End horse slaughter in illinois

This petition is to try to end horse slaughter in IL.

The method by which horses are slaughtered is cruel and inhumane and cannot be regulated to be humane. Dogs and cats are protected against slaughter and export to countries where their meat is eaten. Horses deserve this protection also.

According to the USDA, the two slaughter plants in Texas killed 49,235 horses in 2003 for human consumption and about twenty thousand horses were transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. Together, these numbers represent about 1% of the total number of horses in the U.S., and the entire industry is only .001% the size of the U.S. meat industry. It is entirely foreign owned, and pays no corporate taxes or export tariffs. The horse slaughter industry is economically insignificant.

According to 2001 field studies conducted by Temple Grandin, 70% of all horses at the slaughter plant were in good, fat, or obese condition; 72% were considered to be "sound" of limb; 84% were of average age; and 96% had no behavioral issues. Slaughter plants do not want old, sick horses for obvious reasons. It is currently legal to transport horses in low clearance double-decker cattle trailers; legal to transport horses more than 24 hours without food, water or rest; and legal to transport horses without separating the stallions from the mares and foals. Approximately 30% of horses are injured from fighting and transportation.

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.

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.