Crime | July 22, 2008 | 8 comments

Horses sent to Mexico to be slaughtered

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julesrs007
The traders at Dallas County's half-filled horse auction knew the fate of their scrawny thoroughbreds even before they herded them into the ring. At least half of the horses for auction at the Dallas County Horse Sales last month were likely to end up in Mexico, where money can still be made off horse slaughter. About 25,000 horses have been shipped to Mexico for slaughter this year. And it wasn't to go back to the ranch.

The ones with visible backbones and skin stretched over their ribs – at least half of the 36 horses for sale – would probably end up in Mexico, where money can still be made off horse slaughter.

Horse owners say they're left with little option but to sell their horses to a "KILLER BUYER," or trader who buys the horses at a reduced price and takes them to Mexico for slaughter. "It's a CREED among Texan traders: We know we HAVE to do it; we just don't say," Mr. Oden said.

About 25,000 horses have been shipped to Mexico for slaughter this year, 10,000 more than this time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The number of horses sent from Texas has doubled during the same period and makes up the majority of the shipments.

"KILLER BUYERS" purchase weak horses cheaply and transport them across the border, a process that has become more clandestine but also more popular since Congress banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption in 2007. --- The number of horses crossing the border has grown SIX times since then.. in Texas, shipments to Mexico are EASY..

Before the ban, up to 100,000 horses were slaughtered annually. Much of the meat went overseas to countries like FRANCE and JAPAN where horse appears on menus as a delicacy.

Still, advocates haven't stopped their fight to extend the ban. That includes Texas oilman and rancher T. Boone Pickens and his wife, Madeleine, who lassoed enough support to propel the first ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption. "We'll try to figure out how to get this stopped," the Dallas billionaire said about the shipments to Mexico. Economic difficulties are no excuse, he said.

"It's a killing job, and that's not much of a deal as far as I'm concerned."

Barbara Linke of the American Quarter Horse Association, which advocates humane slaughter over starvation, said she fears an extended ban could bring about more neglect.
"I think we are going to see a lot more cases of animal cruelty and a lot more horses abandoned if the bill passes," Ms. Linke said.

'Nothing will change' says Tom Lenz, a veterinarian and chairman of the Unwanted Horse Coalition, said buyers will find a way to get horses across the border even with tougher laws.

"KILLER BUYERS will simply ship them as riding horses and then resell them for slaughter across the border," he said. "Nothing will change."

Instead, the horse industry should avoid an overabundance by learning to breed more selectively, he said. Last year, the Unwanted Horse Coalition reported 170,000 abandoned horses throughout the country.

"We need to deal more with the front end, decreasing horse production," Dr. Lenz said. Few horse owners choose euthanasia because of the expense, he said. It can cost at least $100 for a shot, and that doesn't include disposal fees. ---Mr. Finch said putting horses to sleep is still more humane than slaughter, an argument shared by many animal rights activists.

"We don't slaughter and eat our dogs," he said. "A lot of people think horses are just livestock. They aren't."

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8 comments // Horses sent to Mexico to be slaughtered

  • mactine
    • 0
      mactine  

    • Looks like those who think this is okay or even necessary are 1 of 2 groups.
      1. They have never cared for horses and may be in the end of this business that profits them in some way, so their comments are slipped in here to downplay the horriffic insanity that horse slaughter really is.
      2. They have not truly seen the journey from auction to death for a horse headed to slaughter. Try watching at least 15 videos of this business. Not the sanitized ones the slaughterhouse puts out.
      You are a different kind of human if it does not bother you deeply.
      By the way, I eat meat. I dont find it necessary to brutalize anything the way these animals are. So I would never eat horsemeat BECAUSE of the way the killers handle these animals from the moment of purchase to the time they kill them.
      I also would rather train and enjoy them than eat them. There's plenty of other good food out there.

      Euthanasia is cheaper than the money they spend to transport and kill. Not to mention the trauma the horse is saved from. I'd prefer to have owners put down horses with a well placed shot from their personal weapon if they 'cant afford' euthanasia.

      America will find a way to change the horse industry when it stops providing slaughter horses.

      Saying we cannot stop slaughter because it will change everything, is alot like saying we couldn't stop slavery because it will change everything.....
      duh

      Good change is necessary and people are the ones who make it.

    • 3 years ago
  • shroomfairy
  • JanaPokana
    • 0
      JanaPokana  

    • Hundreds of millions of cows and over a billion pigs are killed every year under no less gruesome conditions, so I don't quite get the outrage here. I think it is horrible that any animal would be tortured before its death, but the fact that we are talking about horses should not make a difference.

    • 3 years ago
  • purplefox
    • 0
      purplefox  

    • I wonder why it's banned in the states? Horse meat is a regular part of some cuisines such as French and Spanish(?), and still used in dog food in parts of the world that don't use it for human consumption. It seems to me there could be potential for far better regulation if it was legal in the states..

    • 3 years ago
  • UWAZell
    • 0
      UWAZell  

    • There is nothing horrific about this and I am sure someone in India believes that its horrific that we eat cows.

      "The thing that disturbs me is that this is being done for profit and the horses are sure to be killed in a cruel way." ekslye

      So you would feel better if the horses were donated to them and then they were killed. Its a business and people are in business to make money. I am going to assume that you do not eat chicken, burgers, lobsters, etc.

      "We don't slaughter and eat our dogs," he said. "A lot of people think horses are just livestock. They aren't."

      The thing is that they are and in some countries some people actually eat dogs. Therefore, he should not be concerned with the fact that these horses are going to Mexico to be killed and their meat subsequently sent to Japan, France or wherever is considered edible. That said, I would never eat horse or dog meat, but I do enjoy kangaroo and bison.

    • 3 years ago
  • Elligirl
    • 0
      Elligirl  

    • If it was regulated better I would feel better about it. But I can understand people not wanting to waste good meat (and that is what an animal that large is.) It's not like Mexico is awash in grade A beef and lamb.

    • 3 years ago
  • ekslye
    • 0
      ekslye  

    • As much as I feel that this is inhumane and cruel, we do eat cows and pigs, what makes a horse different? The thing that disturbs me is that this is being done for profit and the horses are sure to be killed in a cruel way. Of course the meat industry has never been known for being very humane with their methods.

    • 3 years ago
  • bizzybender
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