Why Faith N Friends Doesn’t Support Kill Buyers – And Why You Shouldn’t Either

Every year, more than 90,000 horses end up at auction. Most owners don’t realize that, when they take their horse to auction, meat trade buyers – “kill buyers” – are buying horses for slaughter for human consumption. More than 90% of horses sent to slaughter are healthy.

The last U.S. slaughterhouses were closed in 2007. However, an average of 90,000 horses are shipped across our borders each year to slaughter facilities in Canada and Mexico. It is common for these horses to travel for more than 24 hours a stretch without water, food, or rest. They may be foals, pregnant mares, or injured animals.

Kill buyers frequently outbid even rescues at the auction then often attempt to resell the horses for far more than they paid.

People may think that they are helping when they purchase from a kill buyer, but the sad fact is that they are simply providing more revenue for the kill buyer to increase his profit.

Kill buyers are one of the greatest sources of neglect and abandonment. If their “shipment” is refused at the border, they regularly abandon the animals without food, water, or veterinary care, leaving them to die in squalid conditions.

At Faith N Friends, we mourn every horse that we can not save; however, we know that paying the “ransom” for one or two horses simply encourages a kill buyer to continue his trade. We refuse to line their pockets to allow them to buy more horses next time.

How can you help? First, buy refusing to “save” horses sold by kill buyers which keeps your money out of their pockets. Second, by asking Congress to enact the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act. You can find the petition here.

For more information on slaughter statistics and how to help prevent horse slaughter, visit the Humane Society page here.  

*Our thanks to the Equine Assistance Project for allowing us to use their graphic.  The tragedy of horse slaughter for consumption is a global problem and it will take all of us to change things.  Together, we make a difference.