…on a sad topic.
Some of you may remember the story of the double decker load of horses in Pennsylvania heading to slaughter. The trailer was overloaded and the floor was in poor condition, causing a horrific incident in which the floor gave way and horses fell through at highway speeds, you can imagine the injuries and sheer terror, it makes me shudder to this day.
Slaughter is a nasty business, with a lot of the trauma occurring in transport. Simply put, they just want to cram as many horses in a trailer load as they can. Lame horses, blind horses, entire males and youngsters all scared and panicked. So different than what most of us do, carefully wrapping legs, putting on poll guards, filling that hay net for the ride. Making every effort to provide safety and comfort.
Here is one story of a horse transported for slaughter and the conditions she endured, lucky she survived and was rescued:
http://offtrackthoroughbreds.com/2013/09/20/big-winner-nearly-dies-on-the-way-to-slaughter/
We’ll never see a slaughter truck to our personal standards, but happily Animals Angels started an educational program and Officers have been enforcing it. From their Facebook page:
Good news! Animals’ Angels police training is already showing effect! AA investigators just returned from the Mexican border and for the first time noticed the Texas DPS inspecting horse haulers on their way to and from the export pens. The inspections were witnessed over the course of several days and they appeared to be strictly focused on trucks hauling slaughter horses. Several of the trucks were stopped for a very long time and the officers checked log books, weight and condition of truck & trailer. This is a major step forward and will make business for the kill buyers shipping to the pens much harder. Multiple high ranking officers from DPS attended Animals’ Angels police training in Eagle Pass back in August and all of them were very interested in the information provided about transport companies frequenting the pens, violation history and cruelty involved in the trade.
It’s a step in the right direction. If it stops one incident like that mares story, or the horrifying one in Pennsylvania, they’ve done a good thing! Since slaughter is still legal the least we can do is try to make it as humane as possible, and paying more attention to transport conditions can only help.
Way to go Animal’s Angels and the Officers who took their training course, and cared 🙂
The Catch Pen 
It is good news. And an excellent post, so many pro and con conversations are so one sided. Yes it is disgusting that just one horse bred only for racing is slaughtered, but that a mare that made so much money for her owners to end up like this is horrible. She is one horse that will have a happy ending, for that I am glad. And I am very glad that something is being done to make the transport better. If I had my druthers, horses could be sent to heaven quickly, decently and inexpensively at a close local knackers, but every little thing that helps is good news.
So glad to see that they are enforcing rules about safe transport. Kudos to Animal’s Angels for educating the officers of Texas DPS!
Animal Angels totally rock!