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Information on Horse Slaughter
Below, a pen of draft horses patiently awaiting slaughter.
Our horses are rescued directly from East Coast horse auctions frequented by meat buyers. Gentle Giants is conscientious to only purchase horses being sold to meat. Very few people are aware that many privately owned horses sold at auction are in grave danger of being purchased for slaughter. Selling horses for meat is a lucrative and easy business, as horse meat is considered a delicacy and is in high demand in Canada, Europe, and especially Japan. Most meat buyers have a per pound price they are willing to pay for a horse. Depending on the market, exported horse meat brings $14 to $18 a pound, so a "meat man's" bid can be competitive with that of a private buyer. This puts draft breeds in particular danger as they are large, easy to fatten, and have lots of muscle.
Recently Bill HR-2744 was introduced to Congress, with the intent of ending horse slaughter by removing the federal funding that pays the salaries of the USDA inspectors responsible for inspecting horse meat for export. While the Bill has passed, it has only succeeded in issuing an eight month moratorium on the federal funding of inspectors. However, this Bill does not prevent a slaughterhouse from paying it's own USDA inspector. So in effect, we have not ended slaughter at all; we have merely made it less lucrative. Unfortunately, what most horse owners do not realize is that even if slaughter is one day outlawed completed in the U.S., our horses are STILL NOT SAFE! Most of the horses sold on the east coast are headed for slaughterhouses in Canada, where HR2744 does not apply.
For an excellent website dedicated to exploring all aspects of horse slaughter, please visit www.justsaywhoa.org . They are an excellent source of information. Please be warned that some photographs you may see are disturbing and not appropriate for children.
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