I’m sorry I agree that horses should not be slaughtered. I believe it should be illegal to transport horses to another country to kill them.

Our country doesnt take care of their own messes and tends to help other coutries before our own. So time to wake up people. Take responsibility and be accountable. You take in animals—they are your responsibility for life. Suck it up.  If you can’t be committed to the animal for its life, then you are part of the problem.

The constitutional commerce clause should be interpreted to forbid interference with horse slaughter as it should be interpreted to forbid interference with dog breeding and sales.  It’s inappropriate when any special interest group, particularly a self serving one, is permitted to interfere with constitutionally guaranteed commerce rights.  It’s inappropriate for a few shrill individuals to dictate to animal owners and all others—what species of animals shall and what species shall not be considered appropriate as food stuffs.

Michele, so your telling me you can predict exactly where you will be in 30 years, what kind of income you will have and everything. If your that great then you should start writing books or something. I have a job and i’ve had horses for 20 years but for someone to say that they are your responsibility for life is a joke….Uh horses can live well into thier 30’s, but your only responsible for your kids till thier 18 so your logic just doesnt seem right. People need to take the emotion out of this topic. I myself have never had to send a horse to slaughter and I dont calculate the slaught price into the value of my horses but I have seen the effects of getting rid of slaughter. In the end I think that there needs to be some path, if you cant sell, rehome, give away or afford to euthanize. If not you’ll see more horses like dogs and cats, loose and half starved.

Michelle what do you suggest people who were responsible, accountable horse owners who have lost their paychecks and homes in the current economy do? It’s not like you can keep a horse tied to the bumper of the mini van and support it by sharing your fast food burger with it. I don’t know of any apartments that take horses, or any homeless shelters.

What if you don’t have the hundreds of dollars it costs to kill your horse and have the carcass hauled away to the landfill. Suggestions? (Suck it up. Not a suggestion. That’s called kicking people while they’re down.)

Michelle, I hope that you have a crystal ball and can see into the future. Because someday, through no fault of your own, you may find yourself one of the unfortunates trying to find a new home for your horse, or pet. I hope should that ever happen, you are treated with more compassion than you have show here.

Michele- I see nothing wrong with slaughtering horses.  It is no different than slaughtering cows, pigs, or sheep.  If horses “should not be slaughtered”, neither should other livestock. 

Not everyone can “suck it up”.  Most people who keep horses intend to keep them.  Things happen, though.  People lose their jobs. 

Part of taking responsibility and being accountable is slaughtering your livestock.  Slaughter is sometimes your kindest option.  If you cannot afford your horse and no one wants it, what do you do with it?  What would you do?  In these cases, slaughter is the only option.  Slaughtering a horse is no different than euthanizing one.

I once felt exactly like Michele and could not understand why people didn’t follow through on their responsibility to their animals. Then I got more involved in rescue work and made some observations. I know there are exceptions to everything but I am seeing a pattern of older people getting into dog breeding after retirement and doing a good job until they got to the stage of being the fragile elderly. Once their health began to fail, so does the care of their animals. I have always had a houseful of pets and still do but I got into health trouble a couple of years ago and found myself not able to care for my pets. I was in the hospital first on the medical floor and then on the rehab floor, then back and forth as I had more surgeries. I was hospitalized for 92 days and if my family would not have stepped up to the plate for my critters, I don’t know what would have happened to them. I had just taken a dog into foster care and my son took it back to the person in charge of that program who was fine about taking care of it. My adult children took care of the rest of my brood. Thankfully I recovered and was soon back in the groove. I am not fragile yet but sure could be with the onset of another serious illness. If I would have had an actual kennel full of animals and my family was not close, I can imagine my pets going down hill with me. Unfortunately, many try to continue caring for animals when their ability is impared for one reason or another and we do see those who don’t care for their animals any better than they care for themselves and all live in squalor. Many instances recently are those who have lost their jobs and no longer have the income to continue giving decent care and need to relinquish loved animals who have been treated like family members. When push comes to shove, humans will eat before they feed any thing else however sad that makes them. I have an idea you are young and idealistic as I once was but I have come to believe s__t happens to the best of us and until we are tested, no one really knows how we will perform and where we will go for resources. That’s where we come in. There will always be a need that volunteers will be required to fill be it caring for children or animals. God give us the strength to do what we need to when the situations show themselves.

Yes, Michele, and pity the horses stuck with people who can’t or won’t take care of them. I guess you showed them, right?

Hey, Michelle, does the H$U$ have retirement benefits for low-level flacky stooges like you, or are those only reserved for the BIG bosses, like Wacky Wayne?

i dont know what the answers are but where i grew up we had our animals till death. there was no killing they or getting rid of them because it was more easier, it doesn’t fit my lifestyle at the moment, when we make a commitment to an animal that is part of the family.
and for the comment from about u get rid of your kids at 18, they can take care of themselves at 18 or most of them can…animals can’t…
there should be an easier and less expensive way to get animals fixed, so the overpopulation slows down or stops of unwanted animals….this would solve alot of the problems and maybe lowing the prices in animal shelters would help…to have people adopt more pets from there also…

all i know is my pets are my responsibility and they will grow old and die on their own, they come before anything else, i can do with out but my pets will be taken care of… i made that commitment with i got all of them….

really BADKarma are u really showing your intelligence level here…u are one of those people who should not have pets.
and marguerite what is with the comment…“i quess u showed them, right?”....intelligent response…..
and rebecca…to your comment. then u find other people who would take your animals, there are plenty of people who would love having a horse, dog, cat etc. and would take great care of them if for some reason u couldn’t .....all u have to do is put a little effort it in and find them…

Stephanie, your criticism of the intelligence of my response might carry some weight if you could a) spell properly and b) if you had half a clue about the issue. It is clear that you are either very young or very ignorant of the issue, or both.

People who are forced to keep an animal that they are UNABLE to care for anymore will not magically be transformed into people who have the resources (physically or emotionally) to do that. Punishing people for taking on an animal by rendering that animal into an albatross around the owner’s neck does not in any way show any level of respect for the animal condemned to that existence. If you are so determined to prevent people from finding legal ways of sending horses to slaughter, then YOU suck it up and open a horse sanctuary and accept all horses that are offered to you. It is YOUR notion that horses must not be killed, so you invest YOUR time and money and other resources into providing a safe place for those horses. The other horse sanctuaries are full to overflowing, so get to work on that ASAP.

I understand why vegans are against the slaughter of animals for food. It is an ethical and a personal choice. To decide that because one views horses as pets that they then cannot be viewed as food is willfully and woefully ignorant of the realities of a world where most people gladly eat animals as part of a nutritious and balanced diet.

Your last statement, as far as I am able to understand it considering the bad grammar and spelling, shows me that you have absolutely no clue about the realities of this situation. Try contacting any horse sanctuary in your area, assuming there are any, and ask them if they are accepting any new horses and see what kind of answer you get. Trust me, finding a home for a horse these days requires a great deal more than “a little effort…’’

Stephanie- Owning a horse is a large responsibility, one that many people truly have no idea how extensive and expensive it can be.  I have two horses, and they cost me on average $300 in hay/minerals for winter (I own two pastures for spring and summer feeding). In veterinary maintenance ONLY, I spend $240 on average (and that is just vaccines/maintenance, and NO illnesses/injuries.)  Add in farrier costs, without getting shoes on, (just hoof trimming) and it adds on another $200 per year.  That does not include “leisure” money I spend on them (treats, halters, saddles, trips, etc.) and owning a horse is much more expensive than buying a horse in almost every single case.  I easily spend over $1000 on horse expenses every year.  Multiply that by 30 years.

I’ve worked for a vet clinic as a vet technician for five years, and being from a small town and being the county seat, all cases were handled, including if there were cases of abuse and neglect.  I honestly do not know which is worse; finding people who could not support the horses they owned, but were trying and not only the horses, but they themselves were being run into debt and worse; or the multiple cases of horses that were just abandoned because owners just could not take the responsibility anymore.  Many times we found these horses completely emaciated, or worse, very ill.  Horses in desperation would get into areas that could/did kill many of them.  In corn fields and bean fields, causing them to become sick and not caught in time, die; or tangled in fences.  The worst I ever saw was three horses that had been dumped, and had been hit by a train.  Two of the horses died most likely on impact, but the third one died a very slow excruciating death; we were put it down as soon as we got there; but there was no reason for that.  By having slaughter markets opened, these could have been avoided. 

It is also very hard to place abandoned horses, because not only do you have to have proper facilities and adequate room (which means you probably have horses already), but you must be able to keep them in quarantine, to keep other horses and animals safe. 

Also, with slaughter markets closed, horses that normally wouldn’t be for “riding” sales, are flooding the market, and these horses cause the prices of all horses to go down.  Good horses that would have gone for $10,000 before the markets were closed are now going for ridiculously low prices.  This is causing people who normally wouldn’t even think of buying horses BECAUSE they were too expensive to now go buy horses because they think “Oh my, look how cheap horses are! I’ve always wanted one, now I can afford one!!”  not having any clue how expenses quickly add up, and starting the whole cycle of horses being dumped and not cared for again!!!

If you have not, you need to go to a sale barn and actually watch this for yourself (don’t buy a horse unless you are actually prepared to make the full sacrifice obviously).  Before the markets were closed, horses that had obvious problems (malnutrition and broken backs, SEVERE behavior problems, etc.) would go for around $100-400 to “kill buyers”.  I attended several sales this year looking for a new filly, and saw multiple horses that were KID BROKE, as in, you could let your four-year-old ride them, along with beautiful horses (and a mixture of both), go for less than “slaughter horse” prices from before.  It was so sad to watch, knowing that these people selling these horses-for whatever reasons- have actually put time, money, and serious effort into these horses, only to get offered the same amount of money that it probably took them to drive them up to the sale.  I saw several horses that should have been sold for several thousand be bid UNDER $300.  That is so sad, and it is unacceptable.

I know it is sad to think of horses for food, but for many countries it is a natural truth. It is your choice to choose to eat animals, but that is what they are in the big picture.  Animals.  I do not choose to eat horse meat, but I do support the market for the good of the many.

I have 4 horses. My income is quite low, so taking care of them has been extremely hard. I would like to sell 2 of them, but there is no market for them as they are not yet well-broke. Even well-broke horses are hard to sell. I do believe there is a need for a slaughter plant. I would like to have the plants in the U.S. so they could be regulated by us as to the humane transport and downing of the horses. I don’t have a problem with the eating of horse meat. I have been in Agriculture all my life and see horses as livestock. A horse is going to need to be “disposed of” at some point. They will all die…it’s a fact of life. It is pretty hard to get rid of an 1100 pond animal as opposed to a cat or dog. Horses in this country are MUCH worse off than they were before. There is rampant neglect and shelters have no room for them. No-one wants to buy a horse because of the fear of there not being a market to sell the horse if they want to at a later date. Personally, I wish people in this country would start eating horse meat. It is really cheap right now and they would be doing the horses a favor.

~I generally agree with everything humane watch stands for - Except the issue of horse slaughter. 

I just HUMANELY put down a very sick 7 yr old, grade horse, whom was loving and gentle, and most important a friend… After trying everything to get him well, and by everything we are talking thousands. A few hundred is small talk. - If you cannot afford a horse, don’t have one.

Someone at the top of this thread started bashing the initial comment saying “What are we suppose to do…”  Blah blah blah blah…. I am sick of underqualified horse owners buying horses…

WHAT you are suppose to do, to a sick and dying horse is care for it, don’t walk away when they pull out the huge needle filled with hot pink liquid death…. Be brave for our hooved friends, after all they carried around your fat butts long enough. THERE is no excuse for the abuses that were occurring at the horse slaughter plants in this country, and unfortunately still are occurring in Canada and Mexico.  Stop making excuses for a cruel death, it just shows educated horse people how uneducated a lot of people with horses truly are!!! 

Take some horsemanship classes, they have emotions that run deeper than dogs and cats. If you think it’s all about profit in the horse business you have NO right at all to call yourself an equestrian.

Horse slaughter simply enables irresponsible people some fast cash.  By the way your 500.00 quote is mighty high on euthanasia… For my T to be put down humanely with love it only ran 275.00 with disposal included.  if you don’t have the heart or the stomach to see a horse that gives us so much, through to the end, or you want to live in a fantasy world and make up happy thoughts to make yourself feel better about signing the most cruel kind of death warrant for a horse by saying slaughter is o.k….. Do not call yourself a horseman / horsewoman.  Your a joke and detested by anyone in the ring with integrity.

You can bash me all you want - I don’t care… It’s your horses I feel bad for.

- Horses with extreme behavior problems ??? Really it’s okay to slaughter them?  Well,  I think we should start with the people who gave them those “problems” in the first place.

- My first horse had “extreme behavior problems…Was slaughter bound… Luckily my trainer bought her, trained her nicely, and I bought her then, and had a wonderful three day eventing career on her.. Sure she was hot… But I like a little spunk in my horses step..

Scamper - He won the NFR omg I think 10 or more times for barrels - Yup he was in a kill lot, when Charmaine Rodmans Dad found him,and apparently he was “crazy”  - Pfft quit using feel good ideologys to make yourself feel better about supporting a most cruel abuse.

Horses that are injured or sick… Well - put em down… I don’t care what the excuse is, most ets have or will work out payment arrangements with ya. Stop being lazy - Horses are not COWS or CHICKENS OR PIGS!!!!  Cows don’t think - much.  Pigs ery intelligent, but eh we eat them, and I love bacon…  Chickens - bird brains.  - HORSES have HEART…  It’s not the same I don’t care how you try and rationalize it.

This is a subject that has just recently sparked my interest, even though I’d heard bits and pieces through the media over the years, and my mare owns and operates me. (LOL)

There was a book that caught my eye one day at the local library called, “Nobody’s Horses”, written about the White Plains horses and the group of people who were able to rescue most of the horses from the government’s covert operation of its missile & testing site. 

That book opened my eyes to many of the wild horse’s plight and how man has stepped into the position of playing God with these animals. Is man really omniscient enough to decide who among the herd will live, and which ones have become too much of a burden/nuisance to continue life??

When I bought my mare 8 years ago, I made a life-long commitment to her that, regardless of my life circumstances, I would always keep her best interest at the top of my priorities.  Well, life has been less than cooperative for me these days, and I am existing on unemployment benefits until I am able to find another job.  During the past 18 months, I have had to file Chapter 13 BR to deter foreclosure proceedings, I defaulted on my car loan and gave the car back to the bank, and learned how to live on less income. 

Throughout it all, I managed to keep my horse.  Since we are in a condo, I’ve had to board her elsewhere.  Yes, it is an expense each month to keep her fed, and pay board, and see to it that her needs are met. Luckily, she’s always been an easy keeper.  I can’t afford any vet calls right now, but my farrier and I have been able to barter our trades which cuts that expense for me. 

The people who claim to have such a connection with their horse, and promise to love them til their dying day, and then they suddenly flip their position when the horse becomes an inconvenience (i.e. unforseen expense), are the people I take issue with!  A gal at our barn put down her Walker at 20 years old, after 15 years,  because he was beginning to show signs of further health concerns.  She wouldn’t even consider adopting him to another home for unknown reasons, or taking a “wait and see” approach.  As I said, the “health concerns” hadn’t even happened yet…the vet couldn’t even say for sure that they ever would.  She put down that beautiful horse for purely selfish reasons!!  The potential she MIGHT face in vet bills was just more than she could handle.  UNFORGIVABLE!!!!

Sorry this was so long winded, but I had to vent.  If people are willing to take an animal into their lives, they should have a “what-if” emergency plan in order beforehand.  Slaughtering these beautiful animals is not the answer…I am living proof that we can handle anything we are committed to protecting.

I love horses…but…I see them as livestock and MY PROPERTY.  I treat them very well during my OWNERSHIP of them. When they start costing more money than it’s worth TO ME to take care of them, or I no longer have a use of desire to keep them, they go down the road. I’ve been in the horse industry all my life and I’ve owned 300+ horses over the last 40 years. Some I kept for a long time…some not. There were some I loved deeply, some were just a paycheck because that was a part of my livelihood. If someone wants to glamorize horses and pat themselves on the back for such tenderheartedness that they spend all their money taking care of theirs…go ahead. Don’t, however, tell me how I should feel and what I should do with my horses. Horses are being badly neglected since the slaughter plants closed down. I’ve seen it and I wish the people behind it would pick up after the mess they made. The majority of horses that I know of in this part of the country aren’t owned by people in condo’s. They are owned by ranchers and other people who are connected with the land that feed this country.They are used for work and recreation. If you see your horses as your children and want to treat them that way, fine, but I don’t. My children aren’t replaceable. My horses are.

“Behavior problems” that I am talking about are not like, “ohh, my horse won’t load in a trailer, or, my horse bucks”.  I am talking about horses that are not safe to handle, and horses that are not safe around other horses.  I have seen horses like this, and I have risked my life and seen people risk their lives for “rescue” horses like these. 

Also, there are horses that are slaughtered inhumanely.  People who cannot/ willnot take care of these ANIMALS who will not or can not pay the expence to humanely euthanize (at my veterinarian it is $375 total- My sister pays less for rent for an entire month at college!) .  Isn’t is much better for an animal to quickly and humanely euthanized? 

When horses are shipped to Mexico to be slaughtered they are not regulated as they would be in the US’s slaughter plants.  If you haven’t, you should tour any of the production animals’ slaughter facilities.  As an animal science major, I have been to multiple ones.  The FDA, along with many other government and private administrations, strictly regulate every step of the process.  Trucking to the plant, the holding facilities, and the actual euthanization of each animal is carefully watched and each employee is required to follow strict guidleines.  For example, in the Tysons plant I went through, they only allow one mishap of the employee that actually euthanizes the animal.  If the animal is not quickly and humanely euthanized the employee will lose their job.  If you walk through, you can see the animals are not upset and are not concerned in the holding pens. 
Animals that are going to Mexico are not only NOT under strict guidelines for crowding and shipping without water, food, and sleep, but the slaughter itself cannot always expected to be humane. 
Also, slaughtering of horses does not “pay”.  You cannot raise horses cheaply enough to make money for slaughter for specifically that reason. Large ranchers could potentially raise them like cattle, but it would take a complete sky-rocketing of the horse market to make it much more profitable to raise cattle than horses. If the horse market opens up, the market will be flooded, causing the prices of horses for slaughter to drop severely, and then eventually even out again.  The people who will truly benefit are people with quality (horses that SHOULD be sold for usage, not slaughter).  Rideable, quality horses will then be worth more money, causing them to be bought by people who can afford them, lowering the amout of suffereing and neglect in the long-run. 
The only people who truly make a “profit” are buyers in the horse slaughter market, not the sellers of the horses.  By selling to slaughter in US, it will mandate them also, and it will stop overcrowding and over-long trips in the trailers. 

People feel very strongly about this because people see horses as beautiful, intelligent beings, and not as animals alone.  People can buy them to keep as companions, that is fine.  I have two, I would never sell them, they are like family to me.  But I can still make the distinction that they as smart as seem to be, they are still animals.  People who are horrified and do not want their animals to go to slaughter houses do not have to sell their animals on open market settings (sale barns). If one does not want their horse to end at a slaughter house, they should not sell them in salebarns.  Private sales help ensure better chances of better placement (in most instances.)  Also, if the horse is at an open market, and is selling for so low that it would go to slaughter, you always have the option of no sale-ing if you do not hit your minimum bid.  By opening slaughter in the US, the live horse slaughter price could be watched and people could make sure they sold over that line (no buyer is going to spend more than he would make on a horse.) 

People seem horrified by the thought of horses being sold to slaughter.  No one is forcing THEIR horse to be sold for that reason. 

Horses are still animals, people are people.  Unless they are soylent green. *lol*

The behavior problems your speaking of Amanda, are everyday problems…. My first horse I was speaking of, was dangerous to handle and generally hated people… You dare not enter her stall without a cookie or a carrot… Yup, hooves where flying at your head like a boxer in a ring. - Lunging, sure if you wanted to pretend she was a bull and you a bull fighter.  Darn it’s still sad shes not alive anymore lost her in 99. - I use to love watching her ditch people begging to try and ride her.  Especially ones with overly big egos, they have not earned. Call me twisted, but most eventers are.  If your affraid to own a horse that is not “bombproof” I suggest a mechanical horse… They are not machins and even the most docile horse can and will have their days of mishap.  It’s a dangerous sport period. 

  Now I honestly couldn’t blame my mare for her nasty temperment, she had bike chain scars in her mouth… And was tossed to the slaughter yard in good old *barfs* DeKalb-  Where the majority of horses lives ended - due to backyard horse people - Who couldn’t afford them - take care of them - etc.  Idiots in general who had no bussiness owning a horse. 

What it seems too many ppl think is a behavior problem because of “the horse” -  usually results from some backyard twit owning them, or being tossed about from home to home. 

I think my biggest issues currently has to lay with the AQHA - Isn’t it interesting they support horse slaughter too - I wonder why ?  Could it be because they have freakin’ ruined QH’s and as a result you get lovely packages full of HYPP and HERDA now ? Could it ?  Probably -  They also have no desire to put restrictions on who can or cannot breed…. So really by supporting horse slaughter -  They are again enabling idiots to fast cash - horrible breeding, and ignorance.  Lovely -  And again truly disgusting.  4-H has since lost my support on the topic too, that and the fact most those kids think nothing of ripping a horses mouth up when trying to take an attempt at riding - *Gags*.  Thank God for USPC !   

  As far as Susan is concerned… 300 horses in your lifetime? Hmm -  And I’m sure by the sounds of it, all three hundred of them that came and went where sold under *honest* pretenses.  LOL -  Sounds like I a hit a nerve Susan - First off I do not live in a condo… I live on a farm in Idaho - And secondly since moving to Idaho - from the midwest - IL - I can say I have seen the WORST HORSEOWNERS EVER - and Horsemanship too!  So much for that “western spirit” - It really goes downhill once you cross the Mississippi river. Perhaps if people actually fed their horses regularaly I would be a bit more impressed… And don’t tell me they can’t when they are living in big old houses, and driving beamers and 40K + trucks.  They just would rather have their toys than keep their horses healthy -
As far as my kids are concerned -  My horses are my kids too.  And if I were to sell anyone of original 6 - I would have a lot of answering to do.

- As far as taking care of a horse - THATS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A OWNER—-I have no qualms with people who sell horses… In the not so far off future I hope to be flipping a few OTTb’s for the hunt circut… None of my original 6 - And to be super honest, I would be very picky who I sold too… Def not some self taught hicks with a big backyard. But I would be honest about the horses conditions both on the medical side, and mental/tempermeant side..- Soething so rarely found out west LOL! 

So YAY Susan…. ! Want a cookie?  For doing what your suppose to do?  How about a sticker??  Maybe a browine? You take care of them under you ownership - OH my GOD - No way!  Blah - Get over yourself.   

One thing is for sure I will be one of the biggest lobbyists for Anti-cruelty laws - and neglect laws in this state, and the whole Pac northwest…. I also am proud to be lobbying to STOP ALL TRANSPORT to Mexico or Canada or overseas for Horse slaughter.  Not just keeping it banned in this country… But BANNING transport out - Look out when that happens - Oh my God - Stupid people will have no way out!  Maybe they will learn no to own a horse by then??? Ya think ? I hope so.  Like I said it only enables people some fast cash for being idiots.    And sorry if you support it - your an idiot.  If you really cannot afford a vet - Conctact your most local Hunt Club - All masters of the Hunt must know how to drop a horse with a hand gun or riffle.  - It beats slaughter by far!

@ Katie Mac. A lot of the 300+ horses I had in my lifetime were horses that would have otherwise gone to slaughter. I bought them, trained them and sold them for a profit. I also derived part of my income from taking in outside horses to ride. Mainly starting colts and what were called “problem” horses, that otherwise would have been run through the salebarn. I don’t abuse or neglect horse; they are always well treated under my care. I don’t form any attachment to most of them because it’s how I make my living. I always have a personal horse, sometimes two. I allow myself to get attached to them. This ban of the slaughter plants means I don’t buy horses at the salebarn to take home and train anymore. They still aren’t worth anything when well trained. I was one of those people who SAVED horses. Now even potentially good horses are going to Canada and Mexico. I’d go buy a lot of them if there was a market to turn around and resell them, but there isn’t. Horses haven’t been helped by this ban. It has done them a cruel disservice. Your personal attack on me was unnecessary. You know nothing about me other than a few sentences.(I drive a “96 Dodge). If you wish to debate the ISSUE that’s great, but slamming someone because they have different views is ignorant.( as in “lack of knowledge” not “lack of intelligence”)

Katie- obviously your horse is not a threat if you can sedate its behavior problems with a carrot or cookie.  Also by lobbying to “halt all transport to Canada or Mexico” and then passing said laws, this will not stop transport; people will just use more stealth to do so.  Which means horses would be under even more stress and poor conditions such as without food/water for long periods of time.  Passing these laws will not stop the horses from moving across borders.  Look how hard our country tries to work to watch the Mexican border going out and it does nothing.  I personally have met Mexicans who have told me if you pay enough to the right set of officials, you don’t have to worry.  If horses get across the border, it is going to be far less a penalty than that.  This is not a law that I feel will be that strictly enforced.  Unless you would like to move down to Brownsville and check each trailer-livestock and otherwise. 

So are you against all animal slaughter?  Or just certain groups of livestock? Like I have said before, just because you do not eat horse meat doesn’t mean that it is immoral.  Many people eat rabbits, cats, and dogs.  Those are ANIMALS I would consider in the “companion animal” yet many people do eat them.  Yet I’m not going to attack people for eating them. 

...Have you ever seen the show World of Jenks?  He shows the other option that people take and will take even more if transport of live horses is banned.  Backyard slaughter and transport then of the carcasses is the end result.  Check it out. 
If we had slaughter plants open this would lessen this happening.

I, too, agree that horses should not be slaughtered, especially for profit. If people can’t afford horses, they shouldn’t be purchasing them in the first place. I don’t think it should be legal for anyone to transport horses into Mexico or Canada for slaughter, either. I think the whole practice is cruel and disgusting, especially since horses have been enslaved by humans throughout history. They’ve done so much for us (against their will), they don’t deserve to be treated like disposable garbage, even if when they are old. There’s gotta be a way to help these animals, and maybe, since HSUS is so fat in the pockets, they should be dishing out some cash to run more sanctuaries for these animals. I don’t know. I just know it’s not right for any animal to be slaughtered just because it’s reached retirement age. Might as well start shooting people when they hit 60 so they won’t be a “burden” to anyone.