On Sept. 20, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan amendment (68-29) to the Agriculture Appropriations bill will eliminate federal funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors in slaughter houses for one fiscal year. Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, all livestock slaughtered, including horses, must be inspected by USDA personnel. The amendment was introduced by John Ensign, DVM (R-NV) and Robert C. Byrd (D-WV).

Based on the 2004 USDA figures, approximately 80,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States or shipped to meat processing plants in Canada or Mexico in 2004.

“The time has come to put an end to the practice of slaughtering horses in America,” Ensign said. He added, “As a senator and a veterinarian, I am committed to doing what I can for these magnificent animals.”

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) also doesn’t view slaughter as the ideal method for dealing with unwanted horses in the United States. However, the AAEP stated that if the owner is unwilling or unable to care for the horse, then humane euthanasia by captive bolt at a USDA-regulated facility is an acceptable alternative to a life of suffering, inadequate care, or abandonment. The AAEP believes that the plight of the unwanted horse should be addressed by the horse community and action taken using education and responsible ownership to improve the horse’s welfare and to reduce the number that end up at processing plants