Horse Slaughter Research Paper

Benefits of Horse Slaughter Outweigh the Consequences “… the amount of suffering that the [horse slaughter ban] created exceded the amount of suffering it was designed to stop,” said Ingrid Newkirk, founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) (Jonsson). In 2007, a ban on the inspection of horse meat was placed on the United States, but in November 2011, President Barack Obama lifted this ban with much negative feedback. Some people believe that horse slaughter is the killing of domestic animals, such as the household cats or dogs, and has no possible positive effects. However, horse slaughter in America is not completely a negative change; it has many extremely beneficial changes on the economy and even the welfare of horses. In 2002, close to one-hundred five horses were slaughtered in three slaughter plants, two of them in Texas and one in Illinois (Cowan 1). Since horse meat is not a generally accepted food source in the United States, the majority of meat was exported to
In the American society, horses have become more of a domestic animal rather than a wild animal or just work animal. Because of a horse’s ability to show emotions, and their ability to form relationships, horses are becoming more and more referred to as a pet, just like any household cat or dog. This change in perspective towards horses has made it difficult for many people to accept allowing horses to be slaughtered for their meat as a food source. Most people cannot imagine slaughtering their own cats or dogs, so many people refuse to accept the slaughter of horses. Also, it is possible that the amount of horses being stolen in America will increase, so they can be sold for slaughter right here in America. This does make lifting the horse slaughter ban a bit of a gamble on rather or not it will actually improve the horse industry in