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I recently came across a notice in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association about the "unwanted" horse issue, which was encouraging readers to visit their website and read "Frequently asked questions about unwanted horses and the AVMA's policy on horse slaughter" for answers to commonly asked questions about horse slaughter.  The answers provided are heavily biased in favor of the AVMA's pro-slaughter position. For example, it is stated that upward of 100,000 horses per year are unwanted (the inference being that they must be disposed of by slaughter) - but there is no relevant data to support this statement. The number of horses slaughtered has fluctuated between 350,000 and just over 40,000 over the past 18 years (1,2) and bears no relationship to the number of "unwanted" horses, equine abandonment or cruelty reporting. Even at today's relatively modest slaughter rate of around 100,000 horses per year, the number of these horses that is unwanted is not known with any certainty (the AVMA admits this, but continues to press the number as fact). It is known that some of the slaughtered horses are stolen, some are obtained under false pretenses by unscrupulous individuals responding to ads in tack and feed stores, etc, some are obtained from advertisements in equine magazines and newspapers ("wanted to a good homes") while yet others are bought at sales by so-called killer buyers who have the incentive to outbid the competition. Also, it is not the unhealthy, broken-down nags the slaughterhouses are in search of; according to the USDA over 92% of horses slaughtered are neither old nor unhealthy.

 

In addition, the FAQ would have you believe there is an issue with disposal of equine carcasses. Approaching 14,000 cows die or are put down each year on farms in New York State alone.(3) Try multiplying that number by 50 (states) and note that the landscape is not littered with bovine carcasses. Rendering, composting, and burial are a few of the ways that large animal carcasses can be - and are - disposed of.

 

Let's face it; slaughter only exists because the horse slaughter industry makes money from it, supplying gourmet markets in Europe and elsewhere. The fact that the AVMA has chosen to align itself with these business partners is of great concern. A website championed by the AVMA - commonhorsesense.com (also known as the Horse Welfare Coalition) - was originally purchased by a lawyer, John Linebarger, who was employed by the Texas slaughterhouses Beltex and Dallas Crown.  The site and group(4) are now jointly used by the AVMA DC lobbyist Dr. Mark Lutschaunig together with slaughterhouse lobbyist Charlie Stenholm and the PR firm SciWords. Note that the slaughterhouses in Mexico (and Canada) where AVMA-acknowledged equine atrocities are ongoing are owned and operated by the same groups funding those behind the website. It seems unwise for an organization comprised of what should be informed medical professionals to be strongly influenced by industry organizations with a business agenda counter to the ethics of our profession. For what we believe is a more accurate, balanced and more humane counterpoint on equine slaughter, visit http://www.vetsforequinewelfare.org/.

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