It took a century of work, but World Horse Welfare is celebrating historic legislation that will ban live export of horses and other livestock for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain. It has passed Parliament and awaits assent of the king before becoming law.
“The passage of this law ensures that no horse, pony or donkey will legally be exported from Great Britain for slaughter and while this is a monumental step forward, plenty more needs to be achieved to effectively combat the illegal export of equines from the country,” said Roly Owers, the organization’s CEO.
“This will rely on the new law being effectively enforced and the introduction of full traceability of all equines, and we look forward to working with DEFRA (Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to achieve this. In the Twenty-first Century, it is preposterous that equine ID is still based on a paper-based system, which simply provides an open door for horse smugglers.”
A symbolic ride to Parliament emphasized the urgent need for reform and played a role in getting it established. World Horse Welfare’s recent rescue of the “Dover 26” – a group of horses and ponies, some of whom were almost certainly intended for slaughter in Europe – highlights the critical need for enforcement of the new legislation.
These animals were found on an overloaded and filthy transporter at Dover (a British port), with only 19 of the 26 declared for export. Many were unfit for the journey, including pregnant mares, unhandled youngsters and a severely arthritic mare who required euthanasia. At least one animal was infected with Equine Influenza, showing the significant biosecurity risk that smuggled animals pose.
As the UK legislation moves forward, World Horse Welfare pledges to continue its advocacy work within the European Union, focusing on ending long-distance transport of horses for slaughter and citing the legacy of its founder, Ada Cole.
U.S. horses are transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, which is also problematical. In 2022, 16,300 U.S. horses were sent to slaughter in Mexico, and 5,100 to Canada. There are, however, no plants slaughtering horses for human consumption in the U.S., with the last one closing in 2007.