Horses Suffer, Too, in Flailing Economy

Looks as though banks, auto companies, and the average Joe aren’t the only ones suffering in the troubled US economy. Horses, as well, feel the wrath of shrinking budgets. Rising numbers of neglected, starving, and abandoned horses have been reported by law enforcement officers throughout the country, as reported in The New York Times on April 6, 2009,”Surge in Abandoned Horses Renews Debate Over Slaughterhouses.”  The article addresses the debate over reopening horse slaughterhouses in the US after the last ones had be closed in 2007. Those supporting slaughterhouse re-openings argue the slaughterhouses give livestock owners in a financial bind a more ethical (rather than abandonment) and  affordable option to dispose of their unwanted horses. Opponents of rebuilding horse slaughterhouses believe they are unnecessary, and simply and handout to the horse slaughter industry.  Because no horse slaughterhouses lie on American soil, just under 100,000 horses were sent to Canada and Mexico last year for slaughter. While Montana passed a bill in April 2009 allowing slaughterhouses to be rebuilt on its soil, other states have opted to strengthen their animal rights laws.  In March, Oregon passed a bill declaring horse abandonment illegal, while Arizona considers a public listing of horse rescue shelters.  Rather than increase funding for slaughterhouses, which perpetuate an inhumane death to unwanted horses, increasing equine shelters is a far more reasonable and responsible way to address this problem. Both slaughter and abandonment are wretched conditions to subjugate any living creature to, regardless of financial status. Far more constructive and ethical solutions can be concocted instead of slaughter.