Last summer, when the Bureau of Land Management rounded up and removed hundreds of horses belonging to the beloved Onaqui herd from their rangeland in the west desert, many advocates feared some of the horses would end up bound for meat plants in Canada and Mexico, and served up to foreign diners in places where horse flesh is considered a delicacy. It was a scenario that drew concern nationwide from people who were appalled at the idea of proud American mustangs consigned to such a horrific fate.
No Onaqui horses faced that awful scenario, thanks largely to the efforts of Red Birds Trust, a Utah nonprofit dedicated to making sure none of the horses fell into the wrong hands. But too many American horses, both wild and domesticated, aren’t so lucky.
In 2021 alone, more than 23,000 American equines, including formerly wild BLM mustangs, retired race and show horses and discarded pet ponies, were shipped across the border to the slaughter plants.
Americans feel a deep revulsion at the idea of eating horses, with polls showing more than 80 percent of us strongly oppose the slaughter of horses for human consumption.
The horse plays a central role in U.S. history and culture. We relied on horses to pull our plows, our wagons and our cannons; native peoples became expert horsemen and rode their trusted mounts into battle and on buffalo hunts. Americans have elevated horses to icon status, featuring them in our literature, films and television, even using them as namesakes for cars and sports teams.
We don’t eat dogs and cats in the America, thanks to the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act enacted in 2018, and because they arguably occupy an even higher status in terms of their importance to who we are as a people, Americans don’t eat our horses, either.
The vast majority of owners choose humane euthanasia for horses that are elderly, ill or lame, yet there are those few who turn their animals over to the kill buyers, notoriously unscrupulous profiteers with zero regard for animal welfare. Proponents of horse slaughter like to characterize it as a “necessary evil,” as if horse owners have no other options when they are no longer able or willing to care for their horse.
A 2017 study, however, found there are 2.3 million Americans who are both willing and currently have the resources to rescue a horse. Hundreds of nonprofit programs exist across the country to help people provide good care for their animals, including hay banks, gelding and euthanasia clinics and training incentives. Many horse rescue organizations and sanctuaries use networks of foster homes to help place horses in transition.
While most of us would agree that the kill buyers and foreign meat companies aren’t relevant on the topic of how we treat our horses, they unfortunately have the ear of a core group of members of Congress who consistently block legislation to protect American horses from the horrors of foreign abattoirs.
This week, the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will take up the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, a bill to ban the slaughter, sale for slaughter, and transport for slaughter of American horses for human consumption. Roughly half of the House of Representatives have cosponsored the bill, a sign that a large number of Americans have contacted their legislators.
The bill enjoys bipartisan sponsorship, but sadly, Utah’s delegation has either spoken in support of horse slaughter or remained silent. Given the role horses played in Utah’s history, especially for the native tribes and the early Mormon pioneers, one would think the state’s leaders would be leading the effort to protect horses. They have chosen instead to be some of the loudest voices for clearing our public lands of wild horses to make room for more livestock and sending horses to slaughter.
Horses and the people who love them deserve better. If you agree that sending our cherished equines to Canadian or Mexican meat plants for the benefit of foreign diners amounts to a betrayal of a good and trusted friend, please take time to call on your members of Congress to pass the SAFE Act.
Scott Beckstead |
Scott Beckstead, Sutherlin, Oregon, is campaigns director for Animal Wellness Action and an adjunct professor of law at Willamette University. He has bachelor’s degrees in pre-law and philosophy from Utah State University and a law degree from the University of Utah.