STOP THE SLAUGHTER -The SAFE Act (S.2037) ALL EQUINES NEED YOU NOW

Published on behalf of Suzy Sarna, DVM (USA)

Horses, donkeys and mules have been shipped over the border into Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered for years and this MUST STOP! Horses are not food!
These include companion animals, pets, work on farms or ranches, athletes and teammates, trail partners, best friends, children's ponies, mini horses, mares and foals, jennies and foals, donkeys, mules and wild Mustangs. Thoroughbreds who don't run fast enough are dropped off at kill pens. Horses who are deemed too old to work or breed, or considered "unsuitable" for breeding are slaughtered. Mustangs, part of our national heritage, are sent to kill pens to be slaughtered. They are uprooted from everything they know, their equine families and their life as they know it. A round yellow sticker is placed on them and they have now been reduced to a number in the slaughter pipeline. Once in the slaughter pipeline, it is very difficult to survive it.
Horses have higher intelligence than other species, feel emotions, have cognitive and behavioral reactions and abilities similar to dogs. They have feelings and unconditional love for those they trust. They form strong bonds and close attachments not only with people they are close to, but also to their equine families.

As many horses as possible are loaded onto trailers, cramming them in so they are unable to move. There is more money paid for more horses and it is all about the money to the kill buyers. No feelings, no remorse. This is commonly known as the "truck to hell." Horses, donkeys and mules must travel hours or days to the slaughter houses, without food or water, without a break, sliding around in urine and feces from scared horses (they all are). The weak or injured may be trampled to death. Once they arrive at the slaughter houses, they can smell the slaughter and death or other horses and they are instantly extremely frightened. They are put in pens and await their turn to go into the "knock box" as they are panicking. They are not fed or given water while they await their fate, which may take hours to days.

Many of the mares and jennys are pregnant or have babies at their side. The younger foals are not allowed to be slaughtered and therefore, when the kill buyers ship the mares, they orphan the young foals and leave them behind. When slaughtered, the baby is cut out of the mother, the umbilical cord severed and the baby falls out onto the slaughter floor with no concern for their life. Many of these babies are still alive, have heartbeats and are discarded into trash cans, dead or alive. Stallions and intact jacks are not allowed to be sent over the border for slaughter. In order to be shipped, they must be castrated. Castration costs money and would eat into the kill pen buyer's profits. So what is their solution? They put these scared, frightened animals in a chute and literally brutally cut their testicles off with a knife! No veterinarian, no anesthesia, no pain medication, no after care. Talk about torture! They have done nothing to deserve this treatment and these people need to be held accountable.

It is very difficult to render these equines unconscious due to their anatomy and it is IMPOSSIBLE to slaughter a horse humanely. Some slaughter houses shoot them with a captive bolt gun which usually is done 2-3 times and still may not render them unconscious. Some stun them, again, not necessarily rendering them unconscious. Some take a knife and slice through their neck until they reach their spinal cord, which is not near the surface of their skin, which is then cut, and they are are still very much conscious. All this time, they are terrified. Often, the butchers start cutting them into pieces and the equines are fully conscious during this time, feeling all of the pain and torture as they are hung with a rope around their neck like a noose. This is absolutely unacceptable and has to stop!

Horses, donkeys, mules, mature animals as well as young animals as young as 6 months old, do not deserve this torture and as an end to their lives after a life of devotion, dedication, work and companionship to their owners who have abandoned them. This is an absolutely horrendous torture and it MUST STOP NOW!
For those people who insist slaughter is necessary for population control, this is absolutely incorrect. Abuse of an animal by not feeding it and letting it starve to death is a choice, not a necessity. Equines need to be rehomed or placed with a rescue long before they are at this point. The slaughter pipeline is NOT population control for irresponsible people. Horses are NOT food commodities.
I urge you to view the videos and photos of this torture. Any Google search will bring them up. I have not included them as they caused me to cry for days, feel like I was going to vomit, have nightmares for weeks and so furious I couldn't breathe. Their faces showing they have given up hope, the suffering and the pain. It has to stop!
Animals as complex as horses, donkeys and mules do not deserve these tortures and a horrendous end to their lives. There is a loophole in the SAFE Act that would still allow horses to be shipped over the border to be slaughter, even if it passes. This loophole needs to be closed. Horse slaughter plants closed and became illegal in this country in 2007. It is past time to make it illegal to send them across the border to be inhumanely slaughtered.
There are many great rescues working hard to save horses, donkeys and mules from slaughter. Please support these rescues either by donating or by providing a forever home to an equine. Border Horse Slaughter Rescue is one of these equine rescues who provide medical care, rehabilitation and work toward rehoming these horses, donkeys and mules. Please consider supporting them in their tireless efforts. You won't regret helping a rescue horse.
Please help protect the failed and forgotten. Call your Senators and Representatives, and those of other states and voice your opinion and urge them to close the loophole and vote YES on the SAFE Act. You can also email your elected politicians on their websites.
PLEASE sign our petition so we can send it to the Senators and Representatives and show them to American people do not support shipping horses over the border into Mexico and Canada for inhumane slaughter and a brutal end to their innocent lives.

Respectfully
Suzy Sarna, DVM

www.borderhorse.com