A Quest to End Pain and Suffering Causes Additional Abuse of Unwanted Horses.

For the horse's sake, U.S.-based horse slaughter plants should be allowed to re-open. If there is a need for horsemeat to be processed for human consumption, and there is (approximately 150,000 domestic horses are exported abroad for slaughter each year), then it should be done within our own borders where there are laws to regulate the business and to protect the horses. As harsh as that may sound, it's better than the alternative: Horses being stuck inside cramped trailers for periods as long as thirty-six hours, without food or water, while they are hauled across the country to Canada, or to Mexico, where they are met with a horrific death.

There are just too many horses to be absorbed into the mainstream of the horse world without some sort of checks and balances. Large breeders want only the cream of the crop, no matter how many foals have to be born. The rest are cast off and sold at slaughter. Greed fuels the industry, with little consideration given to the animal's well-being. And, while rescues have achieved commendable success at providing care for a large quantity of horses, the numbers saved at these facilities is small in comparison to the influx of unwanted horses. Despite strong opposition to the contrary, slaughter is a necessary check, therefore, regulated transport and rendering should be the balance.