First of all, I know this question is going open a can of worms, but after answering a related one about whether or not slaughter should be legal and horse meat made available for human consumption in the United States, I felt I had to raise the issue again from an economic perspective. I’m interested in hearing about others’ thoughts on which solutions to the problems of horse overpopulation are the most cost effective and economically viable or feasible, and which can ( and possibly should) be implemented on a large scale. This is not intended to be a debate about whether or not slaughter should be legal- we already have had that discussion. Nor is it intended to be a debate about whether or not slaughter is inhumane. I’m simply interested in what methods people would use to go about solving the problems associated with horse overpopulation, neglect, abuse, and abandonment, and which of those methods people feel are the most cost effective.
As I stated in my response to the question asked the other day, I believe that reopening the slaughter houses is but one part of what obviously must be a multi faceted solution to these problems. Clearly, simply doing that alone isn’t going to be enough- there are other steps that need to be taken, including going after the backyard breeders and getting legislation passed at both the federal and state levels which requires LICENSING for anyone who wishes to become a breeder. Still other steps that could be taken include mandating castration programs for any colt or stallion that isn’t purebred or which does not demostrate the accepted standards for his breed, regardless of what that breed is. We also need to come up with reliable contraceptives for horses of both genders which can be administered orally as human contraceptives are. Lastly, as I mentioned in my other answer, serious efforts need to be made to reform the sport of racing and the breeding industry which supports it. The TB industry alone is a HUGE contributor to the horse overpopulation problem- the modern TB is one of the most over and inbred breeds in existence. There are still plenty of farms out there which will pay someone beau coup bucks to come with a truck every fall and rid them of what is politely called “excess inventory” in the industry. Those trucks end up hauling a lot of young TB’s away- and the next stop for most of them is the Canadian or Mexican borders and the slaughter houses which lie beyond them. That’s something which has been going on for decades, since long before slaughter ever became illegal in the States the way it is now. The rest of the young racehorses get run through sales or dumped on the market when they can’t run any more- with the result that they too often become targets for killer buyers. This is the TB breeding industry’s worst kept secret, and it’s one that desperately needs to be changed- but finding alternatives to this scenario isn’t going to be easy or cheap. I’ve long felt that euthanasia is impractical on any kind of large scale, simply because of the costs involved in doing it. Not only are the drugs themselves expensive, there is also the question of disposal costs for the animals’ remains. So again, I ask, which solutions are the most cost effective, and why do you feel that way? Please, no rudeness- this is a civil discussion.
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Euthanasia Versus Horse Slaughter Versus Other Alternatives: Which Is More Economically Feasible?
Posted on November 7, 2011.
I do agree with you that unfortunately re-opening the slaughter houses is a much more financially feasible option. Euthanizing a horse, and then getting rid of the body is a very expensive process. You simply can’t get rid of such a large body easily.
However there are a few things I want to point out. For starters, I disagree that a stud should absolutely have to be purebred in order to stay a stud. There are many very well-bred crosses out there, especially in the sport-horse industry. Or are you going to tell me that newer “breeds” like the Irish Sport Horse shouldn’t be allowed to breed because they are the product of a cross between an Irish Draught and a Thoroughbred? Also, that would actually encourage inbreeding, and we all know how badly that can end. A stud should be well built, with a good personality and well-bred, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he must be purebred.
Also, if you are going to rail an industry for being irresponsible with breeding practices you are partially right in criticizing the TB industry. But they are definitely not the only ones at fault, nor are they even the biggest offenders of overbreeding. While it is true that the Jockey Club registers an astronomical amount of foals every year, clocking in at an average of 30,000, they are significantly outnumbered by the QH industry. Every year the AQHA registers over 100,000 new quarter horses. Looking at numbers alone, I’d say the QH industry is a little more irresponsible with their breeding practices than the TB industry. Let’s not forget that they too are giving away yearlings like door prizes.
And while I do agree that a licensing program for breeding would be very helpful, as well as a set standard for what colts should be allowed to remain studs, the idea is simply preposterous. It would never happen in the US, I am sorry to tell you. It would be unenforceable and good luck trying to find law enforcement or funding to do it. Making it a law simply wouldn’t work.
spot on “rose training” spot on
The manager of the Cavel plant in Illinois made it clear that he did not want large draft breeds because they render too much “leftover” carcass to dispose of for the amount of meat obtained. These foreign owned businesses have no market for anything but meat. So to argue that use of euthanizing drugs has any effect on anything but spoiling the meat for human consumption is erroneous. There is always a carcass to deal with after the meat is removed.
The rest of the carcass still has to be disposed of, just as is the case with humanely euthanized horses.
There is no evidence in history of US slaughterhouses being open having any impact on abuse and neglect of horses. Demand is driven by the foreign meat market, and not by numbers of unwanted US horses. The slaughterhouses want well fed horses with minimal carcass for disposal, and don’t buy the starving bags of bones that neglect produces even if the irresponsible owners bothered to try to sell them, which they seldom do.
Slaughterhouses are not a convenient way to get rid of neglected and abandoned horses, and never have been.
Euthanasia is entirely practical if the industries supplying the surplus of unwanted horses is required to pay for it. There should be a surcharge or other system in place to require every horse that is bred and hits the ground to already have the funding in place to provide humane veterinary euthanasia if it comes to that. If breeding is less profitable because of it, and less irresponsible breeding is the result, then all the better. The PMU mares and their unwanted castoff babies won’t be crying. The castaway racehorses won’t be crying over the industry profit losses. http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/hors…
The cost of having a licensing program and what not would be expensive. Slaughterhouses are the most economical. Cheap way to get rid of the carcass, feeds people/animals, creates jobs for thousands of people, etc.
Humane euthanasia makes the carcass unusable so then you have to pay to dispose of it.
I believe that re-opining Slaughter would Be the best from a economic stand point, Just think of all the jobs that will be created that are so desperately needed If Slaughter houses were opened Back up around the USA. Plus If the meat was edible to humans, Which like my father says Cattle are medicated Just as heavily as horses with Antibiotics and wormer so were already eating That in our meat. Just think of the Homeless and Poor who could Be given a good meal.And believe me when your starving you don’t care if its horse or cow. Plus The export to Mexico would slow down greatly and Im sorry but I would rather see a horse slaughtered In the USA with Rules then in Mexico were torturing animals Is a national pass time.
Now in a dream world there would be no excess Horses and BYB would Be nonexistent.. but we don’t live in a dream world so we need to Have a Solution to this Over population of horse. And slaughter Is the salution
Responsible owners do not allow their horses to die in slaughterhouses.
I agree with Rose – idiots should never have horses. But the reality is, they do. That’s where the core of the problem lies. I firmly believe that horse ownership should require a permit. They are high maintenance animals that require very specialized care. They are not for the average person. Same goes for a lot of animals, especially exotics (but that’s a tangent for another day). And breeding should require additional licensing. Good owners would have no problem passing the requirements.
The castration program is a good idea, and I think there should be vouchers for it, just like they have for spaying and neutering cats and dogs.
Instead of looking for the cheapest way to kill horses, I think we need to focus on how to deal with the real problem: irresponsible human beings. We created this problem, and punishing the victim is no way to solve it. These are living animals that we keep as pets. They deserve to be taken care of, even if it means, God forbid, that we have to shell out a little more money.
Ha ha, the most cost effective way to control the horse population would be for people who can’t afford to geld their colts NOT EVER TO HAVE HORSES. I think that instead of thinking about which ways would be most effective to kill the unwanted horses, we should focus on controlling to population in the first place. Uneducated horse people, and horse people who don’t have the means to geld all colts that they buy should never own them.
EDIT: I also agree with mulewrangler. In an ideal world, people would be smart and make wise decisions so that overpopulation wouldn’t even be an issue. But as it is now, reopening slaughter in the US would be good for us, and for the horses that are being shipped to Mexico in the meantime where there are no regulations. And even if we as horse people would never eat a horse in our life, it would potentially be a good way to feed the homeless. Though just saying that makes me cringe because now I’m picturing horse ranches that just raise horses for human consumption, like cows…. ugh, I couldn’t deal with that.
EDIT 2: Yeah, I’m definitely not saying that only purebreds should be allowed to be kept studs, believe me, I absolutely adore well chosen crosses. I just think that purebred or not, studs should be very carefully selected by breeders and not kept at all by amateurs who have neither the knowledge or ability to control a stud, and not to mention that it’s cruel to keep a horse a stud and then not ever let it breed. It’s better to just geld more horses and leave the breeding to the professionals.