Horseslaughter re-opening in the US

Are horse slaughter houses going to become legal in the US? They may. “A provision that effectively banned horse slaughter for human consumption in the United States wasn’t renewed by congress in November, opening the door for the return of slaughter plants after a four-year absence and reigniting a hot debate within the horse community.” Claimed Courier-Journal.com’s article on the debate.

There are people who believe that this is wrong and cruel. Their feelings are understandable, and I felt those same feelings when I heard about the non-renewal. Yet, once I started doing research on the facts of the topic, I realized that this isn’t the worst thing.

The last horse slaughterhouse in America closed in 2007 in Illinois, just months before the economic recession hit the country, according to the Associated Press. In the years since, horse abandonment and export has grown significantly, according to the GAO report. In Colorado, for example, data showed that investigations for horse neglect and abuse increased more than 60 percent, from 975 in 2005 to almost 1,600 in 2009, the report said.

People right now, don’t have the option to sell their horses if they can’t afford them, unlike people with other livestock, like cattle, who can sell their animals for meat. People can’t give their horses away either. People just aren’t buying. Also, it doesn’t circulate any money into the economy. If unwanted horses had somewhere to go, the people who owned them would have a little extra spending money, boosting the economy, and the animals wouldn’t have to suffer from starvation or abuse. Horses are being left out in the pasture with no care or food, just because there is nothing for the owners to do with the animal. Is it right that horses have to suffer more?

The likelihood of Americans dining on horses however, is slight since there is no culture of eating horse meat in this country, they are revered as pets and many states have strict controls on horse meat. For example, California and Illinois have laws banning the consumption of horse meat.

Even this day, people are bringing their horses on a hellish and cruel journey either to Mexico or Canada, where horse slaughter houses are still operating. Just as many horses that were being slaughtered in the U.S. every year- 138,000 are being transported to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered. That shows that shutting down the houses had no significance in the saving of horse lives.