Dr. Krishona Martinson,
In June 2011, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined
that the cessation of domestic horse slaughter has unintentionally led
to a decline in horse welfare in the United States, has negatively
impacted the value of lower-to-medium priced horses by 8-21%, and has
led to a 148% and 660% increase of horses transported to Canada and
Mexico, respectively, for slaughter.
Congress directed the
Government Accountability Office to examine horse welfare since
cessation of domestic slaughter in 2007. GAO examined 1) the effect on
the U.S. horse market since cessation; 2) any impact of these market
changes on horse welfare; and 3) challenges to USDA's oversight of the
transport and welfare of US horses exported for slaughter.
Since domestic horse slaughter ceased in 2007, the slaughter horse
market has shifted to Canada and Mexico. As a result, nearly the same
number of US horses was transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter
in 2010, nearly 138,000, as was slaughtered before domestic slaughter
ceased.
Available data show that horse prices declined since 2007, mainly for
the lower-priced horses that are more likely to be bought for
slaughter. GAO analysis of horse sale data estimates that closing
domestic horse slaughtering facilities significantly and negatively
affected lower-to-medium priced horses; higher-priced horses appear not
to have lost value for that reason. Also, GAO estimates the economic
downturn reduced prices for all horses by 4-5%.
Local government
and animal welfare organizations report a rise in investigations for
horse neglect and more abandoned horses since 2007. For example, in
Minnesota the number of live horses involved in Animal Humane Society
investigations has dramatically increased since 2007.
The GAO
analysis shows that U.S. horses intended for slaughter are now traveling
significantly greater distances to reach their final destination, where
they are not covered by U.S. humane slaughter protections. With
cessation of domestic slaughter, USDA lacks staff and resources at the
borders and foreign slaughtering facilities that it once had in domestic
facilities to help identify problems with shipping paperwork or the
condition of horses before they are slaughtered. GAO recommends that
USDA issue a final rule to protect horses through more of the
transportation chain to slaughter and consider ways to better leverage
resources for compliance activities.
The full GAO report can be found at www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-228.
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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