Harder Times Make for Hungry Horses

(NEWSER) - All US horse slaughterhouses have closed, but horse slaughter remains a big business. Thousands are shipped to Mexico and Canada, with sometimes-grisly results. “The treatment of these animals is absolutely unspeakable,” said one Mexico City veterinarian tells Salon. Now, Congress is considering a bill to ban both slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter. But many farmers think it’s a terrible idea. More»

Economy woes spur owners to abandon their steeds

(NEWSER) - Humans aren't the only ones hurt by recession, as hundreds of thousands of horses could attest. While more owners are abandoning their steeds as the costs become a burden, fewer people are able to help fund horse rescue centers, reports the New York Times. The result has been some 100,000 to 150,000 horses shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. More»

Recession sparks rise in animal abandonment

(NEWSER) - Animal shelters are being filled with pets abandoned because of the recession and home foreclosures. In Massachusetts, a rescue league has seen a 45% jump in owners citing money or housing problems when they surrender a cat or dog. Others are just leaving their pets on the streets or in the houses they must vacate, sometimes with a supply of food, the Boston Globe reports. More»

Rising grain prices, abattoir laws doom the animals

(NEWSER) - With feed and fuel prices rising, more US horses are being abandoned and left to die. “It's a growing problem," says Brent Glover, who runs a horse rescue ranch. "Basically, it's the economy.” Glover’s own hay costs have ballooned from $28,000 to $80,000 this year. Many of these horses would be slaughtered if killing them for consumption were still legal in America, Time reports. More»

Banning slaughter in US has unintended consequences across borders

(NEWSER) - A US ban on horse slaughter has had some gruesome unintended consequences, the New York Times reports. American horses are still sold for their meat, but they’re now shipped to Mexico or Canada, facing first a grueling transport, and then often a nastier death than they’d receive in better-regulated US slaughterhouses. “My worst nightmare has happened,” one veterinarian said. More»