| Closing
slaughterhouses will hurt horses, not save them
(See
letters to the editor in response to this column.)
By Cindy Schnitzler
October 10, 2007 | House Bill 1711, which would shut
down the only remaining fully operational horse-slaughtering
facility in the country, is currently on
the floor of the Illinois General Assembly. The
only other two horse-slaughtering facilities in the
country are located in Texas, and their operation was
greatly limited earlier this year by similar legislation.
The negative effects of this are already being seen
on the horse industry. Though this bill is only on the
floor of the state of Illinois, it will affect the whole
nation if passed.
At first glance, anti-slaughter seems like a good
idea. Who wants to see horses rounded up and taken off
to slaughter? Advocates of anti-slaughter picture droves
of young, healthy horses being executed.
The fact of the matter is that most of the horses
consigned to slaughter, according to the Horsemen's
Council of Illinois, are not good candidates for sale.
They are "unwanted, unusable, unsound or unsafe." Owners
of horses that fall under these categories cannot sell
them for these very reasons. The only other options,
outside of spending extravagant amounts of money to
care for an animal that cannot be used in any way, are
euthanasia, abandonment, or neglect.
The vet fee for the euthanasia of an animal as big
as a horse can run anywhere from $50 to $150. Add to
that the fee for backhoe services ($100-$300) for the
burial of the animal or, if burial is not allowed in
the area, the costs of having a renderer haul off the
body ($50-$200).
People who can't afford these expenses will have few
options left if the anti-slaughter legislation is passed.
What will happen to a good number of these animals,
unfortunately, will be abandonment and neglect. Supporters
of anti-slaughter make the assumption that all horse
owners are responsible, and that is sadly far from true.
If cases of horse abuse and neglect cannot be controlled
now, think of how many more cases there will be if slaughter
service is no longer available.
The mustangs under the care of the Bureau of Land
Management are good examples of the problem of horse
overpopulation if the legislation passes. The BLM is
responsible for controlling the number of wild horses
living on public land, and cannot legally release the
horses after they are rounded up. They attempt to auction
the horses and find them good homes, but the numbers
they are selling are a fraction of those they are herding
in. These animals, without the option of humane disposal,
will live crammed in small paddocks and pastures, eating
their ration of hay a day and waiting to die.
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation readily admits
that, "no one has thought about the consequences of
having many more horses than (the world) can reasonably
sustain." These people, like others who support anti-slaughter,
are concerned with all of the issues surrounding the
deaths of these animals, but do not think about those
regarding their continued life.
For more information, see Anti-slaughter
laws would be deadly for horse industry.
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