Bill That Could Have Saved Colorado’s Horses from Slaughter Scaled Down after Pushback from Ranchers

EAT

Mar 1

The new measure, which has advanced to the Senate floor, now focuses on the conditions under which the animals are transported to slaughterhouses.

A proposal that would have banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption in Colorado was amended and significantly watered down after facing opposition from ranchers and other groups.

The original version of the bill, SB23-038, also known as the Prohibit Equine Slaughter for Human Consumption Bill, was introduced in January to prevent wild and domestic horses from ending up in the slaughter pipeline.

However, the controversial bill struggled to make it through its first test in committee at the state Capitol. The end result was a bill scaled back considerably, with a revised version aimed solely at enforcing stricter welfare regulations during the transportation of 20 or more horses to Canadian or Mexican slaughterhouses. The amended measure is now in front of the full Senate.

Opposers to the legislation includes ranchers, farmers and livestock associations, with The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the Colorado Farm Bureau and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association testifying against the bill.

“We are scratching our heads as to the need behind this legislation,” said Dan Waldvogle, director of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, which represents 17,000 farmers and ranchers in Colorado.

“Our member-led policy supports the sale and consumption of horse meat that meets the same health and safety standards already in place for other livestock meats,” he added.

Horse slaughter in the United States

The last three horse slaughter facilities in the country, two in Texas and one in Illinois, closed in 2007 when the US banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption. However, over 20,000 horses are transported from America, including Colorado, to abattoirs elsewhere each year, according to the American Journal of Veterinary Research. In the last month alone, more than 800 horses across the country have been exported to Mexican slaughterhouses.

This is possible due to a legal loophole that enables ‘kill-buyers’ to purchase horses and export them to slaughterhouses abroad without any repercussions. Kill buyers frequent horse auctions, where they often outbid re-homing groups and charities, while also posing as genuine adopters when owners can no longer look after them.

More than 90 percent of horses – domestic and wild – sent across state lines to slaughter are in good condition, according to a US Department of Agriculture study.

"The horse slaughter process is inherently very cruel … they are very skittish by nature, and when they get into a killing facility, they try and escape, they thrash, they get injured, and it's very hard to render them unconscious,” said Roland Halpern with Colorado Voters for Animals. “In some cases, it takes up to 11 attempts to stun a horse before it can be slaughtered, and a lot of them are dismembered, while they're still alive."

Advocates in Colorado are also concerned that wild horses rounded up by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management are also ending up in slaughterhouses, despite this being against federal law.

Ending the Practice Nationwide

Alongside supporting the Colorado bill, equine advocates are also calling for federal legislation to permanently prohibit the slaughter of American horses for human consumption nationwide. The Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3355/S. 2732) would permanently ban the transport of horses bound for slaughterhouses across state lines, essentially closing the legal loophole.

"The American Wild Horse Campaign supports efforts by Colorado lawmakers to ban the slaughter of wild and domestic horses for human consumption,” advocacy group, the American Wild Horse Campaign said in a statement. “Too many loopholes exist that create an inhumane, unjust, sinister system where horses are trafficked, even in Colorado, and exported to Canada and Mexico for human consumption in foreign markets. This practice flies in the face of the over 80 percent of Americans who oppose horse slaughter.”

What Can You Do?

The Species Unite community has been ramping up support for the Senate version of the bill by coming together to urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass the SAFE Act, with thousands of you speaking out.

One of the best things you can also do to help ensure the SAFE Act gets reintroduced in the 118th congress and finally passes is to reach out to your members of congress. Just type your address in the search bar on this page and you will be shown your US Senate and House representatives. Each one will have a link to contact them below their photo.

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