How are horses killed at the slaughter plant?
According to federal law, horses must be rendered unconscious prior to slaughter, usually by captive bolt. However, some are improperly stunned, even with repeated blows, and are still conscious when shackled, hoisted by a rear leg, and cut across the throat. The USDA specifies that 10% live vivisection is acceptable! With their long necks and aversion to anything approaching their foreheads, many horses require multiple strikes. photos: www.animalsvoice.com video: www.horsekillers.com If horses aren’t slaughtered, where will all the unwanted horses go? The annual number of horses slaughtered in the US dropped from over 300,000 in the 1990s to less than 50,000 in 2003, with no special infrastructure needed to absorb the thousands of “unwanted” horses that were not slaughtered. Horses are being kept longer, sold to others, humanely euthanized, or donated to retirement and rescue facilities. The “surplus horse population” is a myth. Won’t banning horse slaughter mean more cases of horse
According to federal law, horses must be rendered unconscious prior to slaughter, usually by captive bolt. However, some are improperly stunned, even with repeated blows, and are still conscious when shackled, hoisted by a rear leg, and cut across the throat. The USDA specifies that 10% live vivisection is acceptable! With their long necks and aversion to anything approaching their foreheads, many horses require multiple strikes.
