The Real Issue is Unwanted Horses

To slaughter or not to slaughter is the question, but is it that simple? On the surface is what self respecting horse person would want to slaughter horses for human consumption? But, unfortunately, that is not the real question or problem. The problem is the unwanted horse; horses that have lost their usefulness or have sustained an injury, or simply the horse that an owner can no longer care for. Owning a horse is not only a huge responsibility but it is also a substantial expense. Estimates suggest that there are 80,000-100,000 unwanted horses that are sent to slaughter each year. The purpose of this article is to provide the facts concerning this issue so you can come to your own conclusions.

What horses are going to slaughter? Horses sent to slaughter are a small cross section of horses in America. There is no one breed or type over represented. Some websites and anti-slaughter advocates suggest that different types of horses are over represented due to their use. However, close scrutiny of the types of horses that are sent to slaughter show this to be untrue.

Is the slaughter process cruel? There are laws already in existence requiring that horses be shipped and slaughtered in a humane manner. Through research the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has determined there are 3 humane methods of euthanizing a horse; 1. a barbiturate overdose, 2. bullet to the brain, or 3. captive bolt to the brain. The captive bolt is the method employed for slaughter. So is slaughter cruel? No, it is not the end I want for my horses, but it is not cruel. Another thing to think very seriously about is if slaughter is cruel to horses, then it is cruel to cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens too?

If we are not going to slaughter these horses, than what are we going to do with them? Frankly, there are not enough retirement facilities to house all of the unwanted horses. The average capacity of a horse adoption facility in the U.S. is 30 animals. This means in the first year alone, the U.S. would need an additional 2,700 adoption facilities, according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). It is estimated that the care for these horses will cost about $1,900 per year per horse or $115 million to $130 million depending on the number of horses. There are simply too many unwanted horses to adopt out. Currently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) program for “wild horse adoption” can find homes for only 5,000 mustangs per year. There are horses currently standing in BLM collection facilities for over a year waiting adoption, and 70,000 more horses would simply overload the system.

Why not just euthanize them all? Then what do you do with the remains? Burial is a possibility, but no one knows what the environmental impact of the barbituates from 70,000 euthanized horses would have on ground water.

What about the horse? If an owner has no alternative, one worry is that the horses may be simply turned loose to fend for themselves. So what happens to the horse that is released into the wild? Considering the domestication of the horse and their complete dependency on human caretakers, slow starvation would be their end. Which is more humane, a quick painless death or slow one? It has been suggested that we should stop breeding so many horses. A good idea, however, who is supposed to stop their breeding programs? Breeders I know attempt to produce outstanding horses in their disciplines, which discipline should stop breeding? Should the government control equestrian breeding programs by mandating how we utilize and develop the horse, or should this be an industry issue?...

...As we continue to think about the issue of slaughter and the unwanted horse, we see it is much more than “to slaughter or not to slaughter”. It is the unwanted horse that is the problem. A coalition of the horse industry has come together to try and work on the issue. The Unwanted Horse Coalition is a broad alliance of equine organizations that have joined together under the American Horse Council.

The mission of the Unwanted Horse Coalition is to reduce the number of unwanted horses and to improve their welfare through education and the efforts of organizations committed to the health, safety, and responsible care and disposition of these horses. The goal is that through education, they can eliminate the unwanted horse within the next 10 to 15 years. By eliminating the unwanted horse, there will be no need for slaughter. Passing legislation that does not address the real problems will only endanger the welfare of the horse.

To contact the Unwanted Horse Coalition go to: www.unwantedhorsecoalition.org.
To contact the American Horse Council, go to: www.horsecouncil.org.

By Tracy Turner, DVM, Anoka Equine
Horse Newsletter (Volume 4, Issues 6 and 7)
University of Minnesota Horse Extension