Slaughter ban not saving horses

Horse-slaughter ban closely watched in U.S. [link]

Laura Rance | May 17, 2008

Are horses livestock or pets, tools or toys?

For most people, the answer to that question lies not in what happens to that horse during its life, but at its end. Most of society has no trouble with the notion of sending livestock to the slaughterhouse. But it's not something most people would do with their pets.

It's a question that divides recreational horse owners from the horse industry and animal welfare advocates from livestock owners.

And it's at the core of a highly controversial debate playing out in the U.S. courts right now with spillover effects for Canada.

U.S. legislators' decision last year to remove federal inspection services for horse-slaughter plants, which effectively eliminates their ability to operate, appears to be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Back in the bad old days when the slaughter plants were operating, between 40,000 and 60,000 unwanted horses were routinely shipped annually to processing plants in that country where they were turned into human or pet food. There were some highly publicized stories about the practice and how some of the racing industry's most famous steeds ended up at the slaughterhouse when their running days were done.

So began the 'save a horse, ban the slaughter' campaign.

The slaughter-ban camp won—at least this round.

But while it seems you can legislate a change in human behaviour, it's a little harder to change human nature.

U.S. horses continue to be shipped to slaughter. Only now they are loaded on trucks and hauled thousands of kilometres to Mexico and Canada, where plants still operate. Surplus foals once produced by the pregnant mare's urine industry made Canada a relatively large exporter of horse meat destined for European and Japanese markets. Those markets still exist.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials intervened in several instances last winter in which transport trucks arrived at the Canadian border carrying U.S. horses on trailers not designed for horses. Inspectors refused to allow them entry, which didn't help the overcrowded horses much, but sent a clear message to the trucking industry.

Another more insidious trend has emerged in the United States. The horse meat market has traditionally set a the floor price for horses. A horse that had any use at all would sell for a premium over the meat price. The absence of the meat buyer has pulled that floor away. Sometimes no one, not even the owner who brought it to the sale, is willing to take it home. They don't want to pay the sales commission on a horse that didn't sell or that didn't fetch an adequate price, either.

The U.S. Livestock Marketing Association, whose members often served as the middlemen in the slaughter process, is among the groups fighting to have the slaughter reinstated.

There are reports emerging of horses left to starve or fend for themselves by owners who are unwilling or unable to continue caring for them. USDA officials are quoted in a Reuters report as having to investigate a rising number of cases in which horses have been taken to public lands and either turned loose or shot and left to rot.

The idea of a horse running wild and free may be romanticized in the movies, but in reality, it's a pretty tough outcome—especially if an animal has been raised in captivity and cultured to be dependent on humans. "Nothing has changed for the horse; they are just dying and suffering in a different way," says Shanyn Silinksi, executive director of the Manitoba Farm Animal Care Council. "Don't make a horse suffer to make a person feel better."

Some say horse owners should euthanize a horse like they would a dog. The problem, however, is disposal. It's neither easy nor advisable to bury a 500-kilogram animal at the back of the garden. Paying for disposal can be costly.

There is growing pressure on U.S. lawmakers to reconsider their decision. Some want the slaughter ban lifted. Others want the ban expanded to make it illegal to export horses for slaughter, a move that would be difficult to enforce once the horse is beyond American borders.

The U.S. debate is far from over. But it's being closely watched.

Horses, with both their functional and emotional connection to humans, have become a bellwether of sorts for how our society's relationship with animals is evolving. "It's not a welfare agenda. It's a political agenda to change how we view animals," Silinski says.

XP—When animal rights propaganda triumphs over common sense and the American people's right to choose, none of us win ... least of all, the horses. I think each of the politicians who helped pass the ban should have about 5,000 unwanted horses delivered to their nicely manicured front lawn.