Imagine a proposal to scatter
millions of pounds of poisoned meat around the United States, close
to human populations. Much of it would be accessible to scavengers
including eagles, hawks, coyotes, foxes and badgers, as well as to
dogs and cats. An animal feeding on the poisoned meat would
probably die.
This scenario is likely, now that the
opponents of slaughtering horses are having their way. For many
years, unwanted horses have routinely been sent to slaughter. Some
horse meat becomes pet food, but much goes for export to Europe for
human consumption. Horse-slaughter opponents tend to think of
horses as beloved pets, much like cats or dogs, and in America, the
last thing we would do is eat a pet. In Europe, however, horse meat
is a staple, and it’s found on many menus.
The
opponents of horse slaughter have concentrated their efforts on
stopping the export of horse meat for human consumption. Since
“filet of filly” is a dish that repels Americans, this
argument has generated some sympathy. Exporting American horses to
feed foreign palates has also been labeled unpatriotic, with
critics calling the practice contrary to American values.
Now, the poison-meat scenario has become the alternative to
government-regulated horse slaughter. On March 29, the last U.S.
horse-slaughter plant was closed down by order of the U.S. District
Court of the District of Columbia. A circuitous path led to
shutting the doors — and summarily dismissing 55 employees — at
the DeKalb, Ill., plant. Until a few months ago, three plants
operated in the United States, and last year they slaughtered about
100,800 horses.
What do slaughter opponents advocate?
Their Political Action Committee, aptly called HOOFPAC, says it all
in a slogan: “Keep America’s horses in the stable and
off the table.” This is a catchy phrase, but it doesn’t
address whose stable, and at whose expense. Adoptive homes are not
available for all unwanted horses today, and the current horse
population is an estimated 9.2 million — more horses living now
than in 1900, before the automobile began replacing the animals as
transportation.
In the flesh-and-blood world of horse
ownership, horses, whether beast of burden or beloved pet, must
sometimes be put to death. The animal may be old and infirm,
injured or dangerous to people. Slaughter opponents call for
“humane euthanasia” by a veterinarian, at a cost of
$100 to $300, which is a lot to pay for a horse that might bring as
little as $300-$500 at auction, while supporting an unwanted horse
for a year costs $3,000 a year in many areas.
Once a
horse is dead, what then? The owner is left to dispose of a
1,200-pound carcass that has been saturated with a toxic substance.
Most states require burial of euthanized animals at least two feet
deep, away from water. Many areas also regulate animal burial, so a
backyard might not be suitable. Slaughter opponents advocate
rendering, boiling the animal and extracting what’s useful,
but it is unavailable in most parts of the country, and unsuitable
for poisonous remains. A common solution is to pay the veterinarian
to haul the carcass to the public landfill.
An internet
search for “horse disposal” brings advice on cremation
— expensive where available — and grief counseling. No one
addresses the reality or additional expense of disposing of a large
contaminated carcass.
Existing federal animal-slaughter
regulations require humane handling so a horse does not suffer.
Opponents label the process as cruel, but a horse is killed with a
handheld machine that fires a bolt into the brain, causing instant
death. Inspectors are on-site to ensure that the animals are
treated humanely, and plants have been designed to minimize stress
on the horses. The arguments of slaughter opponents, however, are
emotional: No one likes to think about the details of an animal
dying.
Like it or not, all animals die. We live in a
world of limited resources. American horses, prized for their size
and health, convert sunshine, grass and grain into flesh and bone.
When it is time for those horses to die, it makes sense that they
go on to feed people and pets. Poisoning horses and then dumping
them in a landfill makes no sense at all.
Sharon
O’Toole is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service
of High Country News (hcn.org). She is a rancher and writer in
Savery, Wyoming.
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