Lauren Street
Ms. McKoy
English II
May 9, 2013
The
Facts About Horse Slaughter
Horses are one of the world’s most beautiful animals.
They range from different colors, sizes, and even personalities. Horses are
loved by many and live happily on farms or on their own. In reality, hundreds
of thousands of horses are killed each year. Horses are often slaughtered due
to the fact they are unwanted and have nowhere to go. Once a horse is at a
slaughter plant, they are often killed unpleasantly. There are rules in place,
but the rules are ignored each day. Horses get murdered daily and they need our
help. 92% of horses slaughtered are healthy and sound 3 to 7 year olds. They
are sent to slaughter plants because people change their mind and decide they
want a better horse. Society expects perfect and most horse owners want to
their horses to fit thoroughly in the image of perfection. Horse slaughter is
not being taken seriously, because horses are still being slaughtered with a
ban, horses are being sent to Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries to be
slaughtered, and horses are killed inhumanely every single day.
A ban was placed on horse slaughter in 2006, but the United
States kept the slaughter plants open secretly. Unfortunately, the ban was only
for 5 years and in 2011 the ban was forced to be lifted. Many horse slaughter
plants have opened up again and started their torturous ways. “The number of
horses being slaughtered has doubled every 2 years since 2005,” reports Wendy
Mesley (CBC Television, 46). The ban was placed in 2006 so that means the
slaughterhouses operated illegally for five years. If slaughterhouses were
already operating illegally, then this means slaughterhouses will not care
about rules. Horses are killed inhumanely each day and the government has not
bothered to do a thing about it. 92% of horses slaughtered each year are
healthy and sound. Of that 92% the ages range from only 3 years old to 7 years
old. Horses come from all different situations; even racehorses are sent to
slaughterhouses. These horses should not end up being murdered just because
their previous owners do not want them anymore.
In 2006 a ban was set on horse slaughter, but not only
did slaughter plants still operate, they sent horses to foreign countries to be
slaughtered as well. Mexico and Canada were the most common countries horses
would be transported to for slaughter. “The U.S.’s two largest veterinary
associations …both oppose a slaughter ban for fear it would result in less
humane slaughter abroad (especially in Mexico, where more American horses are
now being sent), longer shipping distances,, and more neglected and abused
horses overall” writes Karin Winegar (44). On the other hand, Chris Heyde
supports the slaughter ban to make it more difficult for transport of horses to
foreign countries for slaughter. Heyde declares “We don’t want horses going to
slaughter in Mexico, either. If horses are going to Mexico for breeding or
sale, they’ll have to have vaccination records, be put in quarantine, and have
brokers to get the horses out of quarantine” (45). Slaughterhouses
or killer buyers look to spend $50 per horse so the killer buyers are losing
money automatically. “… 130,000 horses are sent to Mexico each year for
slaughtering” Rick de los Santos declares (5). This means double the hundreds
of thousands of horses that are killed in the U.S. to include the numbers
killed outside of the U.S. “Heyde adds that donors who fund AWI efforts to
curtail horse slaughter will also support efforts to strengthen state animal
abuse laws…” finished Heyde (47). Animal abuse is still a misdemeanor; the next
step to stopping horse slaughter would be raising the charge. Raising animal abuse
charges and upping the difficulties to transporting horses for slaughter to
other countries would help reduce slaughter. On the other hand, if slaughter
houses have been operating illegally, who knows if this will stop them?
Thousands of horses are slaughtered each day. Most of the
deaths result in a heartless, painful death. The Humane Society of the United
States reports “The methods used to kill horses rarely result in quick,
painless deaths, as horses often endure repeated stuns or blows and sometimes
remain conscious during their slaughter and dismemberment” (6). Slaughtering
horses is completely inhumane and die unhappily. Mellissa Fung reports (8) “Some
of the images these cameras captured too disturbing to show you, so we’ll
describe what we saw. This horse will have to be shot three times before it’s
finally rendered unconscious. This horse will be jolted with an electric prod
17 times, including in the face.” Multiple horses faced different abuse as they
were sent to be killed or were being killed. The most mind boggling fact about
the slaughter plants is that there is a veterinarian from an inspection agency
at plants to make sure abuses like this do not happen. Jeff Irton claimed “no
one at the plant bothered to do a simple check to make sure the horses were
actually unconscious before they were strung up to have their throats slit”
(20). Reports of inhumane horse slaughter goes on and on and on. The segment
done by CBC Television gave more than enough examples of inhumane horse
slaughter. Transportation of horses to slaughter and slaughter altogether
should be stopped completely. Horse slaughter is not only wrong, but the meat
is not good for human consumption.
Animals Australia alleged that “worker shot the horse
twice, did not ensure the horse was dead, and then tied the horse to a tractor
and dragged him across 60 metres of concrete and gravel after which he was
found to still be breathing” (4). Everyday thousands of horses are violently
killed for no reason. Horses are dragged across concrete; horses are strung up
to have their throats slit while conscious, and horses are even alive during
their dismemberment. The Humane Society of The United States reports “The
methods used to kill horses rarely result in quick, painless deaths, as horses
often endure repeated stuns or blows and sometimes remain conscious during
their slaughter and dismemberment” (UPI 6). The least a slaughterhouse could do
is make sure a horse is unconscious and not breathing anymore before
dismemberment and slaughter. Mellissa Fung, a reporter for CBC Television, did
a special segment on horse slaughter where hidden cameras were set up at
multiple slaughterhouses. Mellissa Fung describes a slaughterhouse where “This
horse will have to be shot three times before it’s finally rendered
unconscious. This horse will be jolted with an electric prod 17 times,
including in the fact. Two ponies loaded into the kill box together presumably
to save time” (8). There is in fact a veterinarian from the CFIA located at
plants to make sure things like this do not happen. Mellissa Fung interviewed
Jeff Irton, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, whose main concern was “no
one at the plant bothered to do a simple check to make sure the horses were
actually unconscious before they were strung up to have their throats slit”
(19). The workers at slaughterhouses are either just plain heartless or are not
being supervised while slaughtering horses. There is enough evidence and more
to prove that horses are killed violently each day. From being dragged across
concrete to being alive while their dismemberment. It is time horses have a
chance to live their life and die happily, not get killed while still young and
healthy.
Many slaughterhouses do not care about the welfare and
happiness of horses. Instead, they slaughter horses and slit their throats
while still alive. Slaughter plants even kill two horses at once, just to save
time. There are rules set in place so abuses like this do not happen. One rule
slaughterhouses must can a non-slip floor and that is not emphasized enough.
“Both Grandin and the Federation of Humane Societies did full audits of the
footage from the plants and concluded that both failed to meet government
guidelines for humane slaughter. What concerned Grandin the most, the number of
horses seen to be slipping and falling,” Reported Mellissa Fung (17). That is
just one rule of many that slaughterhouses must abide by. Slaughterhouses
operated illegally during the five year ban in the United States. They also
transported masses of horses in tiny trucks to foreign countries like Mexico
and Canada. If they already operated illegally and slaughtered inhumanely, who
thinks they will follow rules since the ban was forced to be lifted? Due to the
fact thousands and thousands of horses were killed while having a ban, horses
are transported to foreign countries like Mexico and Canada for slaughter, and
horses are killed inhumanely every single day, many people will continue to
ignore the voiceless cries for help.
