Ban the round up of wild horses/donkeys, the slaughter pipeline, no horses/donkeys shipped out of the United States for human consumption,
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Ban all roundups of wild horses and burrows. Ban the contraception of wild horses and burrows. Ban the shipping of horses and burrows to other countries. Make it a federal offense with prison time for first offense and make the offenders dontate money to the organizations that save wild ones.
Allow Wild horse advocates the ability to document all herds and provide numbers to the rescues and wild horse advocate organizations.
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Why is horse slaughter bad for the USA
Over 80% of Americans are against horse slaughter and Kill buyers have been using this fact to extort money from rescuers for many years in their kill pen scam. Tens of thousands of horses are being bought at auction every year to be put into “kill pens”. If the “bail” or ransome is not paid in time, the horse is sent to slaughter in Mexico. Kill buyers are making millions off of horses and scamming rescuers every year. Most kill pens don’t have a contract to send horses to Mexico but it doesn’t stop them from using greed to blackmail people.
Kill buyers need low cost horses so to do this they will answer ads for free horses and lie that they are a forever home, even bringing kids with them. They will outbid actual non profit rescues or good homes at auction to discourage people from competing with them even if they lose money on the flip. They are often in agreement with auction owners and traders and flippers, all working together to keep the profits and horses under their control so they can extort from their kill pen scam.
This is a huge burden on rescues and rescuers as the horses’ bail are hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Kill pens are dirty, disease-filled places where horses most often get sick. All vet care is withheld even if injuries, blood, broken bones, or pus-filled eyes are present. Scared horses often kick and bite each other in their terror of being away from their safe homes. Vet bills after the kill pen experience are astronomical and avoidable if, instead,the horse were to be sold through a private buyer. The trauma horses can go through being in the slaughter pipeline is long lasting. Horses can look absolutely depressed and dejected if they have been in the pipeline for a long time or continually dumped there over and over after being “saved” at one time.
Not all Kill pens have contracts to sell horses for slaughter in Mexico, but that doesn’t stop them from scamming rescuers, they just say they will dump the horses on a kill buyer who does have a contract, if not bailed by a rescuer. Some horses will spend months if not years in the slaughter pipeline but you never know when they will lose their value and be sold to Mexico.
It is illegal for horses to cross the border if they are only standing on 3 feet (injured) or blind, but the kill buyers just threaten to let them loose at the US border to starve to death, which has happened over the years; they have all the power to keep scamming rescuers.
Horse slaughter is not legal in the USA. The USDA did a report years ago outlining the standards in our slaughter houses. The unethical and gross handling of horses in that environment led them to defund the slaughterhouse inspections. Kill buyers then found a loophole by transporting horses to Mexico and Canada to use their facilities. Horses are abused on these trips, from being trampled, to hitting their heads on ceilings too low to no food or water for days.
According to the HSUS there are no unwanted horses, With enough time and training all horses could find homes. If horses are old or too sick to save, humane euthanasia exists, so there is no need to abuse horses through slaughter
The slaughter pipeline exists, not because there is a crisis to deal with too many unwanted horses, but because the kill pen slaughter pipeline extorts millions of dollars from people who don’t want to see horses slaughtered.
It is highly irresponsible to use horses as food since their diets contain many toxic chemicals such as pain reliever (bute) and dewormers. These are poisonous for people and other animals alike, yet trying to pass a bill in congress has been futile for years as again this million dollar industry rules our land.
If slaughter was humane euthanasia it would not be a huge problem to send to horse slaughter. However the methods used to kill horses quickly in a factory setting are extremely horrific. Horses are stabbed often and most times ground up alive as the methods to slaughter cows do not work on horses. Horses are all different sizes and tend to panic when scared, leading to a worse experience for them. Highly unethical and kill buyers know this and use it to guilt people to bail the horses.
Over 80% of Americans are against horse slaughter, yet a loophole exists to transport American horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses. Most horses sent to slaughter are young, healthy horses which could be homed if given time and good marketing. The horse slaughter industry exists because of the demand for horse meat overseas, not because horses are unwanted. There have been bills introduced in congress for over a decade to make this illegal but slaughter is a billion dollar business that heavy hitters can afford to keep alive. Rescuers have no chance to compete with those deep pockets. Because slaughter is especially brutal for horses, often resulting in horses being butchered alive, a predatory kill pen business has sprung up charging thousands of dollars to save horses from being brutally slaughtered. Old, emaciated, Injured, blind, lame or terrified horses sit in kill pen lots with no vet care, fighting for food or warmth; their only hope to be bailed and homed. It is a black eye in the horse industry and puts every American horse at risk as they are one irresponsible owner away from the abusive slaughter pipeline.
Common Questions About Horse Slaughter
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How many horses are slaughtered per day? According to the USDA report, year to date from Dec 8, 2022: 19,496 Equines were slaughtered in Mexico: approximately 60 a day
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Where do they come from? How do really nice horses end up in kill pens? Owners sell them to who? All parts of the United States. They come from race tracks, farms, riding academies or private owners who sell them at auctions all over the country. They spend hours and sometimes even days in overcrowded pens, often having to fight over food and water. Most kill pen horses come from auctions where owners either dropped off in exchange for a check with no care as to who purchased their horse or were duped into thinking it was a good home. Some people drop their horses straight to a kill pen, thinking this is either a humane euthanasia, want quick money, or are too bothered to deal with buyers. If people advertise their horses as free or cheap, kill buyers will show up lying in order to get those horses, even bringing children along to trick an owner into giving them their horse.
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How do they end up in kill pens? At the end of the auction, there is a loose lot sale where horses are herded into the ring en masse and the kill buyers can bid on those horses as a group. It is rare that a horse is bid on by a good owner as the equines are scared, not ridden or handled, and not much is known about them. At some auctions, loose lot horses are sold late into the next morning, discouraging good homes to stay that late. Auctions tend to intimidate people so the kill buyer is the largest customer. At times, kill buyers will bid on horses that rescues are bidding on, not caring if they take a loss just to discourage and make rescues spend even more precious money they barely have to save horses. Kill buyers use a predatory, bullying type of system to take most of the horses they want. There are payoffs to auctioneers, backyard deals, and some kill buyers bought auction houses so they get the money on both ends. Lately, kill buyers have been buying more expensive, registered horses. As the prices increased in the horse world last year, the kill buyers raised their prices as well. Kill buyers are seeing the profit in also flipping those horses. With transport to slaughter legal, it puts the kill buyers in an advantage over people wanting to rescue. The public is at their mercy as to what they charge to get horses out. Money is going to kill pens rather than genuine Non-profits who are trying to save not only horses in abusive, neglectful situations but horses at auction before the kill buyer gets them.
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Who specifically is making the money on these horses? How are the kill pens making the money on this? Selling horses? How much do they get for one horse that goes to slaughter? Who is buying them for slaughter and where? U.S. broker for this?
The owner gets paid for their horse at auction no matter what their condition is, legal slaughter guarantees this when kill buyers are present. Then the auction house gets a fee for that horse selling. Then the kill buyer makes a profit off of them when they are sold to slaughter or even more money by advertising them in their kill pen program. This program offers a horse being sent to slaughter a second chance if a person will “bail” them out before their “sent to slaughter date”. This fee on average is double what they paid for that horse. We’ve seen horses priced at kill pens from $300 to several thousand. There are brokers who work with the kill pens to market them and if sold through them they also get a fee. If the horse isn’t sold in time they are sent to Mexico/Canada for slaughter or are traded to another kill buyer for another chance at a home. The whole slaughter market pipeline is a multi million dollar business. The slaughter pipeline exists, not because horses are unwanted, but because so many make money off of the abuse of horses.
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Who is buying the horse meat? Not America? Who is buying the most? Apr 3, 2020 — Many countries including China, Eurasia, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan, Bulgaria, Northern Spain, France, Tonga, Latin America eat horse meat Volumes are still sent to Vietnam and Russia. Conversely, the large volume of meat that is not exported is sold on the domestic Mexican market (Lozano et al., 2020)
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Who is stopping this from being passed? Lobbying groups are who? Ranchers, Breed registries such as AQHA, AVMA, American Indian Tribal Associations who are trying to bring horse slaughter back to the reservations, Kill buyers and anybody else who profits from slaughter.
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Who are the strongest lobbying groups trying to stop the slaughter? Many groups are anti slaughter including in my Coalition USHWR-NC, Horses in our Hands, Animals Angels, ASPCA, Animal Welfare Institute, etc
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How many horse rescues are there? There is no official registration of the many horse rescues out there; many are small and privately owned. One article said there were approximately 500+ but there are more likely closer to 1,000. The numbers change often as some are born while others are closing. The slaughter horse pipeline has been especially hard on rescues as people are spending large amounts of money on bailing horses, veterinary care, and training. Horses are traumatized, hurt and exposed to diseases from kill pens so they take longer to decompress and cost way more money to rehabilitate before they become available to adopt.
I want to uncover the source of the problem.
- Mustangs that BLM roundup are some?
BLM. through the Adoption Incentive Programs offer adopters $1,000 in incentive money. An investigation by the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) found that individuals or groups of related individuals are often adopting the maximum number of animals per person, holding them for one year (the point at which title passes and the full cash incentive is paid), and then sending them into the slaughter pipeline profiting twice on the horses and never intending to give them good homes. Care is often withheld so they arrive in kill pens unhandled, in poor condition and very scared of humans. It is very difficult to find homes for that many mustangs in worse condition than if they had been responsibly homed by the BLM in the first place.
- Why aren’t horse vets fighting this? The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Association of Equine Practitioners continue to argue against the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act. H.R. 3355 would permanently ban slaughter inside the United States as well as the export of American horses for slaughter. The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) is actually touting that slaughter can be done humanely. Even though there is much research that slaughter is inhumane and can never be humane, AVMA believes it can be done without pain. Since Mexico is under their own rules there is no way that kind procedures will be followed to help horses stay calm and make workers not butcher them alive. Animals Angels has done investigative reports in Mexico and it shows horrific stabbings of horses. Many vets I personally know are against slaughter, over 200 have sent letters to congress together, saying it is inhumane. A new petition will have over 1,000 veterinarians signed against slaughter Much of the blame goes to AMVA and AAEP for not taking a stand against this and, in fact, fighting the laws trying to ban it
- Why so many horses in kill pens? People don’t protect their horses when rehoming or are duped by a seemingly kind person who actually will flip their horse to a kill pen for profit. Kill buyers will lie to get any horse they can because it works. As a result, kill buyers have created a niche in the horse industry that makes them millions of dollars. It is way more profitable than sending them to Mexico, although some still fill the quota to send them to slaughter. They have created a very frenzied, urgent industry that pretends to offer horses going to slaughter a second chance at a home. This not knowing when/if a certain horse will ship to slaughter or not, makes the rescuer panic and bail the horse quickly. Nothing has been done with this “scam” even though laws are in place to protect Americans from fraud. The government has not stepped in to help even though rescuers have been complaining about this for years. Because transport to slaughter over our borders is legal these types of situations will continue to happen. Horses are also worth more money to a thief. Horses are often stolen and flipped to a kill pen or auction. Rarely are horses checked to see if they are stolen or not or if they have a chip. In fact, if your horse is stolen and you find them in a kill pen, you will have to act covertly to get them out as many kill buyers will make your horse disappear so they won’t eat the cost of that horse.
- Are there breeders that raise horses specifically to be slaughtered? In the USA, horses are not raised for slaughter. It is irresponsible to use companion animals taught to trust humans to be betrayed this way. Horses also contain many common drugs in their system for pain or health that makes horse meat toxic to humans. However, people take advantage of the slaughter pipeline to quickly unload horses they would normally not be able to. Breeders who only want a certain gender, color, or conformation will dump at auction or kill pen. Some people who want to be paid instead of spending the money for humane euthanasia will dump at auction, which results in horses being cruelly held for days in pain, trampled or worse as they are sick, lame and/or vulnerable.
- Why babies in kill pens? Kill buyers buy every horse not purchased or listed as “no sale” at auction no matter the condition or age. Some pregnant mares give birth in kill pens and some breeders dump babies that don’t sell in kill pens. Babies pull at people’s heart strings. Kill buyers threaten rescuers by saying that foals will be sold to zoos or sanctuaries to be used as food if under 6 months old. They are worth more if people will bail them instead. According to laws a horse over 6 months old can be sent to slaughter Some babies are so small at that age that it concerns rescuers in that they can be trampled by larger horses while being shipped to slaughter.
- Why do they take sick horses for meat? Mexico doesn’t have the strict guidelines the USA does. Not passing the SAFE act here in the USA is irresponsible of us since it has been proven that horsemeat can contain very toxic chemicals which humans should never eat. Mostly fat, healthy horses go to slaughter since they make more money than skinny or sick horses. Any horse that would be rejected going to slaughter or not profitable will go to the broker system kill pen to be sitting there blind, lame, bleeding or very ill, getting worse week by week in kill pens. It is very inhumane what we allow in the USA.
- I am surprised Canada allows this? Do Canadians eat horse meat? Most Canadians don’t eat horse meat. Just like in the USA, Canadian horse advocates fight against the same money making corporations that see this as a gold mine. There is so much money in this because most people don’t know what is going on with our horses. Draft horses are flown out of Canada to Japan in very scary inhumane crates so Japan can have horsemeat.
I need a thorough education on this with facts. I will distinguish what is most important to say to people who know nothing about this. Key talking points are what I want to develop.
- Someone asked me what the Safe Act will do? Stop horses from being exported to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered, right?
This bill (HR 3355) prohibits the transporting, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation by a person of an equine (e.g., horse) that the person has reason to believe will be slaughtered for human consumption. HR 3355 (house bill)
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Horse Slaughter | Animals Angels - North America
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The facts about horse auctions | The Humane Society of the United States
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Nation’s Largest Horse Slaughter Operation Exposed - The Dodo
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Top 10 importers and exporters of horse meat worldwide
Horse Slaughter – Equine Advocates
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While Dog And Cat Shelters Are Emptying, Many Horse Rescues Already Facing Closure Due To COVID-19.
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Adoption Incentive Program | Bureau of Land Management.
Flawed BLM AIP a burr in the saddle of October online wild horse adoption
Are You For It Or Against It? (Path Forward) – Wild Horse Education
Action Alert: Don’t let horse slaughter supporters have the last say!
Live horses shipped from Canadian airports to Japan for slaughter | American Wild Horse Campaign.
Taking on Canada’s Horse Meat Industry.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3355
Extra Research
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Let’s get the Safe Act passed immediately!