May
1999
She
Started on a Track—And Finished on a Plate!
By Susan Wagner |
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The crowds of people who attend horse races probably
have no idea what the beautiful and well-trained horses competing go through
in order to compete, and where most of them end up. While the majority
of Americans consider horses to be companion and recreational animals,
most are still unaware that horses are indiscriminately bred to produce
champions. Those breeding practices are what leads to the pain, suffering
and death of thousands of horses every year.
The majority of the 100,000 to 200,000 U.S.-bred horses who are slaughtered
each year for human consumption in this country and in Canada is the
unwanted
surplus from the horse industry. Whether they be race, show, camp, Amish
work or carriage horses, barren broodmares, polo ponies, or lame animals
from ranches, riding academies or school riding programs, equines who
cannot “perform” are the ones who make up the greatest number
of U.S.-bred horses slaughtered every year. A large majority of them
are
racehorses, including thoroughbreds, standardbreds, quarter horses and
Arabians.
The meat from these unwanted horses is then exported from Canada and the
U.S. to Europe and Japan for human consumption. You cannot talk about
horses in sport without mentioning the slaughter industry. Slaughter is
the common denominator of every aspect of the horse business. It is also
an industry that has operated in virtual secrecy until very recently.
It is an industry that the majority of Americans deplore.
According to one former slaughterhouse manager, it is the meat from young,
healthy thoroughbreds and standardbreds which is the most desirable. This
is because the meat is tender. Older horses and large Amish work and draft
horses have much tougher meat that is less expensive and usually ground
into hamburgers. Horse meat is much pricier than beef, with some cuts
selling for between $15 and $25 a pound.
On the Block
Just last month, I was informed that a “truckload
of thoroughbreds” are hauled from Penn National Racetrack in Pennsylvania
to the slaughter auction in New Holland every week! In my opinion, the
weekly slaughter auction in New Holland is one of the worst in the nation.
Located in the heart of Amish country in Lancaster County, New Holland
auctions 300 to 500 every week. I’ve also been aware for years of
an Amish horse trader known as “the Meat Man,” who makes two
stops at Freehold Raceway (a standardbred track in New Jersey) every week
to cart off the unwanted and injured harness horses to auction. Many of
these horses are no more than two or three years old.
During one of my visits to New Holland, I saw an injured thoroughbred
in a secluded back pen. Sources told me that he was later sold to slaughter
and transported to Bel-Tex, the largest equine slaughter plant in the
country, located in Fort Worth. He was shipped with a broken leg in a
double-decker cattle trailer (which are illegal in many states, including
New York, for the transportation of horses). Sometimes it takes as long
as three days for slaughterbound horses to travel to their destinations,
during which time they are often cramped into tight quarters and have
to go for days without food, water or rest. On one occasion, we purchased
a crippled yearling colt who was down (non-weight bearing) in one of the
“kill pens” (large pens at the auctions designated for individual
killer buyers or middlemen for the slaughter plants where they stockpile
their horses). It was sickening to see this young horse being trampled
by the other horses. Luckily, we were able to buy and rescue him. He surely
would have never survived a trip to the slaughterhouse. Sadly, he was
in such bad condition that we had to put him down, but at least he had
a dignified death free of pain and suffering. The transportation of horses
to plants is just as horrifying as the actual slaughter itself. Sadly,
the inadequate federal bill passed in 1996 (the Agricultural Market Transition
Act, which was opposed by 16 groups in the animal rights and protection
movement), did nothing to improve the inhumane conditions of these animals.
Not Dog Food
Many Americans believe that some horse meat is used in
dog food. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In March, a U.S.
Department of Agriculture veterinarian revealed that virtually no horse
meat is being used in pet food. It’s just too expensive and too much
in demand overseas. (It should be noted, however, that one horse slaughterhouse
in Nebraska does produce a five-pound loaf of frozen horsemeat that is
sold to zoos and sanctuaries which house large cats and other carnivores.)
Ten years ago, there were as many as fourteen equine slaughterhouses in
the United States and five in Canada. Today, there are five left in this
country (two in Texas, one in Nebraska, Illinois and Oregon) and four
in Canada. The U.S. ships about half of the horses slaughtered annually
in Canada across the border to that country, when the horses are still
alive.
Media exposure by venues ranging from The Baltimore Evening Sun
to Hard Copy have resulted in greater public awareness of the horse
slaughter industry and has contributed to the decrease in the number of
horses slaughtered in this country. In the early 1990s, it was estimated
that 30,000 to 40,000 thoroughbreds alone were slaughtered. Today, that
number has significantly decreased, but it is still alarmingly high. Rescue
groups, such as Equine Advocates, do what we can to keep up with the unending
stream of racehorses who need homes, but we cannot possibly provide home
for all the thousands of horses who need them. There are other problems
as well. Racehorses, particularly thoroughbreds, are often high-strung
and have to be completely retrained and/or rehabilitated for them to be
placed as pets. Many need to be turned out (put out to pasture) for a
year or more in order to recuperate from injuries sustained during racing
and rigorous training. Also, they need time to get the drugs out of their
system.
Three New England thoroughbreds we adopted out last year all needed extensive
rehabilitation. Two had severe foot and hoof problems, while the other
had a serious neck injury. While we were extremely grateful their respective
owners had decided to donate them to us rather than sell them for meat
at a slaughter auction, it was painfully clear that once they could no
longer race, their care and maintenance collapsed. All were thin and suffering
neglect.
In the Starting Gate
One former quarter horse jockey (who now races thoroughbreds)
told me a story I shall never forget. He said that he had been sitting
on his mount in the starting gate waiting for a race to begin, when he
saw something like steam coming from the horses back and smelled a putrid
medicinal odor. Suddenly, the horse just dropped dead beneath him. The
horse had been drugged to such an extent that he had suffered a massive
heart attack.
The great filly, Ruffian, was one of the most successful and beautiful
thoroughbred racehorses ever. She remained undefeated until one day in
1995 when she was forced to compete in a match race (a two-horse race
where horses have to run at high speed for the entire race). She broke
down while in the lead and had to be humanely destroyed. It was one of
the worst examples of greed and avarice in the history of racing. Thousands
of horses, some famous and some not, have broken down since then. In an
article in the New York Times, one trainer commented on the increased
number of breakdowns in racing suggesting, “maybe horses [are] reaching
the limit of what their structures could support. Something in the skeleton
gives. Maybe we’ve bred them to the brink.”
I have painted a very gloomy picture of horses used in sport. There is,
however, a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. This past November,
California voters passed a state initiative banning horse slaughter. It
prohibits any horse from being bred, sold or transported from the state
for the purpose of slaughter. The California racing industry supported
this historic initiative. This is a very promising step. If horse slaughter
becomes illegal across the country, as it should, and as the majority
of Americans oppose the practice, horse meat will no longer have any value.
It will become less practical to overbreed horses, knowing the industry
will no longer be able to discard its unwanted horses quickly for a profit.
This legislation would affect every aspect of the horse industry in a
positive way. We can already see a difference in the racing industry where
horse rescue is becoming the politically correct thing to do. However,
education and public awareness are still the most important factors in
stopping the abuse and exploitation of horses in all areas, particularly
in sport. We must always keep in mind that most Americans regard horses
as companion animals, just like dogs and cats. Consequently, we must demand
that they be accorded the same right as other pets are given, including
a dignified death through humane euthanasia. Horses give so much. They
are a part of our history and culture. We owe it to them to stop the abuse
and slaughter.
Susan Wagner is the president and founder of Equine Advocates,
Inc., a national non-profit equine protection organization based in New
York. Its mission is to rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of equines
through education, investigation, rescue operations, and the dissemination
of information to the public. For more information, write to: Equine Advocates,
Inc., P.O. Box 670217, Flushing, NY 11367. Tel.: 718-897-9422. Fax: 718-459-3577.
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