In support of L.D. 1075
”An Act to Prohibit Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption”

Talking Points

— Horses may not be slaughtered for human consumption in the US, but they can be transported across our border for slaughter in Canada and Mexico, primarily for human consumption in Europe and Asia. Every year, approximately 1,000 to 1,500 horses are shipped from Maine to two slaughterhouses in Quebec. Hemphill’s, Inc. in Vassalboro has shipped horses to Quebec for slaughter for years. The killer buyers in other states also use Maine as a major route for the transportation of horses to Canada thus serving as a funnel for slaughter.

—The entire process, including the slaughter auction, the method of transportation, the feedlots, the slaughter plants -- everything up to and including their death -- is inhumane. Maine should not be complicit in this practice.

— What do we do with the horses that would not be slaughtered? We should assist an existing and good network of horse rescues in Maine, help owners in caring for their horses, work with groups already in place addressing horse issues and in general work to increase the placement of unwanted horse. The parallel goal is to reduce the number of unwanted horses. Given that some of the horses sent to slaughter from Maine come in from other states, the legislation in itself will reduce the number.

—Federal transportation regulations for horses do not have specific requirements, so buyers tend to pack them in tightly. Many are beaten with whips and canes or electrically prodded onto trailers designed for other livestock, such as cattle and sheep. Weak or sick horses can stumble, fall and be trampled by others, especially if panicked. Metal floors become slippery and dangerously wet with excrement and blood from injured animals. Up to 30% go without food and water during hours of transit, enduring extreme temperatures, from dehydrating heat in the summer to freezing cold in the winter.

— At the slaughterhouse, the horses are put in a chute to be slaughtered to hear and witness the terror that will become them. A captive bolt pistol is used to stun the animal as it frantically tries to avoid the gun. A strike on the forehead, forcing a 4-inch bolt through a gun barrel, is used to induce unconsciousness. The intended result is not to kill the animal, but render it unconscious for slaughter. It is then hung by its legs and the throat slit. 

— The usual “radical animal rights/PETA” rhetoric is being circulated by opponents: “If they pass this bill, the next thing will be to outlaw the killing of cows and chickens.” MFOA has never sponsored radical legislation. This is about one issue – to outlaw Maine’s role in the inhumane slaughter of horses.

— Unlike cows, goats and chickens, horses have not been raised as food animals in the U.S. Horses are commonly considered companion animals, like dogs and cats.

— It is a misnomer that only injured and aging horses are sent to slaughter. Many are healthy, young horses whose owners have unknowingly given them up under the pretense of the buyer finding a good home for them. Slaughter is not about the horses’ well-being; it’s about making money and the sale of horse meat. Hemphill’s admits they are motivated by profit accompanied with the falsehood of a “humane slaughter” which is the ultimate oxymoron.

— If the animal cannot not be placed and/or is in very bad condition then, as a last resort, a humane euthanasia is far preferable than sending the horse off to endure the process of being slaughtered. To that end MFOA is working with Maine large animal veterinarians on a euthanasia clinic and to increase the local composting options for the carcasses.

— Property rights: “nobody can tell horse owners what they can or cannot do with their property.” There are many laws telling property owners exactly how to dispose of items such as cars, appliances, batteries, computers, toxic substances, etc. Owning property does not give the owner the right to abuse that property, especially when the property is a living, sentient thing.

— The Board of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association voted unanimously to support a ban on the slaughter of Thoroughbreds. Industry leaders have all come out definitively opposing horse slaughter, labeling it “unconscionable,” “gruesome,” and “barbaric.” A no-slaughter policy example was set by Suffolk Downs, the first in the nation to implement arule banning for life any trainer who sells horses for slaughter.

— Why does the Harness Racing industry not support this legislation? Could it be they need slaughter as an outlet for over breeding?

— The cost for humane equine euthanasia and disposal of the carcass is typically equal to one or two months’ worth of care and that expense should be part of responsible ownership.

— Maine Senators Olympia Snowe, and especially Susan Collins, are leaders in the national legislative argument against horse slaughter.

— Horses helped found this country, carried men into battle, cleared forests, plowed fields, herded cattle, hauled timber, and served as a source of travel for hundreds of years transporting ideas and armies that shaped civilizations throughout the world; they continue to be widely used in recreational and sports venues nationwide and provide companionship and friendship to many horse lovers. This magnificent animal does not deserve the fate of being slaughtered after all it has given and meant to us.

4/12/11

MAINE FRIENDS OF ANIMALS
190 US Route 1
Falmouth, ME 04105