For Animals' Sake: Horses Don't Deserve Slaughter: Stop an American Tragedy

Written by Grace Brosofsky for the sake of animals

No one can dispute that horses have served as beloved companions to Americans for years. They have performed farm labor, been ridden to victory in races, and even saved human lives. Many people have found emotional connections with horses, animals that have proven to be sentient, intelligent, and loving. Do these animals deserve to die?

When horses have indisputably provided so much for humans, it is impossible to say that disposing of these animals through slaughter is in any way fair or humane. However, horse slaughter is becoming a reality on the home front- in America, a country the horse helped to build. As absurd as this idea seems, Congress has lifted the ban on horse slaughter, a legislative move that can be described as nothing but backwards progress.

Proponents of horse slaughter have made up many excuses for this absurdity, saying that the prevention of horse agriculture destroyed "an entire sector of animal agriculture for purely sentimental and romantic notions," but is life merely a sentimental or romantic notion? In my opinion, life cannot be said to be less valuable than money, but even from a purely economic standpoint, horse slaughter has many drawbacks. According to the USDA, if horse slaughterhouses open in the United States, Congress will have to allocate money for inspections, and taxpayers' dollars will be wasted on an industry most taxpayers don't support. In addition, horse slaughter will damage rather than aid the horse industry. Horse breeders have been breeding fewer horses due to the economic recession, helping to balance supply and demand, but if slaughterhouses are instituted in America, inhumane breeders will be more likely to breed excess foals with the intention of selling "bad" horses to slaughterhouses.

In addition, horse meat of "unwanted" horses cannot even be said to be fit for human consumption. Proponents of horse slaughter such as Sue Wallis have unwittingly admitted that unsafe drugs are given to horses that could contaminate our food supply. In truth, horses are not meant to be killed, so they are raised without consideration to FDA regulations, making the industry one that is mutually harmful to humans and to horses.

Furthermore, while horse consumption advocates try to understate the cruelty of the slaughter process by terming it "euthanasia", horses being slaughtered experience everything but a painless death. Reports of U. S. slaughterhouses expose horses being bound by their back legs and undergoing throat-slicing- an end to life that no sentient being should have to experience. In addition, according to the USDA, 92 percent of horses sent to the slaughterhouse are not in a condition where they need to be killed; they would have a good quality life if not slaughtered, further proving that horse slaughter is in no way “beneficial” to the horse. The slaughter of horses damages the environment, and U. S. slaughterhouses have been revealed to disobey environmental regulations. If these animals were allowed to die a natural death, this environmental harm would not be caused.

Lastly, take a moment to consider this issue through the eyes of a horse. Imagine that you have never done anything wrong, and suddenly the people you have served take you to your death, a death that is slow, painful, and gruesome. Although lawmakers have sadly voted to allow this to be the reality for many horses, you can take a stand to stop the cruelty by joining me in signing this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-usa-horse-slaughter.