OWATONNA, Minn. — After the federal government roped in horse slaughter last year, the temporary ban coupled with a downward sliding economy could cause more problems for horses and the equine industry.

Two plants in Texas and one in Illinois effectively handled the majority of horse slaughter for human consumption until 2006. The meat was sold mostly in Europe and Asia.
In 2006, Congress voted to discontinue use of appropriated funds for slaughter, but it was able to continue with industry funding. In 2007, court action closed the Texas plants and a state ban closed the Illinois plant.

These closures have exposed possible problems in Owatonna, across the state and the country. Some horse owners say the slaughterhouses provided a humane way to euthanize horses that were seriously injured or could no longer be cared for by their owners.

“I’m hoping that they are going to bring the slaughterhouse back,” said Sheriff’s Posse member Troy Utpadel. “There are too many horses in the country that don’t have a home. The horse market has basically crashed.”

But that hasn’t stopped the horse slaughter altogether. And that concerns Utpadel.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand they are still slaughtering them,” Utpadel said. “They are taking them to Mexico or Canada. ... Why are we getting rid of it ... where we can control it? At least we can be humane about it.”

This year, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which bans funding for inspection of horses for human food, making it temporarily impossible for plants to market horse meat.

A bill introduced this year in the U.S. House would prohibit the movement and slaughter of horses for human food and other purposes. These measures mirror last year’s proposals and would amend the Horse Protection Act. This currently makes it a crime to exhibit or transport for the purpose of exhibition any sore horse, or horse with crippling injuries.

The new bill would permit the U.S. Department of Agriculture to detain for examination and evidence any horse for which it has probable cause that the animal will be slaughtered for food. Violators would be subject to specified criminal and civil penalties and prison terms. The bills would increase the authorization of appropriations for administering the act from $500,000 to $5 million annually.

Horse protection and animal welfare groups such as the National Humane Society have argued that Americans overwhelmingly favor an end to horse slaughter for human food, and that the practice is cruel and unnecessary.

But horse owners like Utpadel, who grew up with the animal, say preventing slaughter will induce cases of abandonment and abuse.

One such case in Minnesota made national headlines. In February, more than 80 horses, ponies, llamas, goats and donkeys in Grey Eagle died or were euthanized after they were discovered abandoned on a foreclosed farm.

“I’ve had horses all of my life, I love horses — it’s a big part of my life — and my kids do too,” Utpadel said. “That being said, there still needs to be a place where horses who are either hurt or injured can go.

“If a dog was injured as bad as some of those horses are, they would put the dog to sleep. It’s not the horse’s soul, it’s just the horse.“

The American Veterinary Medical Association is also opposed to efforts to outlaw slaughter.

“Any livestock of any kind needs an outlet,” said Dr. James Gute, a veterinarian at Owatonna Veterinary Hospital who owns and treats horses. “You’re going to have starvation cases more than you have ever had in the past if you don’t have a viable market.“

Alternative solutions?

Most opponents of the bill have agreed that a better solution to banning horse slaughter would be to create better regulations on the plants to ensure humane treatment.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., sits on the House Committee on Agriculture.

“Congressman Walz feels strongly that horses, like all animals, should be treated humanely and decently,” said Walz spokeswoman Meredith Salsbery. “That’s why he’s pushed in Congress for full funding for animal welfare laws like the Humane Slaughter Act and the Animal Welfare Act. However, when horses reach the end of their natural lives, he believes that their owners should be able to decide how to handle them.

“Congressman Walz opposes efforts to prohibit horse slaughter because he believes it would put an undue burden on many horse owners,” she said.

As the economy takes a nose dive and more and more foreclosures hit the market, those with horses are sometimes left with no home for the animals.

What used to be a source of income — selling the horses — is now a financial burden and more horses are being left to fend for themselves, leaving starving, mistreated horses across the state.

“We had a bottom for the market, it was the meat price,” Gute said. “And they took that away.“