The horse slaughterhouse debate

This past week, the Canadian Government approved a law that makes it more difficult for people to sell their horses specifically for slaughter. Beginning July 31, the so-called kill buyers will have to provide complete medical and adoption records for every horse they're sending to slaughter to be turned into food. The legislation comes at a time when a Wyoming congresswoman and other federal lawmakers are trying to bring horse slaughterhouses back to the United States. The last known horse slaughterhouse in the United States was shut down in 2007. Since then, kill buyers have sent their horses to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. "Do we sell horses in poorer condition or abandoned horses more now? Yeah, yeah we do," Kruse said. According to Kruse, more people are abandoning their horses because of the economy. They can't afford to keep them or get them euthanized. Instead, they're ending up at auction houses. Some states, like Wyoming, are trying to pre-empt the Federal Legislation and bring it down to the state level. "It needs to be done," said Mary Ownes, a rancher from Wyoming. "These animals are being left to die and suffer and that's wrong,". More than 100,000 horses are sent to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico from the United States each year...read more