Inhumane Slaughter Thesis

The United States Government has done little to nothing to prevent the slaughter of equine. While they passed laws to end slaughter strictly within American borders, they have done nothing to stop kill buyers. These kill buyers would ship the animals over our borders into other countries. Some possible solutions could be stricter border control on a federal level, or if found ineffective, an alternate solution would be re-legalizing humane slaughter in the United States to prevent unnecessary suffering during export and inhumane slaughter in other countries. The topics this research will cover include abuse, the different types of neglect, habitat loss, fragmentation, and destruction, quality of life, and a short comparison of our government’s …show more content…
They are taken to slaughter plants in Canada and Mexico without proper nutrition and they are forced to endure the long hours standing up. Once they arrive to their place of death, they are forced into a kill box. They are shot in the head with a bolt gun to incapacitate them before they are murdered. This process is dangerous because they can be anatomically inaccurate and cause more torture to the equine. This may result in repeated blows and could subject them to being conscious during the kill process. The lack of reinforced legislation being the Horse Transportation Safety Act. “This legislation would amend title 49 of the United States Code to prohibit the transportation of horses in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle (except a vehicle operated exclusively on rail or rails) containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. It also sets forth civil penalties for violation,” (Horse Transportation Safety Act). Double-decker trailers are a type of trailer designed for smaller sized livestock that allow enough height for two storing levels. This method of transportation does not provide the necessary headroom for horses, while still meeting the U.S. Department of Transportation’s height restrictions to safely pass under bridges on the nation’s highways. This puts horses at risk for injuries. Also, there are currently conflicting federal standards when it comes to transporting horses. “The use of double-decker trailers has been banned by APHIS for horses that are bound for slaughter facilities, but permitted for horses transported for other reasons. The AVMA believes there should be one federal standard for the transport of all horses during interstate travel,” (Horse Transportation Safety