MATE O

R MEAT

?

The Hors

e Slaughte

r Debate

Should equine slaughter for human consumption be allowed in the United States?

“BAN”

$65 million

105,000 horses17,000 tons of meat

Welfare

Ban Supporters

Food safety

Society’s opinion

Unwanted horses

Export problems

Ban Opponents

Ban Opponents

Unwanted horses = starvation and neglect

Canada

Mexico

+ 148%

+ 660%

“I think the total lack of connection with agriculture is the main thing. People have passed these laws and signed on to be sponsors of a national slaughter ban, a vast majority of them are urban legislators and their constituents are people that live in suburbs that don’t know which end of a horse to feed and which end to carry stuff away from.”

Dr. Kevin Kline, University of Illinois Extension Equine Specialist

Ban Supporters

Phenylbutazone

Dewormer

Trimethoprim Sulfa

“By flooding the market with inexpensive, unsound horses, that drives the price down. When you sell a horse, you want to take a horse and you want him be surrounded by other good horses, because you’ve got a good horse and that good horse brings better money.”

Chris Heyde, Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs, Animal Welfare Institute

Next steps

Increase slaughterhouse

inspections

Regulate transportation

Regulate rescues

Educate horse owners

Questions?