Horse slaughter cruel, brutal

A horse slaughterhouse is expected to soon receive approval to operate in Iowa and the horse slaughter industry is spreading misinformation, hoping we will turn a blind eye.

The industry wants us to believe that slaughter is a humane form of euthanasia. It is cruel and brutal. Horses are highly sensitive prey animals. In a slaughterhouse environment, packed together amid the noise and smell of death, they become frightened, skittish, often requiring repeated blows to the head to stun them before being slaughtered.

The industry wants us to believe that slaughter provides an alternative for old and sick horses. Ninety-two percent of horses going to slaughter are in good condition, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More than 1,000 programs across the country use donated horses, providing substantial benefits to their communities. Horses that are too old or sick should be euthanized humanely by a veterinarian.

Horses are not raised for food in the U.S., instead coming from random sources after receiving numerous drugs during their lives as our companions and work partners; drugs that are dangerous to humans if consumed, but there is no system to track the drugs given to horses and protect us from tainted horse meat.

Horse slaughter has no place in our state. We should urge our members of Congress to co-sponsor the Safeguard American Food Exports Act (H.R. 1094/S. 541), which would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S., as well as their export abroad for slaughter.

Bernie Lettington

Cedar Rapids