United States horses continue to be exported to Canada and New Mexico to be slaughtered despite the plummeting demand for U.S. horse meat worldwide. Horses can't be slaughtered in the U.S., but there is no ban on slaughtering horses in the two contiguous countries.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that in 2022, more than 16,300 horses were shipped to Mexico to be slaughtered and that more than 5,100 horses went to slaughter in Canada. This number is drastically different from the more than 300,000 horses that were shipped overseas for meat in the 1990s.
Horses bought at auctions and destined for slaughter include everything from show horses and racehorses to wild horses and pets. Once bought by a kill buyer and destined for slaughter, care for the horses' welfare often ceases. Horses shipped for slaughter across U.S. borders often travel for more than a day in inappropriate trailers, do not have access to enough food, water or rest, and become injured.
When unloaded, the horses are moved to holding pens where veterinary care for injuries or disease is rare, though the USDA requires that a vet examine a horse in “obvious physical distress.” The USDA also requires that horses shipped for slaughter have food and water for six hours before they are transported, and that the cargo space they travel in be designed to protect “the health and well-being” of the horses.
Concern about the safety of U.S. horse meat is rising as horses in the States are often given drugs, like phenylbutazone (Bute), that make the meat inappropriate for human consumption. The European Union banned horse meat imported from Mexico and requires that all U.S. horses be held for six months in Canada before being shipped overseas, in an effort to eliminate drugs from their systems. Additionally, the last owner of the horse is expected to “sign off” that a horse is drug free.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) support the Farm System Reform Act and Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act, which request that the 2023 Farm Bill include increased protections for animals during transport and at slaughter.
Read more at National Geographic.
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