FROM THE EDITOR

Anti-Slaughter LegislationIt is impossible to pick up a horse magazine

and not see an article on the controversial issue ofequine slaughterhouses. Just recently, there were alarge number of veterinarians logging onto theAmerican Association of Equine Practitioners(AAEP) listserv to discuss the pros and cons ofequine slaughterhouses. Obviously, this is not asimple matter, but a very complex issue on whichindividuals are quite polarized. Some believe thatthere is no place at all for slaughter of horses,whereas others believe that slaughter facilities pro-vide a necessary means of taking care of the un-wanted horse.

David Foley, Executive Director of the AAEP,recently sent a message to the AAEP listserv toclarify the current position of AAEP. They op-pose the current legislation of H.B. 503 becausethe bill does not address the problem of un-wanted horses: “They seek to ban horse slaughterwithout providing any options or funding to takecare of the 80,000 to 100,000 unwanted horsesthat will result from this option being taken away.Additionally, the passage of these bills will notstop slaughter. These horses will simply be sub-jected to longer van rides as they go across theborders to Canada and Mexico.”

As most of us know, many organizationscame together in Washington, DC, to discuss thefate of the unwanted horse. As Tom Lenz stated,“This is a very complex issue that is going tohave to be solved by the horse industry, not leg-islators or animal rights groups.” It is encourag-ing to see that many breed registries, state horsecouncils, the American Horse Council, AAEP,and the American Veterinary MedicalAssociation (AVMA) have devoted extensiveefforts to developing solutions for the unwantedhorse. It is certain that this work will continue ineducating the horse owner on responsibilitiesfor horse ownership and the available optionsfor horses that are not wanted.

Certainly, not everyone agrees with the posi-tion that AAEP has taken; very strong argumentshave been presented that horse slaughter shouldbe eliminated and that banning of horse slaughterwill not result in an increase in abuse or neglect.Some suggest that enough rescue and shelter facil-ities will be made available to absorb the thou-sands of unwanted horses that may result fromclosure of the slaughter plants. Only time will tellas to which opinion is correct.

It is my hope that the veterinary communitywill continue to be involved in this discussion andwill seek to acquire accurate and non-biased infor-mation that can be used to make good decisions.By the time this editorial appears, I will have at-tended the American Quarter Horse Conventionin Seattle during the first week of March. AQHAhas always been a leader in developing policy andproviding support to the American Horse Council.Breed registries that have made the effort to be-come involved in such an important issue shouldbe commended for their efforts.

Ed Squires, Editor

134 Journal of Equine Veterinary Science April 2006

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