KOTA Territory NewsHorse-slaughtering ban: Breeders fear for the horse population

Horse-slaughtering ban: Breeders fear for the horse population

Cindy Davis

"With all due respect, Congress is out of touch with reality," said breeder Lynn Fischer of Wagner, South Dakota. 

It's a reality that stares him and others in the equine industry in the face every day: what to do with sick, disabled, or elderly horses.

"If we don't have a plant for these horses and dispose of them, we're going to be more inhumane.   These horses aren't going to get fed, they aren't going to get cared for, we're going to have more accidents on roads, horses turned loose," added Fischer. 

Those are the concerns he and his colleagues say are over-shadowed by activists who have the ears of congress.

"The plants that have closed are because of the rules that have been shuffled, and I mean this truly, shuffled under the table to get them passed in our government.   Our government doesn't realize how big this problem is," said Alan Odden, an auctioneer from Miller, South Dakota. 

As it is now, breeders take horses, which are valued at less than $1,000, to sale. If there's a buyer, the animals are hauled to Canada or Mexico... A pricy venture with gas prices at a near record.

The alternative: euthanasia and disposal.

"That'll cost you $300, $250 minimum.   A lot of the owners aren't going to put that kind of money into doing that humane act, that isn't going to happen," said Fischer.

"I feel a lot of our horse people, if they have one or two horses, they don't think that this thing affects them, but it does.   It affects every horse owner in the world," said Odden. 

Opponents argue that many of the horses at slaughter plants are in good condition, and they've garnered bi-partisan support.

But those at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo wonder why people outside of horse country seem to have the most influence in Washington.