Alternatives to Equine Slaughter

1. Presented by Dr. J. Jacques

4.  Reduces the number of unwanted horses
 Eliminates
the cruelties associated with
unregulated slaughter practices in
neighboring countries
 Creates JOBS for equine professionals

5.  138,000will be shipped to Canada and
Mexico for Slaughter in 2011.
• Racing (thoroughbred and standardbred racing)
• Mares and foals who are by-products of the production of the drug
Premarin (pregnant-mares-urine, used to treat menopausal symptoms for
which there is a synthetic alternative)
• Over breeding and “backyard” breeders
• Irresponsible owners/Changing economic
 Reports
show that 92.3% of these horses are in
good health and capable of continued service.

6.  Purchase horses for meat or for immediate
resale
 Killbuyers typically have a contract to
deliver a certain number of horses to the
slaughter house each period
 Estimated 38 killbuyers in the US

7.  Craigslist advertisements for free horses
 Riding stables horses & Camp Horses
 Individuals who have an immediate need
to rid themselves of the expenses and
responsibility of owning a horse
 Public auctions

8.  They accumulate horses in paddocks
referred to as „killpens‟

9.  In 2007, Congress prohibited the use of
federal funds to inspect slaughter-bound
horses destined for human consumption.
This act essentially shutdown domestic
slaughter facilities.
 No one fully anticipated the cruelties that
would follow, as horses fell victim to
unregulated transportation and slaughter
practices in bordering countries.

10. This year over 130,000 horses will be
crammed into impossibly small
spaces and transported for days to
Mexico and Canada.
NO Food, NO Water, NO Rest
Although laws have been passed that
prohibit the use of double-decker
trucks for slaughter-bound horses,
there is no law against the use of
double-deckers to transport
horses. Horse meat brokers
simply unload the horses onto
smaller trailers for the last leg of
their final journey.

13. One trip to Canada
 Horses are sold on
average to slaughter could yield $19,375.
houses for 0.60 cents
to $1 per pound. One Killbuyer in PA
takes 5 loads of horses
 Horses range from
900 – 1,100 lbs. per month.
 20-30 horses per load
 Average horse sells ($19,375*5)=$17,500
for $225 to killbuyers (minus gas & other expenses)
Revenue: (25 horses * 1000lbs * $1 per pound)
-Costs : (25 - $225 per horse)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Profits before operating expenses = $19,375

14.  TheGovernment Accountability Office
(GAO) prepared a report for congress in
June 2011
• The report showed NO CHANGE in the number of
horses slaughtered since the congressional
prohibition in 2007.
• Once the horses cross the border, U.S. Laws (Equine
Protection and Animal Cruelty) no longer apply
• The report further describes an increase in the
number of abuse, neglect and abandonment cases

15.  The existing rescue facilities have the capacity to
manage only 13% of the current population of the
widely published estimate of 100,000 unwanted
horses
 There are hundreds of organizations in this country
all are overwhelmed with horses and dangerously
underfunded
 Rely on public contributions to fund operations

16.  Only 1% of horses are considered
unwanted (100,000 horses)
 AAEP estimates that the average cost to
maintain a horse for one year is $1,825
 Feeding all unwanted horses for one year
would cost over $182 - 200 million.
 Studies show the estimated cost to feed
unwanted horses in 2016 is $530 million

17.  1986 Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of
the Year with his victory over Alysheba in
the Breeders' Cup, won an impressive
$3,777,978, won 29 starts.
 He was slaughtered in 2002.
 Why is it, a winning racehorse is not entitled
to a share in their purses?
If only Ferdinand could contribute to his own 401K
 There are 844,531 race horses in the US.

18.  The average price of horses reported to be
at a 32 year high
 In 2011, a record number of horses sold for
over $100,000
 Most states have sales tax exemptions for
horses sold for breeding purposes
 There are 238,000 breeders in the US.
 Sales taxes on rarely collected
regardless of breeding status

19.  Huntin‟ for Chocolate sold for $300,000.
Since he is considered a breeding stallion,
his new owners were not required to pay
any sales tax.
 Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum
of Dubai, who has spent over $60 million on
American broodmares since 2002.
 It is estimated that if Kentucky had collected
taxes on the sale of horses between 2004
and 2010, the state would have generated
over $220 million in sales tax revenues.

20.  We pay excise tax on cars.
 We pay excise tax on boats.
 We pay a luxury tax on automobiles.
Why not apply a luxury tax on horses?
Over a specified amount ($20,000).
Either in the form of a excise or a luxury sales tax.

21.  Earmark taxes collected from sales
revenues for a fund that will be used to
support the unwanted horses

22.  There is much debate as to whether horses
are livestock (and subject to slaughter) or
“companion animals” that should receive
treatment similar to other companion
animals like dogs and cats.
 If we were to classify horses as companion
animals, each horse would be provided an
opportunity to find a home for a given
period of time. If no home was found, the
horse would be humanely euthanized.

23.  Are American horses fit for human consumption?
 Many veterinary drugs commonly used on horses are
clearly labeled with the phrase, "not for use in horses
intended for food”
 New regulations enforced by the European Union may
require that all U.S. horses be kept in a drug free
feedlot for six months
 Six months in an equine rescue shelter would not only
provide these horses with an opportunity at a second
life, but also would clear their system of harmful
carcinogens so that their carcass can be a valuable
resource in the food supply chain.

24.  All states regulate the disposal of animal carcasses. Options
including burial, composting, incineration, rendering and
bio-digestion. The cost of these methods varies between
$75 and $2000.
 Rendering plants safely process 54 billion pounds of animal
byproducts and mortalities each year.
 Animal materials are processed at high temperatures to
remove the pathogens and produce end products that can
be used in animal feeds
 It is least expensive, environmentally friendly and available
in 50 states in the U.S. Not all rendering plants accept horses
because of the additional cost and restrictions of processing
large animals.
When business opportunity knocks, American entrepreneurs answer

25.  We know what we did in 2007, made things
worse.
 We know what is currently happening is
very wrong.
 We know what we are doing is not working.
 We know there is an answer out there to this
problem.
 We know its time we found that answer.

26. Dr. Janine Jacques
---------------------------------------
978.273.8469
JJ@janinejacques.com
www.janinejacques.com
www.hope4horses.org