The Horse Industry's Dirty Little Secret

Fortunately, the secret is getting out. Tens of thousands of horses in the United States and Canada alone each year die a horrbile death in a slaughterhouse so they can be shipped abroad to become a dinner entree. For years the myth was that horses shipped to the packers were simply rendered humanely, made into such useful products as glue and used in dog food. This is simply not the case, as evidenced by recent studies. Not one single dog food company on the North American continent uses horse meat in their products, nor does the glue industry rely on horses any longer: They have gone synthetic.

Understandably, there are some breeders and horsemen who still believe the slaughter trade is a viable means by which to discard those horses which they cannot sell within a reasonable period of time for a significant amount of money. Additionally, as the demand for more highly specialized performance horses increases, the number of horses being sold for slaughter goes up as well.

Europe's Demand For American Horses

In light of recent severe outbreaks of Mad Cow Disease as well as Foot And Mouth Disease in the UK and on the European continent, demand for horse meat has increased a thousandfold. Beef is no longer desired due to the effects of these two tragic epidemics. An ailing economy forces breeders here to gradually produce fewer horses and the price for horse meat goes up along with the demand.

Sadly, if something is not done about this soon, we could inadvertently freeze out those not capable of purchasing horses at $5,000 or above from horse ownership and we would truly have an elitist sport. With horse meat prices nearing $2.00 per pound in some markets, horses who would have ordinarily sold as riding animals for prices ranging from $500 to $1,000 and up are selling to the slaughter plants.

At present there are only two facilities killing horses in the United States, both of which are located in Texas. None of the slaughterhouses in this country are domestically owned, both Bel-Tex and Dallas Crown are controlled by Belgian interests.

Premarin - Pregnant Mare's Urine

Another area in which there are a discouraging number of horses being sent to slaughter is via the PMU pipeline. Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals produces several drugs for menopausal women based in hormones called ERT (estrogen replacement therapy). Premarin is the most widely prescribed, having been the pill of choice for thousands of doctors for several decades to give to their patients.

Mares are kept in foal to produce the precious urine, which is made into the drug. The foals are simply byproducts of an industry and as such must be disposed of. They are sold generally in large lots at sales in Alberta and several Canadian provinces as well as the Northern Midwest of the United States and go directly to Canadian slaughterhouses. Over the past several years a number of groups have come forth in an effort to find homes for these foals, usually Quarter Horse or Paint crossed with Draft breeds.

At this time the evidence suggests there are a growing number of synthetic and plant-based replacements for Premarin, however, current demand dictates continued production, which, in turn, means a need for loving, responsible homes for the innocent foals produced.

Save The Horses!

In November of 1998 in the state of California, voters passed Proposition 6 by an overwhelming margin, outlawing the slaughter of horses in California for human consumption, the sale of horsemeat in California and the transport of horses out of state for the purposes of slaughter for human consumption.

Only with YOUR help can we continue the good work done in California -- by supporting similar measures in all 48 contiguous states as well as Alaska, Canada and Mexico, the export of American horsemeat can be stopped. With state legislative support, National legislation can be brought forward. Visit our Links page for more information and research into this subject matter.

 

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