Faces of Agriculture

If we believe there are unwanted horses, are there more than in the past?
How can we best promote responsible horse ownership? How do we foster best practices regarding the breeding of horses? How do we educate novice horse owners to optimize their likelihood of success with horse ownership?
What resources are available for horse owners who have lost the economic means to care for their horses? Are there sufficient rescue/retirement/second career options for these horses?
Have there been unintended consequences of the ban on U.S. horse slaughter? Could there be further unintended consequences of a ban on all horses leaving the country for slaughter?
What does a person do with a horse they’ve been unable to sell…give away?
What constitutes an “abandoned horse”? Should there be repercussions for horse abandonment? Does the U.S. have the current resources to enforce such repercussions?
Can rendering, incineration and burial handle all annual horse deaths?
Is it possible that it is more acceptable to slaughter some horses than others?
Is it possible that there are options more “unkind” than death at a slaughter house? Is there anything “unkind” about death at a regulated slaughter plant?
Is it fair to ask the horse industry to operate as though it is not a business?
What fate awaits “unwanted horses” whose owners feel they’ve exhausted efforts to get rid of them?
What is the cost of keeping an “unwanted” horse in different parts of the country?
Can we verify the stories of abandonment currently prevalent in the media?
Are there truly more cases of horse neglect and abuse than in the past – or are they simply being reported more often?
What is the actual cost of euthanasia of a horse in different parts of the country?
What are the regulations on equine burial in different parts of the country?

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It is these questions, and others, that prompted a group of concerned individuals to come together and develop this website. Its purpose is to serve as a “clearinghouse” for verifiable evidence related to the unintended consequences of the ban on equine slaughter in the U.S.

We are not advocating slaughter as the best or only option for unwanted horses; rather we feel it should be an available option for those owners who have unwanted horses whose other options have failed them.

We also are concerned with what we see as the approaching Silent Epidemic for the horse industry that we believe will likely occur this fall when pastures are no longer available and horse owners, already facing economic pressure, have to start buying hay for their animals. The likely consequences will be a significant and rapid rise in the number of unwanted horses across the U.S. and no available options for horse owners or solutions to the problem.

Above all else, we believe the value systems of a few should not drive the value systems of all…particularly if the unintended consequences have led to greater additive
suffering of equines in the U.S.