Horsemeat Anyone?

Have you ever considered eating dog? I didnt think so. In other cultures though,
that is totally normal. Its just like eating a hamburger here in the states. Horses are a part
of the cuisine norm for other cultures. The U.S. government stopped the funding for the
inspections of the horse slaughterhouses in 2006, but just recently congress has passed a
bill that will fund the inspection of slaughterhouses. The slaughtering of U.S. horses
should stay in the U.S. where the facilities are more humane. States such as New Mexico
and Missouri, have filed the application to reopen slaughterhouses. The opening of these
slaughterhouses will be beneficial to the U.S. economy, the treatment of the horses and
will decrease the number of healthy horses that are slaughtered.
Animal activists, horse-lovers, and certain members of the government believe
that horse slaughter is an evil and inhumane practice. Their platform is that horse
slaughter has not been proven to be safe for human consumption, it doesnt stimulate
local economy, horses are companion animals, and it is not humane to slaughter them.
Animal rights groups will stop at nothing in order to change the way the general public
views livestock agriculture. Currently, these groups portray animal agriculture as an evil
and sinister means of producing food for the world through various forms of media. They
will continue to make livestock agriculture look and sound horrible by any means
necessary and annihilate it at any cost (Livingston). The animal activists are biased and
only see their opinions through a narrow lens.
With the recession and the unemployment rates still above normal, the opening of
horse slaughter plants will be beneficial to the U.S. economy. With the reopening of the
slaughterhouses the number of jobs in those towns will increase. According to authors
Amanda J. Crawford and Alan Bjerga the Valley Meat plant in Roswell, New Mexico
will create 100+ new jobs. As well as creating more jobs through the USDA for the
inspections of the slaughter plants. The exportation of the meat is also beneficial to the
U.S. economy. The meat is packaged, transported, and delivered by U.S. companies.
Bringing the slaughterhouses back to the U.S. will be beneficial to the horses.
The number of horses exported from the U.S. to Mexico, for example, increased by 660
percent since the de facto ban, the Government Accounting Office reported in June.
Almost 138,000 horses were shipped out of the country for slaughter in 2010, compared
to the 104,899 horses that were slaughtered domestically in the year before the ban took
effect(Lifting Horse Slaughter Ban). This means that there are more horses being killed
inhumanely every year then when the U.S. was slaughtering them. Even PETA (People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) thinks that slaughterhouses will benefit the horses.
"It's hard to call [the end of the horse slaughter ban] a victory, because it's all so
unsavory," Newkirk says. "The [funding] bill didn't mean any horses were spared, but it
does mean the amount of suffering is now reduced again"(Lifting Horse Slaughter Ban).
However, the end of the slaughter in the U.S. didnt end the cruelty of the horses. With
the ban in U.S. the horses were shipped to Mexico where the horses are treated and killed
inhumanely.
There should be slaughterhouses open in the United States. The States are known
for having tighter reins on the slaughter of animals, unlike Mexico where they slaughter
healthy horses, treat the horses cruelly, and dont always kill with one blow kill. On top
of this horses, are stolen from communities. In Mexico, a horse that is meant for breeding
or racing sometimes gets mixed up with the horses that are just meant for slaughter. 92%
of horses slaughtered are in good condition (Say NO, 4). With the funding back for be
greater regulation and the inspections would keep things safe for both parties.
Having slaughter houses open in the U.S. there would be a decrease of the export
of horses to Mexico resulting in a decline of the slaughter of healthy horses in the U.S. if
and only if there is a ban on the export of horses. The only way that the decline of the
slaughter of healthy horses will take effect is if the ban is in act.
There will always be conflict with the slaughtering of horses. The fact that they
are companion animals makes the slaughter of horses even harder to fathom. The
slaughterhouses really do destroy the town that they are in and it is hard to clean up after
the slaughterhouses, the horse meat can be toxic for human consumption and there is no
way to regulate what toxins are pumped into the horses. With the slaughterhouses open in
the U.S. theses issues decline compared to Mexico and Canada due to the increase of
funding and inspections.
To sum up, with the ban of horse slaughter lifted the horses are being treated and
killed more humanely. The U.S. has stricter and more regulated inspections and treatment
codes for the slaughtering of the horses. They are transported in nice conditions and the
companies that slaughter the horses try and make them as comfortable as possible before
they are slaughtered humanely. The U.S. economy is helped by creating jobs in the towns
and with the government (USDA). The export of the horse meat also helps the economy.
Lastly, the slaughtering of the healthy horses declines because like I said before the U.S.
has a tighter system with the transportation and the slaughter of the horses. Lifting the
ban of horse slaughter has and will only help improve the U.S. as well as make the last
days of the horses lives peaceful and comfortable.
Works Cited
Bjerga, Alan, and Amanda J. Crawford. "Horse-Slaughter Jobs Embraced in States Where the
Cowboys Roam." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 May 2014.
"Horse Slaughter Facts." Stop Horse Slaughter. Dec. 2011S. Stop Horse Slaughter for Human
Consumption in the USA .Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
The Humane Society. "The Facts about Horse Slaughter humanesocitey.org, The Humane
Society of the United States. 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Jonsson, Patrik. "Lifting Horse Slaughter Ban: Why PETA Says it's a Good Idea." Christian
Science Monitor. 30 Nov. 2011. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Knickerbocker, Brad. "Saving Horses from Slaughter." Christian Science Monitor. 18 Jan. 2014.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Livingston, Allen. "The Cattle Blog: Humane Slaughter of Horses Is a Good Thing for American
Agriculture." The Cattle Blog: Humane Slaughter of Horses Is a Good Thing for
American Agriculture. Blogger, 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 May 2014.
Oren, Dorell. "Activists Fight Horse Slaughter." USA Today n.d. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 27 Feb.2014.