Horse slaughter is a welfare issue that receives intense public attention despite involving smaller numbers than other farmed species.
Horse slaughter involves welfare concerns both during transport and at slaughter. The long distances involved in transporting horses from the US to Canada and Mexico for slaughter create opportunities for injury, inadequate water and feed access, and heat stress. Slaughter plant conditions have been documented by investigators as problematic. The cultural attachment many Americans have to horses creates political controversy around slaughter that other farmed species do not generate — but the welfare concerns are real and deserve practical responses including improved transport standards and humane alternatives.