Horse Slaughter Debate Reaches Iowa Landfill

Published: Monday, April 13, 2009 11:17 PM MDT

ST. ANTHONY -- Last month the Fremont County Commission signed on to an effort to try to convince Congress against passing legislation that would ban the transportation of horses to slaughter.

On Monday, the issue hit closer to home.

Commission Chairman Paul Romrell said the commission should think about whether the county wants to permit horse owners to haul live horses to the county landfill, shoot them, and then unload the carcasses into the dead animal pit.

Romrell said that actually happened last week at the landfill, and it brought tears to the eyes of the attendant, who saw the horse standing in the back of a trailer as the owner brought him into the landfill.

"We can't act on it today because it's not on the agenda," Romrell said. "But we'll talk about it later."

Apparently there is no county law against shooting a gun at the landfill. There's a city police shooting range just north of the St. Anthony landfill.

County Attorney Joette Lookabaugh wasn't at the meeting and didn't weigh in on the issue.

Since the commissioners agreed to support the national effort to allow horses to be sent to slaughter, several state legislators and members of the state congressional delegation have responded favorably.

The problem comes with a glut of horses, and increasing number of abandoned and neglected horses coupled with a lack of options for horse owners.

A state resolution would argue against adoption of federal legislation that would make it illegal to ship or transport horses to processing plants.

Lookabaugh has said neglect of horses has become an increasing problem in Fremont County, citing the struggling economy and poor markets as causes.

"Unfortunately, there are not many options available to them if they cannot afford to feed them," Lookabaugh said.

At least one horse owner decided to use the option of loading his horse into a trailer and hauling it to the dump alive before killing and dumping it.

Within the near future, the county may decide whether the option of shooting horses at the landfill will be regulated or not.

JOYCE EDLEFSEN

jedlefsen@uvsj.com


UPDATE:

E. Idaho commissioner balks at landfill horse kill

Fremont County should ban the shooting and disposal of unwanted horses at the county landfill, County Commission Chairman Paul Romrell says.

At least one local horse owner has already shot and killed his horse at the dump. Romrell told a commission meeting Monday that getting rid of horses that way is not a humane solution to the glut of aging and unwanted horses in the eastern Idaho county, where the faltering economy and the increasing cost of hay has led to cases of neglect and abandonment.

Opposition to killing horses for food has shut down horse slaughterhouses in the United States. The last domestic slaughterhouse closed two years ago and some U.S. horses are now being sent to slaughter in Canada and Mexico.

However, most owners can't afford to ship their horses outside the country. Nationwide, rescue farms are packed and there have been huge increases in the number of abandoned horses.

In states with more open land and wild horses, such as Idaho and Nevada, owners are turning the animals loose, hoping they'll be accepted into a wild herd.

In Fremont County, where about 70 percent of the land is public, authorities have found horses shot, turned loose and deserted, Romrell said.

"The value of horses, at least in our region and I think all over the state, has plummeted because we don't have a good way of disposing of them," he said. "There is no market for old, worthless horses."

The county does not have a law barring guns at the landfill in St. Anthony.

"Unfortunately, there are not many options available to them if they cannot afford to feed them," County Attorney Joette Lookabaugh told the Standard Journal.

UPDATE:

E. Idaho commissioner balks at landfill horse kill
Fremont County should ban the shooting and disposal of unwanted horses at the county landfill, County Commission Chairman Paul Romrell says.

At least one local horse owner has already shot and killed his horse at the dump. Romrell told a commission meeting Monday that getting rid of horses that way is not a humane solution to the glut of aging and unwanted horses in the eastern Idaho county, where the faltering economy and the increasing cost of hay has led to cases of neglect and abandonment.

Opposition to killing horses for food has shut down horse slaughterhouses in the United States. The last domestic slaughterhouse closed two years ago and some U.S. horses are now being sent to slaughter in Canada and Mexico.

However, most owners can't afford to ship their horses outside the country. Nationwide, rescue farms are packed and there have been huge increases in the number of abandoned horses.

In states with more open land and wild horses, such as Idaho and Nevada, owners are turning the animals loose, hoping they'll be accepted into a wild herd.

In Fremont County, where about 70 percent of the land is public, authorities have found horses shot, turned loose and deserted, Romrell said.

"The value of horses, at least in our region and I think all over the state, has plummeted because we don't have a good way of disposing of them," he said. "There is no market for old, worthless horses."

The county does not have a law barring guns at the landfill in St. Anthony.

"Unfortunately, there are not many options available to them if they cannot afford to feed them," County Attorney Joette Lookabaugh told the Standard Journal.

___

What is needed are controls on overbreeding, more low-cost gelding and euthansia services, and more support for equine rescues and retirement facilities: Just say WOAH to horse slaughter.