How do you feel about this practice? Could slaughter have its importance? Share your opinion.

Anonymous:
Think about it this way ... what if horses and cows thought of humans as their source of protein? Would it feel right to be slaughtered? Things like this make me very upset, especially when it comes to the "destruction" of a life that never deserved it. I feel it's wrong to kill something as beautiful as a horse. Instead let it perish from old age. I should know. It took me two years to recognize the wrong of working in a slaughterhouse. Now I won't get anywhere near one. I was once a person who put animals out of their misery, but really, it's not worth it.

Catherine:
I would never send any of my horses to slaughter. It obviously isn't a happy subject, but without slaughter, where would all the unwanted horses go? What would happen to the horses whose owners can't afford them any longer, yet cannot sell them due to age or health problems? Horses are not like dogs or cats; they are not so easily adopted. They cost much more money, especialy older or problem horses. Amateur horse owners need to seriously be told how expensive horses are and how much work goes into their care and keeping. Overall, people need to be more aware of just what they are getting into when they purchase a horse. It is these horses, the horses that go into homes where the owner does not have enough money or simply does not know what they are doing, that suffer. Until we clear up this problem, there can be no end to horse slaughter.

Molly:
Horse slaughter is an unnecessary evil. After all our horses do for us, do we really want them to have a horrible end?

Anonymous:
Horse slaughter is despicable, but so is the slaughter of ANY animal. All the great Eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) teach the principle of non-violence toward animals. Man can survive perfectly well on a vegan diet, or if absolutely necessary, free-range milk and eggs. Meat can never be justified.

Jan:
Many people believe that the way horses are slaughtered is cruel. However, cows are slaughtered in the same manner and you don't ear many complain about that. Actually, horse meat is sweeter and healthier than cow meat. People have eaten every kind of animal on the planet, so get off your high horse and enjoy.

Lauren:
Horse slaughter is wrong. Everyone knows it, but sadly no one can do anything about it because the slaughterhouses are foreign-owned.

Anonymous:
As a beginner in the horse world, I don't understand how people can do the things they do and not feel anything. I would love to have a horse (or ten!) but can't afford it. It's such a shame ...

Donna:
In Australia, we have two types of slaughterers. We have the ones for pet foods, which are the typical slaughter house. Then we have the ones for human consumption. These are totally controlled with good yards with shading, feed, and water. Horses are usually slaughtered within 24 hours of being brought in, but if they have to stay further, hay is kept out 24 hours a day. These horses are not strung up with their throats cut. The whole procedure is monitored by government and health officials. The horses are walked calmly up the chutes into the slaughter room, so as not to stress them which, like cattle, bruises the meat. When you compare that to a horse standing out in a paddock starving to death in a drought-declared area (like most of Queensland), I think it's a pretty good option.

Jade:
All I can say about horse slaughter is that I've seen way too many good horses being rescued to even approve of it. It all comes down to owners. If they had proper respect for their horse, they would never send it to that fate no matter the circumstances. Sick horses should be properly euthanized and horses with training problems should be worked with professionally. There's no excuse for sending a horse down that road and horse slaughter should not exist.

Leigh:
I've heard so much about horse slaughter. I refuse to believe there is no way to end it. There are animal shelters were dogs and cats can be adopted out, if not humanely put down. Why is it not the same for these animals? I wish I knew what to do, but I'm just not educated enough at this time. I am going to make it my goal to learn all I can. Then maybe I can contribute to putting an end to horse slaughter. My heart bleeds for these creatures.

Amber:
You know, I think horse slaughter is wrong, but to those people who actually kill the horses, it's a job. Maybe the horses have nowhere to go, so the owner ships them to the slaughterhouse. I mean, maybe there's just too big a population of horses that something has to be done with them, so to speak. I'm against all of the horse slaughter, but maybe the butchers or sellers have a reason for doing it too. There are different sides to things. Still, we already have enough food in the world and we don't need to kill our transportation just for a delicacy. It's wrong! And if they really need horse meat, I think they should be feeding it to people in poor countries who are starving to death.

Lisa:
Horse slaughter is wrong. Here in Britain, I've never really heard much about horse slaughter because we don't eat horse meat. I think it's disgusting the way those people can even work work in those factories, killing innocent living creatures. How would they like to be knocked unconscious, dragged along, and have their throat slit? No, I don't think they would. Can you do this to humans? No! So why should you do this to horses, if they're living things just like us. They work for us, carry us, love us, care for us, treat us with respect, cheer us up, and make us laugh ... and this is how we repay them?

Amanda:
I, as a competitive horseback rider, feel horse slaughter is wrong but I understand it. People eat cattle and pigs, so why should they not be able to eat horses? I personally do not eat horses nor would I like to try one, but what are you supposed to do with the horses that are just too old, unable to perform, or downright mean, and you don't have enough money to put them down? If they're all skin and bones, no one will want it. No one would take a horse that's going to cost so much in maintenance and with such an uncertain future. One thing I do beileve is wrong about horse slaughter is the cruel treatment they encounter at the slaughter-houses. But I still feel horse slaughter should be allowed; they just need to be more humane.

Laura:
I think horse slaughter is the most horrible thing you could do to a horse and I'd like to stop it but I don't know how. I think that no horse deserves such cruelty and criticism.

Ellen:
There's no two ways about it ... horse slaughter is wrong. Do not read on if you're weak of stomach, as I tell you exactly what happens to these horses. Perfectly healthy horses, usually former racehorses or wild mustangs, are purchased by "killer buyers" to be sold to slaughter houses. They are left to battle the elements on their own in an open pen for several days. Finally, a double-decker cow truck arrives. Horses are crammed in tightly, foals trampled beneath the larger horses, and angry stallions not kept separately, instead left free to wreak havoc. When these miserable horses reach a border, law requires that they all be able to stand on their own. If they can, the truck can pass. Law says nothing about the truck driver sticking his cattle prod up the horses' behinds to force them to stand.

Don't get stuck on the truck ride, because that's by far not the worst part. Upon arriving at the slaughterhouse, the horses are stored in muck-ridden outdoor pens with hardly enough room to turn around. They might be kept there a few minutes, they might be kept there a few weeks. When the people are ready for them, the horses are lined up in "death row," more commonly known as the "kill chute." The horses can smell and hear quite well what's happening in front of them. Many rear, whinnying frantically, and others have been seen relieving themselves all over. When it's his turn, the horse is shoved forward into the "kill box" with a cattle prod, slipping on the blood and feces of the horses ahead of him. He rears, desperately trying to get out, but it's too late. A retractable bolt is slammed into their head, driving bits of skull into the brain along with it. This is repeated, but not until the horse is killed, and not even until he is knocked unconscious, but until it collapses. He is then dragged out kicking and struggling, and a chain is fastened to his back hoof. Still conscious, he is lifted upside down into the air. His throat is then split, and dangling above the ground, the horse slowly bleeds to death.

This is required to make horse meat fit for human consumption. And the worst part is, the horse is a companion animal. Eating horse meat should be considered akin to eating dog or cat meat. And for all of you Americans, I'd like to tell you that your founding fathers declared the horse a sacred animal, not to be eaten or killed to be eaten anywhere in your country, because of its huge role in your history.

Chrissy:
Horse slaughter is just plain cruel. I think it should be illegal world-wide. There is no point in it. Put the horse to pasture if you don't want it any more and it's healthy, or give him to a friend. If he has a disease or he's in hard shape, put him down or give him to someone who will nurse him back to health. There is no need for horse slaughter!

Nicole:
I despise horse slaughter. There is nothing that sets me off faster than someone talking about slaughtering horses (besides using Premarin ...). It is inhumane because of all the things they do to cause pain before death. If they have to kill horses, can't make it quick and painless?

Morgan:
In the years I have been around horses, I have seen wretched neglect and abuse. Once I attempted to rescue a horse who had been left out in the pasture without water or food after having colicked. The horse was nearly dead when I found him. His mouth was swollen and bloody from beating his head against the ground to relieve the pain. His bones stuck out and he had not eaten a proper meal in ages. He could barely walk and held his head low to the ground. He was obviously wormy and dehydrated.

When I went to get him, I broke out into tears as he attempted to walk on bad legs to the trailer. I had to push him part of the way. It took five people to get him into the trailer, because he was in so much pain. When we arrived at the vet, he was pumped with fluids, given limited amounts of food (in case he should colic again), and was offered water. The vet tried desperately to save him, fighting through the night, but he died the next morning. He was a Thoroughbred racehorse -- the tattoo was on his lip -- he had been sold as a polo pony, where he was treated like this. As I write this story, I get tearful. As much as I hate horse slaughter, I would rather a horse be slaughtered instead of going through what this horse went through. However, laws should be passed for a more humane end, and horse thieves who steal horses from people's properties should have more legal action taken against them.

Shelby:
Horse slaughter is awful. I hate it so much it makes me sick. There's no way I could eat horse meat like it was everyday food. I'd have to throw up afterward. I really hope there's a way for horse slaughter to end.

Milissa:
Anyone who slaughters horses should be put in jail! It doesn't make sense to me how people can hit a dog and go to jail but can get away with killing hundreds of horses! It's outrageous and needs to be stopped.

Kaitlin:
As a 100000000% horse lover, I don't like horse slaughter, but unfortunately, I think we're all going to have to live with it. Trying to ban horse slaughter is a nearly impossible task, and most likely will increase neglect and abuse for horses who have nowhere to go. I think the most important thing is to make regulations so that it's humane. Quick and painless should be the law, and the transportation should be safer as well.

Think about it: A lot of people who cannot afford to put down their sick animals through euthanasia would end up just leaving them out in the pasture to die slowly and painfully. Would it not, then, be easier on the horse to die quickly and painlessly at a horse slaughter plant? The biggest problem is that horse slaughter plants are not humane, but they must be. That is the issue as far as I'm concerned. It's also about the abuse of horse slaughter - people slaughter horses for no good reason. Unfortunately, there's no way to control that. Those are the biggest problems that we need to defeat, not the industry itself.

Lizard:
I think this is one of the cruelest things ever. The slaughterhouses shoot the poor animals after being in a hot, smelly stall for a couple of weeks, without food or water the whole time, hearing the cries of the animals that went before you and the smell of blood and fear. That is just plain cruel! Image you're a horse. You hear cries, yelps, and whinnies of fear. You smell blood. You've been in a stall for a week and a half now. You're hungry and tired of standing in your own manure. Then one day, a man comes and whips you, grabs your halter, and drags you toward the "death box." A huge blade comes into your head. You can't see anything and can barely breathe. You can feel everything they do to you. You feel that you're moving on a conveyer belt. You're picked up by your leg, still alive, when something comes and slits your throat. After an hour of bleeding and pain, you are finally put out of your misery and die.

Faith:
In my opinion, horse slaughter is absolutely disgraceful. There isn't really anything I can say that expresses how I feel about it. I've seen so many pictures of skinned horses hanging from slaughterhouse roofs or the blood draining from a horse's neck onto the floor. It's disgusting when you think about it and it makes me want to help in some way. These animals are being killed mainly because they aren't loved or nobody wants them, and that makes me sick. These slaughterhouses are killing innocent creatures for no good reason! I just don't know how they can look into an animal's eyes and actually even think about killing it. I know I could never forgive myself if I did something that terrible. But, there is a good side too. Horse sanctuaries are like miracles ... they give homes to horses who aren't wanted or loved. To me, that is something of a relief, knowing that these people actually care about horses and love them for them, but there is only so much you can do.

Geni:
I believe God made each animal for a purpose. Cows were meant for eating, dogs for hunting / companionship, and horses for riding, NOT consumption by anyone, whether it be dog or human food.

Michelle:
Horse slaughter is wrong. If a horse breaks its leg, then I understand putting it out of its misery, but some perfectly good horses get slaughtered because they are lame or nobody wants them or they aren't exactly "pretty." But that's like taking your son / daughter to the slaughterhouse because you don't "want" him / her ...

Anna:
I'm not sure what to say on this subject. Whilst I cringe at the very thought of a horse in a slaughterhouse, people do in fact eat horses and there is nothing we can do to spot it. Horses are just like any other animal we eat - they get slaughtered and end up as meals on someone's plate ... it's a fact.

The main thing that worries me about this subject is the fact that many horses are being slaughtered when they shouldn't be. In England, many horses who end up being slaughtered are from horse auctions. If a horse doesn't get an owner by the end of the day, they are sent straight to the slaughterhouse. I also think horses aren't being treated well enough before they are slaughtered. They travel in a lorry for days without any food or water; conditions definitely need to be improved for the poor creatures.

Elle:
Horse slaughter is a difficult topic. Let me ask you this ... say we all rode cows. Would we still slaughter them? Cows are really important to people who aren't vegetarian. So, I don't know.

Sarah:
Horse slaughter is of vital importance to the horse business. If horse slaughter were to be banned, it would cause a large drop in the pricing of lower-quality horses, and could run some small ranches out of business. Banning horse slaughter could also prove to be harmful to people by encouraging people to keep dangerous animals alive. Horse slaughter is a necessary business.

Anonymous:
I think horse slaughter is awful. It should be stopped.

Stephanie:
I think that horse slaughter is definitely wrong. There's just no reason for it. Absolutely none. And I bet horses don't taste very good. It makes me sick to think of my horse being beaten half to death, then shot, and then killed. What crazy person could ever do such a thing?