- Target:
- 6000
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.horseworld.org.uk
Horses slaughtered for their meat come from many sources, and horses of all types”wild horses, pet horses, racehorses, miniature horses”have been used for this purpose. The number of wild horses rounded up and killed has depended on the legal protection afforded them at a given time.
Most of the horses going to slaughter are losing racehorses, horses from riding schools and camps, stolen horses, and surplus mares raised on farms for use by pharmaceutical companies that produce hormone replacement drugs for humans, notably Premarin (which uses the urine of pregnant mares).
The horses are transported and slaughtered under terrifying and painful circumstances. They are crowded into trucks and shipped over long distances trips of up to several days”without access to food or water and with no ability to rest.
Usually the vehicles are designed for transporting smaller animals, so the horses cannot raise their heads, and injuries from trampling or from slipping on the floor surfaces are not uncommon.
Once at the slaughterhouse, the animals are subjected to frightening and stressful conditions; as with many other animals killed for food, they are supposedly protected by regulations that state they must be rendered unconscious before slaughter, but the stunning (done with a bolt-gun shot to the head) is often unsuccessful on the first try and even on subsequent tries.
Sometimes horses remain conscious until their throats are cut.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The End unnecessary suffering / slaughter Horses petition to 6000 was written by caroline and is in the category Animal Welfare at GoPetition.