Dear Next President,

You must do more to stop horse slaughter. It is a cruel death for horses and it could happen to any of them. It’s not common for people to reasonably carry out horse slaughter in a humane way. Some people call it humane euthanasia, but they are wrong. “Euthanasia" means to give a painless and gentle death to end one's suffering. “Horse slaughter” refers specifically to killing and processing of horses for human consumption. Slaughter is a terrifying and brutal end for horses and is not considered euthanasia.

In 2002, the last slaughter facilities in America were shut down but that act didn’t save horses. According to humanesociety.org, every year 150,000 horses are slipped over the borders to Mexico and Canada and brought to slaughter facilities. The shipment process isn’t very humane either; the horses are shipped with no food, no water or rest in a crowded truck and usually lasts longer than 24 hours. They are often injured or even killed in transport.

While some people might think it’s not the most horrible thing to perform horse slaughter because they can get food from it, they’re wrong. It’s not healthy to eat the meat. There is no system in the United States to track the veterinary treatments and the medications given to the horses they collect, especially because they are gathered from different stages in their life and from random places. Because of this, there is no safe way to ensure that the meat is safe for human consumption.

Another reason the meat is not healthy is because most horses are not raised for food. The unlucky horses sent to slaughter have often been injected or treated with many substances that are dangerous to humans, untested on humans, or prohibited for use in animals raised for food. If one were to eat the horse meat they would practically be poisoning themselves and anyone who isn’t aware about what is in the meat they're eating could also be killed.

Because the horses are gathered from different places and it’s hard to tell what has been put in them, the government can’t ensure the safety of the meat. Tests have been taken from random samples of horse meat and it shows that every horse has a unique and unknown past. If it’s not safe to eat, why should horse slaughter facilities be producing meat?

This is significant because people are shipping horses across borders to a painful and fearful death, practically for fun, and it needs to be stopped. Horse slaughter isn't right in any way and it needs to be stopped.

Sincerely, Bella