Tens of thousands of horses are transported to slaughter annually in the US and Canada. The welfare failures in this industry are severe and largely invisible to the public.
Horse slaughter welfare failures occur at multiple stages. Horses sold at kill-buyer auctions are often already compromised — injured, ill, or elderly. Transport to slaughter in Canada or Mexico involves journeys of 24-36+ hours in inadequate conditions, without food or water, in overcrowded trailers. At foreign slaughter facilities, stunning methods designed for other species are applied to horses, with documented high rates of consciousness at slaughter. The horses involved have often lived productive lives in racing, sport, or companionship — their slaughter is the final chapter of a lifecycle managed primarily for human utility. The absence of a responsible exit strategy from the equine industry creates the pipeline to slaughter.