Letter: Slaughter of horses is all a matter of money

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005 | 8:07 a.m.

Regarding the Sun's Nov. 30 article, "Horses not out of woods": Apparently the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry has convinced Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) that slaughter is necessary to dispose of "unwanted horses."

But let's consider the fact that there was a sharp decline in the number of U.S. horses slaughtered in the 1990s. According to Agriculture Department records, 345,700 horses were slaughtered for export in 1990; 10 years later that number was 50,400. During this time, the number of horses slaughtered dropped by as many as 79,000.

The reason the decline happened was due to slackening demand in Europe and Asia for horse meat during that time. The horse meat industry is really about supply and demand. During that time there was no rash of "unwanted horses," which shows the rhetoric spewed by Goodlatte and the AVMA to be a myth.

Today European demand for horse meat is on the upswing again due to concerns over mad cow disease, so the slaughter numbers are increasing steadily. Last year 65,000 horses were slaughtered; this year they've already butchered 100,000.

Here's another fact the AVMA left out -- horses routinely are given products labeled "Not for use on food animals." These products include phenylbutazone, flyspray and dewormers.

The horse slaughter industry exists in the United States for only one reason, to make a large profit satisfying Europe's renewed voracious appetite for American horse meat. It has absolutely nothing to do with saving "unwanted horses" from neglect.

Duane L. Burright Jr.

Malibu, Calif.

Editor's note: The writer is a volunteer for the National Horse Protection Coalition, which is based in Alexandria, Va.