February 1, 2012:  HSUS letter to USDA
RE:  Notice of Domestic and International Legal Issues Concerning the Resumption of Horse Slaughter

November 21, 2011, as reported by TheHorse.com:
Bill Passes without Defunding Horsemeat Inspections 

June 22, 2011:  General Accountability Office releases report of investigation ordered by Senate Ag Appropriations Committee entitled, Horse Welfare:  Action Needed to Address Unintended Consequences  from Cessation of Domestic Slaughter

America stopped processing horses in 2007 after successful lobbing by animal rights groups including The Humane Society of the United States. Coupled with the closure of plants in Illinois and Texas, advocates also lobbied Congress to withhold funding under the federal meat inspection act at facilities where horses were processed for zoo and circus carnivores and human consumption.

 

In the year prior to the plant closures, 102,260 horses were processed in America, with horsemeat exports valued at $65 million. Besides the export market, the lean, high-quality horsemeat was fed to carnivores in American zoos, circuses, and wildlife parks.

Since the closings, there has been an up-tick in the reports of neglected, starved, abandoned, and abused horses.  

A 2010 University of California-Davis report noted that 144 registered non-profit horse rescues responding (out of  326 contacted) spent an average $3,648/horse/year. The study suggests an average annual cost of $50 million for 13,700 animals in registered non-profit care facilities.  

The average lifespan of a horse is 30 years. The number of horses in rescues continues to grow.

For a healthy animal, it costs approximately $1,825 annually(2) to provide basic care for a horse, not including veterinary medical or farrier (hoof) care, or about $54,750 over the life of the animal.

Current economic conditions are compounding the problem for cash-strapped owners who find it nearly impossible to sell their infirmed, unneeded or unwanted horses, regardless of age and condition. It is not unusual for lower classes of horse to sell for as little as $5, if they sell at all. Commission fees charged owners are frequently more than the selling price. Some sale barns no longer handle horses because of the slim profit margin and because owners sometimes leave unsold horses behind.

It is equally difficult to give a horse away. Some desperate owners opt to have their animals put down. The average fee(4) for a veterinarian to chemically euthanize a horse by intravenous injection is $66, which does not include carcass disposal.

Chemically euthanized carcasses must be carefully disposed of through deep burial or incineration. If eaten by an unsuspecting dog, coyote, cougar, or eagle, the poisoned meat will kill the scavenger. Likewise, whole or composted carcasses can contaminate runoff, poisoning drinking or recreational water sources.

 

Lacking a market for horses that otherwise would have been utilized through processing (102,260 head in 2006), some theorized that in 10 years' time America could be faced with caring for a million horses. With record-high numbers of horses being sent to Canada and Mexico for processing, this projection appears to have been over stated.

Nonetheless, 52,000 fewer horses were processed in North America in 2009 than in 2007. Some are residing in quality rescue facilities and some in caring private placements. Some were euthanized.

Unfortunately thousands more are suffering fates worse than a quick end in a federally-regulated processing plant. They are starving at the hands of well-meaning but naive individuals and animal hoarders. They are neglected, homeless, and in need of veterinary, hoof and dental care. Their suffering knows no end. This segment of America's horse population is not being well served by the plant closures.