Kentucky’s Horses Deserve Better Than a Legal Path to Slaughter

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Somerset, Kentucky (SPA)--- In Kentucky, horses are more than livestock — they are part of our heritage. Yet today, they can still be legally sold and shipped to slaughter, often enduring horrific conditions before dying in foreign facilities. It’s all legal, and it’s happening to horses bred, raised, and celebrated right here in the Bluegrass State.

Though U.S. slaughterhouses for horses have been closed for years, federal law still allows “kill buyers” to purchase horses at auctions and transport them to Mexico or Canada. There, many face inhumane slaughter methods that fail to render them unconscious before death. Former racehorses, family companions, and work animals alike are caught in this pipeline — not because they’re beyond saving, but because it’s profitable.

Defenders claim slaughter is a “necessary” option to prevent neglect. This is a false choice. The real solution lies in responsible breeding, stronger adoption and retraining programs, and policies that make transport for slaughter illegal. Congress could end this now by passing the SAFE Act, which would permanently ban the export of horses for slaughter. Kentucky lawmakers could go further, enacting their protections. 

Ending horse slaughter would be the proper next step in restoring our compact with racehorses. Although Congress has annually passed legislation prohibiting the domestic slaughter of horses, there is no law to ban the export of American horses abroad to be slaughtered for human consumption. Hence, a predatory horse slaughter industry continues to operate across our borders in Canada and Mexico. The Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act H.R.3355/S.2732 would bring an end to all of that. It speaks to the resolve of American horse racing’s leadership that The Jockey Club, The Breeders’ Cup, the New York Racing Association, The Stronach Group, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, all stand in strong support.

What is needed to get this crucial bill over the finish line is increased public awareness and support. I urge racing fans and all animal lovers to contact their U.S. representative and senators with the message that they abhor horse slaughter, and they vote – and urge those legislators to pass the SAFE Act in this Congress. It is a matter of life and death for our beloved equine companions.

We market Kentucky as the Horse Capital of the World. We celebrate our champions at the Derby and in tourism campaigns. Yet we look the other way when other horses — equally worthy of life — are crammed into trailers and shipped to their deaths. Kentucky’s equine industry, lawmakers, and citizens have the power to stop this. Contact your representatives. Support horse rescues. Refuse to sell to kill buyers. Public outrage is meaningless without action.

Our horses deserve more than to be treated as disposable commodities. If we truly value them, it’s time to prove it — and close the slaughter pipeline for good.

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