Photograph courtesy of Aitor Garmendia / Tras los Muros
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U.S. Horses Are Still Being Slaughtered — Just Not on U.S. Soil
What Really Happens When American Horses Are Shipped to Slaughter in Mexico and Canada
Every year, tens of thousands of horses from the United States—many once beloved pets, racehorses, show horses, and working companions—are shipped to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. The U.S. government may have banned domestic horse slaughter, but the pipeline continues, fueled by auctions, kill buyers, foreign meat markets, well-meaning people, and non-profit horse rescues.
At Canham Farm Horse Rescue, we’ve seen firsthand the trauma these horses endure. It’s a brutal, hidden reality that most Americans never see—and one we’re determined to expose.
How Do Horses Enter the Slaughter Pipeline?
The journey to slaughter often begins at livestock auctions, where horses are paraded to the watching public. The “fancy” horses often sell to private buyers, but others who may be past their prime, unwanted or injured are sold cheaply destined for the arduous trip to Mexico.. These animals may be surrendered by owners who believe they are going to good homes, or dumped by racing and rodeo industries when they’re no longer profitable. Kill buyers purchase them cheaply and transport them across borders for slaughter. In many cases, the livestock auction owners also ship horses for slaughter. An article in National Geographic quotes one of the largest auction house’s owner, Michael O’Dwyer of Bowie Livestock Sales. O’Dwyer says he “ships animals to meat processors in Mexico every week.” As many as three trailers each transport 30 to 40 horses and donkeys that “are worn out and nobody wants,” he says, adding that it’s more humane to put them down than leave them to neglectful owners.” But “putting them down” or humane euthanasia performed by a licensed veterinarian, is nothing like the brutality of slaughter.
- Horses are loaded into overcrowded trailers not designed for equines.
- They travel for 24 to 36 hours or more without food, water, or rest.
- Injuries and deaths during transport are common.
- They fall and trample each other
- Many suffer broken legs, deep gashes, or severe exhaustion
- Foals and elderly horses collapse and are left to die
Horse Slaughter in Mexico: Inhumane and Painful
In Mexican slaughterhouses, the most common method of killing is the puntilla knife—a dagger plunged into the neck to sever the spinal cord. This paralyzes the horse but does not render it unconscious. Many are fully alert as they are strung up by one leg and dismembered alive. What is a puntilla knife?
A puntilla is a long dagger-like blade that is stabbed repeatedly into the back of the horse’s neck in an attempt to sever the spinal cord. This practice paralyzes the horse but does not render it unconscious. The horse remains fully aware, terrified, and able to feel pain.
After paralysis, the horse is strung up by a hind leg and dismembered while still conscious in many cases.
Photo Courtesy of Tras los Muros | Photography for Animal Liberation
Survivor’s Story – Fiero’s Escape
Fiero is a 3-year-old wild mustang who was captured by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) during a round-up in the Jackson Mountains, Nevada. Adopted our as part of the now defunct Adoption Incentive Program, he was kept by his adoptees for one year until they got his ownership title from the BLM. He was then sent to auction in Oklahoma and was either sold or received no bids. He then ended up at the notorious Bowie Livestock Auction in Texas, and according to the Bowie Auction’s website was put on the “ship list” for slaughter in Mexico. We will never know whether Fiero would have found himself in a Mexican slaughter house, but that could so easily been his fate. Thanks to your donations, we had him sent to us in California where he is receiving the care and training he needs to help him be adopted into a loving forever home. That’s Fiero in the front along with his new found friends.
Horse Slaughter in Canada: Regulated, But Still Cruel
Slaughterhouses in Canada are subject to federal oversight, but that doesn’t mean horses are treated humanely. The method used is typically a captive bolt gun, which is meant to stun the horse by shooting a metal rod into the skull.
The Problem?
Horses are prey animals with strong survival instincts. They thrash, rear, and resist—making it extremely difficult to deliver a clean, effective stun. Investigations have revealed:
- Multiple failed attemptsto stun a single horse
- Horses regaining consciousness after stunning
- Blood, panic, and chaos in kill boxes
- Horses watching others die before them
Horse Meat Is Not Safe
Most American horses have been given drugs banned for use in animals slaughtered for food—phenylbutazone (bute) being one of the most common. These medications can cause serious illness in humans, but there is no reliable tracking system to ensure safety.
Yet their meat is exported to Europe, Japan, and other countries, served as a delicacy or low-cost protein.
Horses Are Not Livestock. They Are Companions.
Horses are highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive animals. They bond deeply with humans and each other. They know fear. They feel confusion and pain. Slaughter is not a quick or painless process—it is a violent end to a life that may have once known love, care, and connection.
This system is broken, and we must do better.
What You Can Do
Support the SAFE Act (Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act)
This bipartisan bill would ban the transport of U.S. horses for slaughter once and for all. Urge your representatives to pass it.
Adopt, don’t auction
Horses sold at auction are at high risk. Support rescues or rehoming programs.
Educate others
Share the truth about what happens to horses in the slaughter pipeline. Many still don’t know.
Give a humane ending
If your horse is suffering or can no longer be cared for, euthanasia is a kinder, more peaceful option than risking the slaughter pipeline.
MAKE A DONATION TO HELP US END HORSE SLAUGHTER
Help Us Stop the Suffering
At Canham Farm Horse Rescue, we rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome horses who have escaped this fate—but we cannot do it alone. Every donation helps us fight back against this cruel industry.
