Dear Editor,

I am writing to you today...HORSE SLAUGHTER IS INHERENTLY CRUEL.

The entire process of horse slaughter - from transport to stunning methods - is inherently cruel. Horses that wind up in the slaughter pipeline are usually purchased from unsuspecting owners by "kill-buyers" or industry middlemen who profit from selling the animals to foreign slaughterhouses. These horses typically endure long, overcrowded journeys without adequate food, water, or rest. Because they instinctively thrash their long necks when frightened, stunning them often requires repeated blows to the head. They might even be conscious during slaughter and dismemberment. Before U.S. horse slaughter facilities closed in 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture documented this and other examples of horrifying cruelty at operating U.S. slaughterhouses. Photos taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) while at one of the U.S. based horse slaughter facilities are too graphic to show here (Google horse slaughter, USDA, FOIA photos to find them online), but they demonstrate exactly why slaughter must be banned in the U.S.

 

Sincerely,

Kimberly Mills, Gainesville, MO