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What happens to horses that go to meat auctions?

I'm going to try and save 1 of the 15 horses that i know that are goin for meat auctions tomorrow, what happens to them when they go? what becomes of them?? is everything done humanly?

Public Comments

Depends on where you are. Most are sold to overseas buyers as horse meat and packing plants are not legal in 49 states. There is one state where it is legal to butcher, wrap and package horse meat for consumption, but not sure which one it is. The humane society is currently trying to get it closed in that state. Most of the horses are sold to Asian countries and are exported there.
The name is pretty obvious...they sell them for things like animal food , fertilizer and other by products (horse hair materials, adhesives, etc.). They use the same techniques as other slaughterhouses for livestock.
There are laws governing the treatment of horses, including how they are killed for meat. There have been a lot of changes and updates made to the meat industry for cattle and pigs, so I think horses have probably benefited too. They will be taken to a slaughter house. Animals in Translation, by Temple Grandin, gives a lot of detail about how animals think. She designs humane slaughter systems, which actually is a pretty noble thing, I think, minimizing the suffering of animals. Anyway, she goes into it in her book about how it is done and how she has made it be something that is a calm process where the animal is not frightened.
They become Whoppers.
yes everything is done humanely or it wouldn't be allowed all these animal rights activists don't stop and think of how expensive it is to find a way of taking care of a horse that has lived beyond its useful life. it can cost anywhere from $500 - $1000 to have a horse euthanized and disposed of. at least if they go to a meat auction, the owner gets a litlle something, the end is the same and there is benefit in the horses demise as the carcass is put to use instead of just being cremated
They become many things. There is only two slaughter houses left in America(I sadly live one county over from one) in DeKalb, Illinois, and one in Texas. The meat is usually sent to Europe and Asian countries where horse meat is a delicacy. Other parts used for other things as well. Technically, they say it's done humanely, but it really isn't that humane. Their means of "putting to rest" is to use a bolt gun in the middle of their forehead. Some of the times they miss, not hitting them in the brain and killing them, leaving them half alive and in terrible pain, while sometimes missing altogether and accidentally hitting them on the shoulder or neck with the bolt gun. Then, as previous said, while they are still partially alive(Both young and old) are bled dry, skinned, organs removed, their legs severed and are then sent off to other places. It really isn't a pretty thing. Better than slaughter use to be and rather a necessity at times, but still unwanted. Me Myself and Death.
Look it up on youtube. I wish they would do it humanly but the videos i saw were very cruel. Like this one video with a dog skinned and still alive!!! :( Anyway a lot of slaughter houses are probably not humane. :( Poor cows were bleeding to death trying to get up... their tracheas were ripped out... :( ~Jequita, 13
No it is not humane. they get treated badly. They usually have very little quarters and have to fight for the food. It is too sad to even discuss. Some times Mexican cowboys use the horses too learn how to rope which sometimes they can brake the horses legs etc. So if you can save one that is a good thing. I am happy to hear that.
Most of them are sent to slaughter,but some are lucky and find people like you,who save them and give them wonderful forever homes.And,the ones sent to slaughter are treated very badly;there was a story in our local news channel where they went undercover and filmed the horses being kept without food or water,being kicked and whipped,and taking a very long time to die ( they were screaming.) It was horrible.If animals are going to be slaughtered,then they should be well-treated right up until they are killed,HUMANELY and quickly. While it isn't done here anymore,it was until very recently.What's bad about that is that now the horses will have to spend even more time in cramped,hot trailers,without food or water,being trucked to Canada or Mexico.It's a shame.
This is a very "touchy" subject!:( I know that some people believe in horse slaughter..but personally I do not. For one thing, the horses are kept in horrible conditions during shipping across country. They are barely fed or watered (if at all). There is many things that I feel is "wrong" with how it is done. If you would like to learn more about it...here is an excellent website about Horse slaughter: http://www.marynash.org/ you can also just do a Google/Yahoo search about Horse Slaughter or Horse Auctions...there is tons of info out there! Good Luck!:)
A very touchy subject in deed. The slaughter houses being shut down in most parts of the country is what is causing the market to be flooded. Essentially it is a good thing because it gives good horses a chance to find a home - however - it also gives ill horses more time to suffer because their owner is too cheap to do what is right by them. It is a good thing what you are doing - but remember something my vet told me when I brought home a mare that was going to slaughter: you can't save them all - the bad karma for the situation that horse is in will not rest on your shoulders but on the shoulders of the person that put them there in the first place.
No. They are loaded into trucks and taken to a knackery. They can be left all day in a small space with nothing to eat or drink. They get bashed about quite a bit by the men loading and unloading them. They are eventually usually shot, but sometimes worse stuff is done. I cant say what because my answer will be deleted. I work in animal rescue so i know what goes on. We have a pony that was going for the meat trade, when the lorry blokes had finished their cigarette they would stub them out on his nose.
This website: http://www.habitatforhorses.org/joincampaigns/slaughterissues.html is great for info on horse slaughter. There are VERY graphic photos of the step by step process in slaughterhouses. There is also the testimony of a slaughterhouse employee regarding the day to day normal behavior and treatment of the horses.
unless someone like you buys them they go for meat consumption depending on where you live there are strict laws on animal welfare which should be adhered to be very careful with what you buy, some of these animals have real problems and many well meaning people have 'rescued' horses but have caused them more pain and stress as they have not been able to look after them properly but l do wish you good luck and hope you are succesful!
They are killed in the same way that cattle or hogs are. The dog and cat food industry uses A LOT of the horse product. Asian, middle eastern and european markets take the rest. I dont get all the hype about humane the livestock transportation laws that apply to cattle apply to horses. The method of killing is the same in most cases and the end result is DEAD. dead is dead does it matter how you get there? I am not fan of slaughter horses, I am less of a fan of what closing the slaughter plants has led to. When a horse isnt worth a bullet to shoot it leads to some extremly bad conditions for the horses. That is what we have now! People go on and on about how bad slaughter is, and then cry about too many horses and not enough homes, they cry about abused horses that live in poor conditions and are starved, never get immunizations and are not cared for at all. Truth is most of the humane investigation horses dont get adopted and get sold to a broker who sends them to Canada or Mexico, or the horse is killed and rendered so the ladies can wear him on their faces. If you want to stop horse slaughter treat the disease not the symptoms! Back yard breeders, and outfits that breed 100 horses a year in the hopes that 1 will pay out. Don't buy into the video clips most of the tree huggers direct you to, they only put up clips that support their agenda and are very misleading. Bolt guns rarely miss the brain and when they do its immediatly done again. The animal isnt sent on down the line still alive. Mainly because a flopping, living animal is not safe and probably the only thing the packing plants fear more than un educated animal rights activist are. Workman comp claims and lawsuits from employees. Starlight 1 besides the fact you outright lie to support an agenda. Here is a note for you. Purina holds the largest animal by procuct contract in the United States, While you are reading you Dog food bag I notice you don't mention. Animal Fat (rendered horse and beef and swine parts) By product meal (that would be ground bone again horse, beef and swine) , Animal Digest. The link below might actually educate you above you emotion. Good luck with promoting your agenda. http://www.horsemenscouncil.org/docs/NR-HCI%20slaughter%20pos.doc
not usually most glue and meat companies put them in asembly lines and everything is done in a manufacturing type order. its all done quickly and efficiantnly and not necessarily humainly. especially if the meat packing industries are in a country other then the u.s.
The killer buys them,they go to a slaughter house,die.Grow wings and fly arond Heaven!
I just went to you tube and saw the slaughter videos.It is NOT humane!! Some of the horses were shot in the shoulder on purpose so they would hold still ..then shot in the head more than once because the first shot did not kill them! I am sick right now ....Even the animals we eat are done this way(pigs/cows)! I will never sell my horses for fear that they will end up in a place like that..and at this point ,I'm not sure I can even eat meat again!! So please save an animal if u can and to all the backyard breeders..Stop Breeding...you need to watch the videos it will change the way u think.
Before I reply to your question, I want to take a moment and remind everyone else here that horse slaughter is now ILLEGAL here in the US, and that the operation or construction of a horse slaughter plant is a federal crime which is punishable by stiff fines ( to the tune of a quarter million dollars per offense) and up to 5 years in jail. The 3 remaining plants in this country are closed now, and likely to remain that way indefinitely, from what I'm told. With this being said, there are still meat auctions being held- and horses sold at them get shipped overseas for slaughter or to places like Canada and Mexico, which still have plants in operation. As for humane treatment, the answer there is NO, the horses are NOT treated humanely. Slaughterhouses are cruel, inhumane places- and one of the other writers is correct about the inhumane practice of using the bolt gun. Bolt guns often do NOT work with really large animals, and this is outdated technology that desperately needs to be replaced. One of the reasons the animal rights groups like PETA and HSUS are so up in arms about the slaughter issue, in fact, is largely because of this problem. Becuse the guns frequently miss their targets, many times, a large animal will be alive when it is strung up so the meat can bleed out. Because they ARE alive and aware, they scream !!! That, more so than any other reason, is why animal rights groups have worked so hard to get horse slaughter outlawed. We could improve conditions at the slaughter plants if we really wanted to as a society- but no one wants to make the effort. Just making the simple change of hiring people with clean criminal backgrounds and training them so that they understand at least the basics of normal horse and animal behavior would go a long way by itself in ending the terrible reputations these places have.The hiring of undocumented, uneducated, workers with criminal backgrounds is commonplace at a lot of the slaughter plants- most of them only rarely if ever conduct background checks and screenings. As the saying goes, one gets what one pays for. We also need to change the system so that animals on their way to slaughter are fed, offered water, and are transported humanely. Upon arrival, animals should be kept OUT of the immediate area of the kill pens while waiting for their turns, and should NOT be forced to witness or hear other animals being put down. Lastly, we need to come with something more humane and effective than the bolt guns in current use. My thinking would be to develop something like a stronger version of the Taser stun gun that is used by the police in some cities. It's already been demonstrated that improper use of this weapon will stop the heart and kill a person. We should take that idea and apply it to the slaughter process, and come up with something which will instantly stop the heart and breathing of a large animal, while still leaving the meat safe for consumption. Or what about having the animals go into a chamber where they breathe CO2 ( carbon dioxide, the same stuff we get rid of when we exhale) until they become unconscious, and then applying a Taser to them? Either way, both of these choices are much more humane than the bolt gun. All of these ideas need to be put in place for ALL animals which we consume, NOT just horses. I want to end by saying that while I HATE the slaughter plants as much as anyone else, I ALSO recognize that they are a necessary evil of our society. We need to have a means of disposal for those horses which are too old, ill, or lame to work any more, as well as those animals which have mental or behavioral issues that make them a danger to themselves and and to people. I have personally known some horses like this- and I think a LOT of us have. Slaughterhouses also provide a means of disposal for all of the young, overbred, inbred ex-racehorses who can't make it on the track to be disposed of. These horses CAN'T be run repeatedly through a sale, because after a while, they get recognized by too many people who refuse to buy them. That leaves the owners of such animals with very few choices, except to either kill the horses by some other means ( such as euthanasia, which renders them unfit for consumption by either pets or people- the drugs used to do this are poisonous to us) and send them to a rendering facility to be turned into glue or leather, or to abandon the animals in a feedlot someplace and let them starve or die of disease or injury. Neither of these alternatives is attractive, but increasingly, they are becoming a way of life now that slaughter is illegal here in the US. We live in a throw away society- when we use things up, we throw them out. This applies to animals as well as material things such as machines. The fact that there are an estimated 20 to 30 million unwanted dogs, cats, ferrets, potbellied pigs, minature horses, and other animals which are euthanized in our nation's animal shelters each year is a heartbreaking testament to the truth of this statement. As we go forward, I think that we will see this same type of thing happening with horses as well. The only real solution to this is to stop the overbreeding and overproduction of horses, and to prohibit those who shouldn't have horses from gaining access to them. Otherwise, slaughter is an issue that will always be with us. PS: To Mike- The pet food industry in this country DOES NOT USE HORSEMEAT IN ANY OF ITS PRODUCTS. IF you READ THE LABELS, you will find that the great majority of the pet food comes from POULTRY, NOT HORSEMEAT. The same is true of cat food. Horsemeat is NOT used to make Alpo, Iams, Pedigree, or just about any of the other dog or cat foods. Purina doesn't use it either. Just a note for you.
It depends on who you ask as far as if this is a "humane" process. The process is pretty straightforward. The horses are processed through the auction where they are purchased by the "killer" buyers who act as middle-men for the slaughterhouses. Conditions at these auctions vary greatly but at the worst, horses may be deprived of food, water and vet care. There had been numerous reports at one auction in PA where horses with broken bones and severe injuries were sold and loaded onto trailers with other slaughter-bound stock (this was in violation of state law that prohibits the sale of a horse that cannot work and only permits transportation of a severely injured horse for medical care or euthenasia). Nearly every killer buyer uses double-decker trucks designed for transporting cattle and this is extremely distressful for the horses. They are packed in as tighly as possible, stallions and geldings alongside yearlings and pregnant mares and the roofs are too low for the horses to stand normally. Horses have much longer necks than cattle and the low ceiling prevents them from holding their heads in a normal position. If startled, horses will often bang their heads badly on the ceilings. There is no room for the horses to move and it's fairly commonplace for injured or weak horses to fall and be trampled by the others. There were also a number of documented cases of the upper deck falling onto the lower deck from weight (crushing the horses on the bottom) and trucks overturning. Horses are routinely badly injured or killed during the transport process. At the slaughterhouse itself, the horses are usually processed fairly quickly. They are funneled into a chute that leads them into the kill pen. Here the individual horses are confined and stunned with a captive bolt gun that if used properly, should render the horse unconscious for the actual slaughter. Again, this is a process that was designed with cattle, not horses in mind, so acurately stunning the horse is very difficult and again, there are accounts of horses that are only partially stunned when they are slaughtered. And the horses waiting for their turn in the kill box can hear and smell what is going on ahead of them. The slaughter is quick when done properly. The stunned horse is hoisted up by one hind leg and it's throat is cut, allowing it to bleed out. The horse is then dismembered and usually shipped by the half carcass. It will be butchered into saleable cuts before being sold. As I do not see horses in the same light as cattle or sheep but more along the lines of cats and dogs (being companion and sport animals), I find the process cruel and unacceptable. The majority of horses slaughtered (around 95% depending on what studies you look at) are not old, lame or sick (after all, would you want to eat an old or sick animal?). Most horses are mature (not aged), well fleshed and healthy. It's only a very small percentage of slaughtered horses that are not suitable for retraining or rehoming. They end up at the slaughterhouse because we breed too many horses and these are the unwanted and unlucky excess stock. http://www.fund4horses.org/
Go to an auction. Then you can decide for yourself whether the killer pen horses are treated "humanely". You will get sick when you see the condition of some of the livestock there.
PEOPLE!!! READ THE NEWS..... *SLAUGHTER IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE USA* mike. good post. Now to the question. You are going to save 1 of 15 that are going to meat auction? Where do you live? This is best answered by doing research on the internet. Don't belive most of what you see and nothing of what you hear. Tree huggers and animal rights activist will give you the dirtiest of the dirt. Why not see what is being done now that the plants are closed down. see what the tree huggers and activists have done now. yeah, great things. My $%^.
There are NO slaughter houses in the USA!!!!! I am with MIKE!!!!! They DO NOT use horses for glue anymore dumb people!!!!! You need to educate yourself on this!!!! Read!!!! Go find out how Mexico does it!!!! You thought US did it bad you should see how Mexico does it!!! They are 200% worse than US & this is what people like you have done to our horses!!!! You have sent them to MEXICO to be slaughtered!!! Mexico has NO REGULATIONS!!!!!!! THEY ARE IN PAIN THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!!!!! There was 10,736 horses were shipped to Mexico in the first 19 weeks of this year!!! There is an estimated 100,000 plus horses end up being unwanted this YEAR!!!!!!!! So now that there is no slaughter houses what is going to happen to this horses??? I will tell you!!!! They are going to starve & be mistreated. I don't see anything wrong with people eating horse meat, the US eats pig & cow. In other countries they don't eat eaither one of them & we do..... So who are we to say no that people can't eat horse?? I would never, but it can feed a lot of people. Mexico's method of slaughter is SOOOO PAINFUL that it is banned by the US !!!!!!! That should tell you how bad it is!!! & In Mexico us Americans can do nothing to help the horses in Mexico!!!!! If they were in the US then we could have changed the way the slaughter was done!!! But now the people who voted for the horses not to be slaughtered just condemed them to a MUCH MORE PAINFUL death & nothing we can do!!!! That is the doing of the PETA people that are full of shit most of the time!!!! Please educated yourself!!!!
it aint done humanely its done CRUELLY trust me, it is soo bad you dont want to see what happens to them, but just save them if you can like instead of looking at a horse thats really expensive, go to the doggers and save a horse from there for cheaper, and there are some really good horses there trust me, and they are really cheap
illinois still has cavel international open they are not humane and you can look up horse slaughter on google but beware it is terrible it should be stopped and yes it is still open they are at this point trying to stop them but at this moment havent passed it is still happening in dekalb illinois