us horses inhumanely slaughtered across

US Horses Inhumanely Slaughtered Across the Borders

On January 8, I posted about the rise of horse neglect in the United

States. The second half of the post contained a quote bemoaning the

loss of horse slaughterhouses in the United States.

I didn't agree with this sentiment, but now, a new article is making

me rethink this opinion.

This article appears in the New York Times and talks about the

inhumane conditions of horses slaughtered in Canada and Mexico.

Amid pressure from animal rights groups, horse slaughter virtually

ended in the United States last year, as courts upheld state laws

banning it in Texas and Illinois, home to the nation's last three

horse slaughterhouses.

But there have been unintended consequences, including more grueling

travel for tens of thousands of horses now being sent to slaughter in

Canada and Mexico, where, animal advocates say, they sometimes face

more gruesome deaths....

The American slaughterhouses killed horses quickly by driving steel

pins into their brains, a method the American Veterinary Medical

Association considers humane. Workers in some Mexican plants, by

contrast, disable them by stabbing them with knives to sever their

spinal cords, said Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at

Colorado State University.

"My worst nightmare has happened," Dr. Grandin said. "This is an

example of well-intentioned but very bad unintended consequences."

Supporters of the ban on US slaughterhouses believe that horse owners

should euthanize their animals humanely. Some opponents argue this is

an expensive option because it could cost $140 or more to euthanize

and disposs of the carcass. $140? How often have you spent less than

$140 on a tune-up for your car? I have no sympathy for this lame

argument.

But it concerns me that owners who refuse to euthanize these animals

are making them suffer even more from inhumane slaughtering practices

across the border. I don't want horses slaughtered for food, but if

they have to be, I don't want them to suffer.

In the meantime, federal legislation that would forbid the sale and

transport of horses for human consumption is awaiting action in both