left in the U.S. - two in Texas, and one in Illinois.

These three slaughterhouses kill more than 100,000 horses per year - 100% of the horsemeat
is sent to Europe and Japan for fine dining.

Horsemeat is not sold in the U.S. In fact, in some states it is illegal to sell horsemeat for human consumption.

The Belgian owners operate these slaughterhouses at a loss to avoid paying taxes in the U.S.
They ship all the horsemeat to Europe and Japan, and make their profits abroad.

These three slaughterhouses require more that $5 million per year in oversight from the USDA -
even though 100% of the horsemeat is sent to Europe and Japan.

Bragging, "from the stable to the table in four days," healthy horses are stolen and butchered
within hours. Horse theft in California dropped 34% when that state banned horse slaughter.

Nearly all of the horses arriving at these kill plants are in good to excellent condition.