Could this be the future?

Press rewind to 2006, when a ban was enacted that prevented the use of federal funding for horse slaughter inspections in the U.S. This controversial measure, along with countless state and local court cases, effectively shut down domestic slaughterhouses by making it virtually impossible for companies to stay in business.

Now that Congress has recently lifted the five-year-ban, with the passage of a new spending bill earlier this November, the door has reopened for the possibility that what some call a “necessary evil,” might return to the U.S.

Although there are no funds specifically earmarked within the bill for inspections of this kind, many organizations say this is just the first step to reopening horse slaughterhouses within our borders.

Horse slaughter always has been and will undoubtedly continue to be a violently polarizing issue. Some groups insist the closing of slaughterhouses has removed the “bottom line” for the horse market, resulting in the plummeting of industry prices. Others firmly believe the horse is a companion animal, that is not bred with the intention of being raised as a food source and should not be slaughtered as such.

To get an official perspective on this issue, we sought out the expertise of Lisa Shames, the Director of Food and Agriculture Issues in the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO released a report in July of this year entitled, ”Actions Needed to Address Unintended Consequences From the Cessation of Domestic Slaughter.” Among many items, this report examined the effect of the slaughterhouse closings on the U.S. horse market and what effect that was having on overall horse welfare across the board.

“We were asked to look into horse welfare in the U.S., and what we discovered was that horses were suffering,” Shames says. “The report was based on several analyses, but one we looked into was to see how far horses were being transported for exportation into Canada and Mexico. We saw that horses were still being slaughtered, they were just traveling a much greater distance, and once they crossed the U.S. border, they were no longer being protected by the U.S. law for humane handling of animals for slaughter.”

“Another thing we found is that horse pricing was declining in large part because of the ban on federal funding. The horses that were most affected were the lower priced horses. In a monetary sense, these horses were being valued less than they ever had been because of the ban.”

According to the GAO report, from 2006 to 2011, horse exports for slaughter have increased by 148 percent to Canada and 660 percent to Mexico. Horse prices have also declined since 2007, which has negatively affecting the lower priced segment of the horse market, by 8-12 percent.

The GAO also contacted state veterinarians to get their views on overall welfare of horses in their states since the ban came into effect.

“Consistently, the overwhelming response was that the number of horses that were being abandoned and neglected were on the rise in their states, because of the ban on federal funding. When we presented the report to Congress, we recommended that they do one of two things, reinstate the funding, or make an outright ban on horse slaughter in the U.S.”

“When Congress originally put out the ban, they had the best of intentions thinking that this was the most humane thing to do. But what they found was that the ban turned out to have unintended consequences.”

Shames can’t speak to what will happen now that Congress has lifted the ban on federal funding, but one thing is for certain.

“People have very strong feelings about this,” she says. “I believe it will stay an issue for quite a while.”

If you would like to view the GAO report that was presented to Congress, please click here.

If you have an opinion on this topic, either leave your comment at the bottom of this article, or vote in our new EC online poll, located in the bottom right-hand corner of the EquineChronicle.com homepage.

What is your opinion on the recent lifting of the ban on federal funding for horse slaughter inspections?

A. I’m not particularly in favor of horse slaughter, but don’t see any feasible alternative to preserving horse welfare and the market.

B. Horses are intelligent, companion animals that should not be slaughter under any circumstances.

C. U.S. slaughterhouses are a “necessary evil” and a better alternative to having hundreds of starving and abandoned animals.