I own land next to the Dallas Crown horse slaughter plant in Kaufman, Texas, and I have been campaigning for 15 months to close down the two live horse slaughter plants in Texas.

Last year over 40,000 American horses were slaughtered to feed wealthy diners in Europe and Asia where horsemeat sells for up to $15 a pound. 

 

Texans joined forces earlier this year to defeat a bill to legalize horse slaughter for human consumption.   America ’s only two horse slaughter plants, both in Texas , remain open today while a federal judge considers their fate.

 

According to statistics from the California Bureau of Livestock Identification, after voters outlawed horse slaughter for human consumption in 1998, reports of horse theft dropped in California by 34%.

 

Killer-buyers from as far away as Minnesota and Florida buy horses at auction then haul them to Fort Worth and Kaufman in double deck trailers designed for cattle. The horses are forced to stand for long hours with their heads bent in an unnatural position, only to arrive at the plants where their sculls are shattered by a penetrating captive bolt, they are strung up by one hind leg, their throats are slit, and their beating hearts pump the blood from their bodies.

 

The French at Dallas Crown in Kaufman and the Belgians at Beltex in Fort Worth want you to believe that the "horses sent for slaughter are typically older, neglected, displaced, or retired animals no longer useful for saddle, ranch, recreation, breeding or racing activities."  See Pg 3, Plaintiffs Motion for Temporary Injunction http://kaufmanzoning.net/horsemeat/bmti.pdf

 

The truth is, the horses are regular horses that happen to end up at horse auctions.  The meat buyers outbid people looking for sound horses, and that's how they get slaughter animals for the Texas plants.  I see the horses at Dallas Crown; they look like this.

 

 

We don't eat our horses.  We should not let anyone else eat them?

 

Thank you for reading my letter, and thank you for helping our horses.

 

Mary S. Nash
104 S. Houston St.
Kaufman, Tx 75142
972-962-7706
NashHulme@msn.com
www.kaufmanzoning.net/horsemeat