Closing slaughterhouses means US horses are inhumanely killed in Mexico

By Stephanie Hebert

October 22, 2007 | Americans have a soft spot in their hearts for horses. This was especially evident last year following the tragic injury during the Preakness to the horse, Barbaro. Barbaro became national news as we all rooted for his recovery from a life threatening fracture to his right hind leg. People sent cards and well wishes to the New Bolton Center where Dr. Dean Richardson and his staff tried frantically to save Barbaro's life. The New Bolton Center set up a web site dedicated to Barbaro that was updated weekly so people could follow his progress through recovery. And Barbaro made national news again last January when the fight to save his life was over.

"We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," owner Roy Jackson said, "It was the right decision: it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him, then it would be time."

This is not the first horse to pull at the nation's heartstrings. Seabiscuit, another race horse, pulled the country together and gave the American people hope during the Great Depression. People flocked to the train stations if they knew Seabiscuit was due to arrive just to catch a glimpse of the knobby-kneed bay horse. The American people identified with Seabiscuit because his career was rocky from the start to the finish, he epitomized the plight of the American people during the depression, and they loved him for it.

On Sept. 21 the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to uphold the decision to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption. This decision closed the last slaughter plant in the U.S. that was slaughtering horses for human consumption.

"This was the final chapter in our successful efforts to close down the last remaining horse slaughterhouse in the United States," said Illinois state senator John Cullerton.

The American public cheered when the slaughter plants closed. The horse community's hearts sank when the last plant was closed.

Closing the slaughter plants in the U.S. didn't stop horses from being slaughtered, it just moved the carnage out of country to Mexico and Canada. Unfortunately once the horse crosses the border the USDA no longer has control over what happens to the horse. At least when horses where slaughtered in the U.S. the USDA could regulate the conditions the horses were slaughtered under, including transportation to the slaughter plants, and the method of slaughter.

When horses were slaughtered in the U.S. it was done so by a captive bolt gun. A captive bolt gun is deemed an acceptable method of slaughter by the, U.S. Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter statute. This law says "…in the case of cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or electrical, chemical or other means that is rapid and effective, before being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut."

A captive bolt gun has a steel bolt that is powered by compressed air or a blank cartridge. When fired into the head of the animal the skull is fractured and the brain is damaged beyond repair. Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University who has researched the slaughter industry and ways to reduce stress on slaughter animals, maintains that death came quickly and painlessly with a captive bolt gun.

Unfortunately, in Mexico horses are slaughtered using the puntilla technique. The idea behind the puntilla technique is that the spinal cord gets severed with a knife, hopefully in a single blow. A recent article by Lisa Sandberg of the Houston Chronicle told the grim reality that horses slaughtered in Mexico have to sustain multiple blows before the spinal cord is severed.

"Repeated jabs to the spinal cord would not kill the horse, at least not right away. Jabs to the spinal cord would just render it a quadriplegic. A clean jab to the spinal cord, which is difficult to do, would dull sensation in the body but not in the head," said Grandin in Sandberg's article.

Luis Terraza Munoz, director of a slaughter plant in Juarez, Mexico said, "It's like watching someone with an ice pick."

The gruesome tale Sandberg told showed us that once the horse is paralyzed it is left on the killing floor for about two minutes, before it is hoisted up by its back leg, and then its throat is cut in order for the blood to drain out. According to Grandin in Sandbergs' article, the horses would likely still be aware of being hoisted up and aware of being bled out at least for a short period of time before they lost consciousness due to lack of blood.

Last week 1,191 horses were sent to slaughter in Mexico, according the USDA market news U.S.-to-Mexico weekly livestock export summary. So far this year the U.S. has sent 36,156 horse to slaughter in Mexico, compared to 9,111 total sent last year.

The horse slaughter protection act which was vehemently debated by many in the horse community does nothing to stop horses from be transported to slaughter in other countries. It only prevents horses from being transported to slaughter in the U.S.. The American Quarter Horse Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Equine Practitioners, to name a few, were all against the bill for the reason that the wording was vague and they felt that it wouldn't protect our equine constituents.

Douglas Corey, a doctor of veterinary medicine and president-elect of the American Association of Equine Practitioners said in his testimony to Congress: "The way this bill is written will negatively impact the welfare of horses and it offers no solution to the problem of unwanted horses. In addition, we feel strongly that, if passed, this bill will not stop the slaughter of horses.".

Sandberg's article has renewed the stir in the animal rights community to amend the horse slaughter protection act which is now in place and isn't working as it was originally thought it would work. The amendment would prohibit the export of American horses across borders for slaughter and it would prohibit any resumption of domestic horse slaughter in the U.S.

The amendment is in the hands of the Senate and the House of Representatives. As of the 110th Session they had not made a decision on the amendment yet.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, one of the chief sponsors of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, said at a news conference addressing the slaughtering of horses in Mexico, "Now America's horses are being beaten and dragged across the border into Mexico and Canada so that they can be inhumanely slaughtered for food. I will continue to fight in Congress to end this brutal practice and ensure that American horses will no longer be savagely slaughtered for human consumption."

The horse represents the free unbridled spirit of the American people. They are strong, majestic creatures that have been a part of the American landscape whether that is in a pasture in the Kentucky blue grass or running wild across the Nevada desert. They have carried us through history and helped us to tame the West. Now, when they have become more of a pet then something we need out of necessity, we have let them down. We have forsaken a spiritual bond that we share. Even people who don't own horses share this bond, as was seen with Barbaro or Seabiscuit.

It is because of this bond that decisions were made to try to stop the practice of horse slaughter, but instead we have opened the door for our friends to walk down a path much more treacherous. It is up to us to close that door and again reinstate that the horse lives itsr life with dignity and is able to die with honor instead of shame.

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