The welfare of horses at slaughter is a contentious issue, with the closure of US slaughter facilities creating both welfare risks from unregulated export and welfare benefits from avoiding problematic facilities.
Horse slaughter welfare sits within a complex policy space where the absence of US facilities has not eliminated the welfare problem but changed its geography. Horses transported long distances to Canadian or Mexican facilities experience transport welfare costs that may exceed those of nearby domestic slaughter. The welfare solution requires both humane end-of-life options for horses whose owners cannot maintain them and economic support for rescue and retirement facilities that provide alternatives to slaughter. On-farm euthanasia training and subsidized disposal options would reduce abandonment-related welfare problems.