How many horses are slaughtered annually?

      Every year thousands of horses are killed due to horse slaughter. Almost 100,000 are slaughtered in the states annually and are shipped off for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Not only that, but they are also sent off to Canada to the slaughterhouses in Canada.

Who owns the houses?

      There are three slaughter houses in the United States (one in Illinois and two in Texas) and all are foreign owned. In Canada there is one in Ontario, two in Quebec, and one in Alberta. The meat is shipped off to be served as specialty food in places such as Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, and Japan.

What kinds of horses are sent there?

      Any age and breed of horse can be found at a slaughter house including miniature horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules. Common ones are PMU foals, unsuccessful race horses, riding school or camp horses, injured ones, buggy horses, used rodeo horses, or mares who don't produce valuable foals.

How are they sold and sent to a slaughter horse?

      Often the horses are sold at auctions and livestock sales and frequently they are purchased by people called "killer buyers." These killer buyers are employed by the slaughter houses and the horses are sent straight to the houses. Many times the horses are bought without disclosure and it can result in theft and fraud. Many school and summer camp horses are sold for meat when they are no longer useful.

      On the trip to the plants, the horses usually have to travel for long periods of time (sometimes 30 hours) and rarely are they given any food or water. They are also transported in double-decker cattle and pig trucks which do not properly hold the horses which results in countless injuries and even deaths. The horses are crammed together so tightly that if one falls down, it is usually trampled to death or serious injury. The ceilings are low and hard for horses to hold their heads comfortable and the floors are often slanted and slippery.

Above (left) horses cramped in a double decker. (Right) The outside of a double decker filled with horses.

At the slaughter house.

      Once the horses arrive, they are pulled, dragged, and forced off the vehicles into a line up towards their death. The horses are forced one by one to be given a shot with a captive bolt gun which shoots a spike into their skulls. This is meant to make the horse unconcious but many times the horses are panicing and the worker is unable to properly shoot the horse. Therefore, the horse is still concious when a chain is attached to one of its back legs and it is hoisted upside down and their throats are slit open. And both the trip there and the slaughter plants are stressful and terrifying to the horses.

Are there laws against horse slaughter?

      Some places such as California, Vermont, and New York have tried to help stop the abuse that goes on during travel and arrival at the plants. But still the abuse goes on and the enforcement isn't good enough. There are some bills to make slaughter illegal but they either get put away or not enforced enough.

The good news.

      The amounts of horse slaughter have gone down significantly. Back in the 1970s, approximately six million horses were slaughtered.

What is being done?

      On Thursday, March 29th, 2007, horse slaughter became illegal in the United States. Although, the three slaughter houses are no longer allowed to sell, have, and transport horse meat, they are currently still able to ship them outside of the U.S. borders to be slaughtered in Canada.

      In Canada, many peitions are on the go to help convince the Canadian Government to stop the vicious slaughter of horses in Canada.

Click here to see the current weekly statistics of horses that have been slaughtered so far this year.