When horses finish last

FROM: Saratogian

BY: Paul Post

SARATOGA SPRINGS - A group opposed to horse slaughter for human consumption plans to protest outside Saratoga Race Course on Opening Day and each Sunday of the 2008 meet.
The group, “Friends of Equines, Foes of Equine Slaughter,” says that top racing industry leaders, such as commercial breeding farms, need to take a stronger stand on the issue.

Slaughter is no longer allowed in the U.S. since three plants in Texas and Illinois were closed last year, but horses are still being exported to facilities in Canada and Mexico. A federal bill that would prohibit exports, first sponsored by former U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, has passed in the House, but is still in a Senate committee.

“America is the greatest exporter of horses intended for human consumption,” said Christine Jubic of the “Friend of Equines” group. “We want all these people who are claiming neutrality to take a stand.”

About 1 percent of the estimated 9.2 million horses in America go to market each year, she said. The most famous case, which ignited strong public outcry, involved 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand, who died in a Japanese slaughterhouse. Most of the horse meat processed in U.S. plants went to Europe and Japan.

Since those facilities closed, exports to Mexico in particular have risen dramatically - 28,771 to date this year versus 18,344 in 2007.

“When horses were processed in the U.S. the plants were under USDA supervision,” said Barbara Linke, of the Texas-based American Quarter Horse Association. “Horses were well-fed and euthanized properly. They were killed instantly. In Mexico, there’s no oversight, no regulation. It’s worse for them to go across the border.”

Numerous equine rescue and retirement programs have taken steps to find productive lives for older horses, everything from mounted police to physical and mental therapy programs. In New York, a state task force has been charged with studying the issue and reporting back to state lawmakers next year.

Task force member Jack Knowlton of Saratoga Springs is also managing general partner of Sackatoga Stable that produced 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide.

“The very, very large preponderance of horses that go to slaughter aren’t race horses,” he said.

He credited most thoroughbred breeders and owners with leading the fight against horse slaughter.

Other prominent groups either support slaughter or have refused to take sides. The Washington, D.C.-based American Horse Council is a major lobbying group that represents various equine interests - racing, breeding, recreation, show horses and veterinarians.

“We are neutral on the (horse protection) bill because we have members on both sides of the issue,” spokesperson Kathie Luedeke said.

The country’s largest organization of equine veterinarians, the 10,000-member American Association of Equine Practitioners, has come out against the horse protection measure.

“Our decision to oppose the federal legislation is not because we think slaughter is the best option,” said Sally Baker of the Kentucky-based group. “The number of unwanted horses is so large, we don’t feel there are enough rescue and retirement programs to absorb them all. We’re concerned about an increase in abuse, neglect and starvation, which we’ve already seen since the plants closed last year.

“We really think that horse processing is symptomatic of a much larger problem, the unwanted horse population.”

The situation might only get worse because of the increasingly high cost of feeding and boarding a horse. In some Western states, there have been reports of people simply turning horses loose in state parks or open range land.

“They’re domestic animals, so that’s actually more cruel and inhumane than sending them to processing plants,” Linke said.

The Quarter Horse Association is also against the federal bill.

“It doesn’t address what will happen to the 90,000 to 100,000 unwanted horses if they don’t go to slaughter houses,” she said. “It’s not that we’re pro-slaughter. The bill doesn’t address what options horse owners would have. There are no federal funds available.”

Equine rescue and retirement groups hope to find enough uses for horses that slaughter won’t be needed any more.

“Obviously that would be a perfect world,” Linke said. “But horses become unwanted for lots of reasons. Especially now, with the economy, we’re just afraid that the unwanted horse population is going to continue to grow.”