Auctioned American Horses Slaughtered In Mexican Plants
EL PASO — The slaughter of horses has been banned in the U.S., but horses sold at American auctionsare still arriving at Mexican slaughterhouses.
Last year, lawmakers banned the practice of killing horsesfor human consumptionin the U.S. Now, even those who balk at sending one of their own horses to slaughter say shutting down the American plants was a mistake.
“(It’s) better they’re slaughtered in this country where the humane society can keep an eye on what is going on than to take them out of the country where nobody knows what is going on,” said rancher Mary Logan. “It is frequently very bad.”
Carl Witherel, the owner of a horse riding business, says U.S. lawmakers should not have shut down the plants. “You eat hundreds of other species of animals. Why should the government tell me I can’t eat horses or somebody else can’t?”
The meat from horses slaughtered in Mexico is exported to Europe and other places around the globe. Since the U.S. plants shut down, horse exports to Mexico have increased sharply, said an official at a Juarez slaughterhouse.
Opponents of the practice want the ban on the slaughter of American horses to also apply to those exported to places such as Mexico.
The American Humane Society is one of the organizations pushing to make it illegal to export horses for slaughter. According to the organization, Congress is close to passing a ban.
Still, some horse owners have mixed feelings. They are concerned more horses could end up neglected or abandoned if the owner cannot find a buyer.
Some see slaughter as a last resort. “I agree with it to a certain point because some of these animals who come through here don’t have another chance,” Leeah said. The scruffy horseshe saw auctioned off did get a second chance after all. She ended up buying him.
“He’s turned out to be a great show horse. He’s just beautiful,” she said.
