Horse Slaughter Research Paper

Is It Just to Slaughter Innocent Animals?
Horses, gentle giants that have served humans for centuries, deserve fair treatment and respect. However, basic decencies were denied to the “average of 137,000 American horses” that were taken out of the country to be slaughtered between 2012 and 2016. Horse slaughter is anything but a peaceful death for these poor animals. According to The American Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals, “sometimes they [horses] even remain conscious during dismemberment”. The terrified horses are transported in overcrowded trucks without food or water for days, before meeting a truly terrible end, if they even survive the trip. Furthermore, the horses are subjected to unthinkable acts of cruelty before …show more content…
The animals, environment, tax payers, economy, as well as the consumers of the meat, are all potentially harmed. The horses that are sent to slaughter are treated inhumanely and often die a long, painful death. However, slaughterhouses are also damaging to the environment, as they “pollute water… and permeate the air with a foul stench”. The Humane Society states that horse slaughter will, in fact, hurt American taxpayers. The millions of taxpayer dollars spent on horse slaughter facilities strips away precious financial recourses from food safety resources, such as the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service. Furthermore, horse slaughter plants have proved to be economically draining. The plants “decrease property values” and offer minimal jobs, all of which are dangerous, and low-income. In 2005, Paula Bacon, the mayor of Kaufman, Texas, said about horse slaughterhouses, “I can assure you the economic development return to our community is negative”. Moreover, horsemeat is not safe for human consumption because the quality cannot be regulated by the federal government, and horses are given numerous unregulated toxic substances before and during …show more content…
However, PETA does not support horse slaughter. Inn 2012, PETA released a statement saying, “ PETA has always had concerns about the suspension of U.S. slaughter, since it meant more suffering for these sensitive animals, not less.” Greedy ranchers have found a loophole and have begun taking horses out of the country for slaughter. According to PETA the horses are forced into grossly overcrowded cattle trucks that are much too small for animals of such size and stature. Furthermore, the horses bite and kick eachother, and “foals and mares are trampled” on the long jouney (PETA). Therefore, to end the horses’ suffering, inhumane horse slaughter should be banned internationally, and or the loophole of exportating horses must be

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