Missouri - Horse Slaughter Capital of the World?

Image: Stop Horse Slaughter

In November, the US Congress lifted a 5 year ban on horse slaughter for human consumption.  Wyoming based Unified Equine is planning a new plant in Mountain Grove, Missouri, that will slaughter somewhere between 200 and 400 horses per day. 

Only a handful of states allow the plants.  Missouri is among them.

So far, the Mountain Grove plant is still in the planning stages.  The meat produced would primarily be shipped overseas, but some would find its way to specialty stores in the US.

Horse lovers and other Ozarks folks are not all happy about this proposal.  [A petition to oppose the horse slaughter plant can be found on Change.org.]  And not all residents want Mountain Grove to be known as the horse slaughter capital of the world.  

Proponents of the slaughter plant often suggest this is a solution for the problem of suffering old or ill horses.  

However, as Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, points out:  "According to the company's own literature, the plant would not be for old or sick horses."  This plant will be "procuring mature horses that are in good shape and free of disease.  The company is also not ruling out the possibility the plant may get horses bred specifically for slaughter.

Critics say horse slaughter is always fraught with terror, pain, and suffering.  You may view Humane Society of the United States undercover video showing still conscious horses being shackled and hoisted by a rear leg before their throats are cut.

The Missouri Ozarks already has a reputation for meth labs and puppy mills.  Horse Slaughter Capital may be next.