Here's some FAQ's from commonhorsesense.com. Maybe this will clear up some of the misinformation that is being posted here. And yes, commonhorsesense is an industry sponsored site. I'm giving a link to their homepage. It's a great site, so check it out.
http://www.commonhorsesense.com/index.php
Horse Slaughter FAQ's
1. Are there any rules about humane treatment of horses in the United States?
Yes.
(1) The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service publishes a regulation entitled "Humane Treatment of Livestock" (9 CFR 313). This regulation applies to the slaughter of cattle, hogs, deer, horses, wild boar, bison and a11 other animals slaughtered at federally inspected meat packing plants in the United States. If any plant violates the terms of the regulation it can be cited for violating the rule, which can lead to losing its federal inspection, and thereby its ability to earn income.
(2) In addition to this regulation, the United States Department of . Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Safety Inspection Service publishes a regulation entitled "Commercial Transportation of Equines for Slaughter" (9 CFR 88. This regulation establishes the condition that horses must be in before they can be transported by commercial livestock haulers to a meat packing plant. For example, blind horses, pregnant mares or lame horses cannot be transported to a packing plant. The regulation establishes criminal penalties for those that violate the rule. The regulation also sets out how frequently the trucks must stop to feed and water the horses enroute to a packing plant. The regulation also makes it unlawful to transport horses in double deck trailers after 2006.
(3) The Standing Veterinary Committee of the European Union has promulgated a directive that was passed by the European Union in Brussels that establishes humane conditions for the handling of livestock at packing plants (Council Directive 93/119/EC dated December 22 1993). These rules apply uniformly to all of the packing plants in the European Union. Additionally, plants in other countries, such as the United States, that export to the European Union must comply with these same rules when they handle livestock if the meat from those animals is going to eventually be permitted to enter the borders of the European Union. The supervision and enforcement of this European Union Directive is placed into the hands of the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety inspection Service. Specifically, the export documents signed by the veterinary inspectors must state under the veterinarian's name that they have read and understood the European Union Council Directive 93/119/EC and that the meat is derived from animals that have been treated in the slaughterhouse before and at the time of slaughter in accordance with the relevant provisions of the directive.
2. Do horsemeat plants mistreat horses in spite of the regulations?
No. The preparation of meat cuts for human consumption are dependent upon many factors, not the least of which is that an animal at the time of slaughter should be as calm as possible in order to reduce the animal's stress levels. A stressed animal can have chemical reactions in the muscles that result in meat that has a taste that is less desirable for the consumer. To mistreat or mishandle animals at meat packing plants is not conducive to the creation of the best quality meat product for the consumer. The financial incentive to the meat packing company dictates that the animals are handled in as quiet and non-stressful a fashion as is possible in order to produce the best meat. This same principle applies to all livestock, not merely to horses.
3. Are government officials present at the meat packing plant?
Yes. In order for meat to be exported to the European Union a veterinary inspection officer from the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service must be present at the time of slaughter. This veterinarian must inspect the livestock in their pens before they are brought to slaughter in order to confirm that they are in good condition. The veterinarian then monitors the entire slaughter process. The veterinarian has the power to condemn any carcass that is considered suspect for contamination or diseased in some fashion that would make the introduction of the meat from that carcass into the human food chain unsafe. Since horses are handled under both United States and European Union regulations, horses are under more severe inspection procedures than are other animals, such as cattle, that are slaughtered in the United States.
4. Are any tests run on the meat?
Yes. The United States Department of Agriculture has an ongoing program designed to test meat produced in the United States to detect residues of compounds that are considered harmful in the United States. On a random basis and at any time a government inspector has a suspicion that some meat is possibly contaminated with a chemical residue it is pulled and sent for laboratory analysis. If the United States Department of Agriculture finds that there is contamination in a meat sample, records are used to trace the particular animal back to the seller of the live animal in order to identify and deal with the source of the contamination. In addition to testing for the compounds that are considered harmful in the United States, a longer and more extensive list of compounds considered harmful in the European Union exists. In order to test for those compounds, additional residue testing is performed at the expense of the meat packing plant on randomly selected meat samples and sent to laboratories in other countries to be examined for the presence of those compounds. A positive finding could result in the meat packing plant losing its ability to export to the European Union. For that reason, great care is taken to insure that the live animals are free from contamination from antibiotics, steroids, hormones and numerous other potentially harmful chemical compounds. This additional testing is also performed under the supervision and control of the United States Department of Agriculture.
5. Is it only the United States that has a cultural bias against eating horsemeat?
No. While horsemeat is consumed as a human protein source in such countries as France, Japan, Italy, Canada, Korea. Belgium, Mexico, Switzerland. Netherlands, Sweden and others, a few countries share the squeamishness of the United States toward horsemeat. The United Kingdom, Spain and Islamic Republics are among the countries that tend to have resistance to the consumption of horsemeat for human consumption.
6. Is a horse a pet, a commodity or both?
In general terms, a pet is an animal that people keep for companionship for the duration of the animal's life, Cats and dogs are typically kept by people as companions until the animal dies or has to be put down because of age or infirm condition. Horses are typically kept until they are no longer useful for the purpose for which they were purchased. After they have served their purpose, they are normally sold as a commodity in the open market to other people who might have another purpose for the animal. There are certainly many exceptions in which people will keep a particularly prized horse until it dies or until they have to put it down because of age, but for the most part, people tend to try to extract a value for their horse by selling it to someone else. The slaughter industry has a use for horses, and pays a price for the horses in the open marketplace at auctions or in private treaty sales. The treatment of the horse by the industry is as a commodity. Anyone who wants to pay more for the horse in the marketplace is free to do so.
7. Do horse plants buy stolen horses?
No. Popular fiction, television and movies often portray a fictitious industry in stealing horses for immediate sale to willing accomplices in meat packing plants. There is no such market. If a horse is stolen and then taken to a public auction for sale there is a chance that a buyer for a meat packing plant could buy the animal, just like there is a chance that the animal could be bought by someone looking for a saddle horse. Meat packing plants often receive flyers that describe particular horses that have been recently stolen around the United States in the hope that the horse will be recognized and the stolen property returned to the rightful owner. Every meat packing plant has examples of situations in which they participated in identifying and returning horses to their owners. Every plant likewise has examples of situations in which distraught people falsely accused their employees of stealing a horse. As an additional layer of security, each of the Texas meat packing plants has a brand Inspector on premises from the Texas Cattle Raisers Association. That inspector checks every single animal that is delivered to the plants for a brand or identification. Identification of a horse that has been reported stolen is virtually assured.
8. Do other countries have horsemeat plants?
Yes. In general terms, any country that has a natural resource of herds of horses will have an industry that utilizes the natural resource for food. Horsemeat plants exist in such countries as Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, France, Australia, Poland, Russia, China, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, New Zealand, Sweden and many other countries.
9. How does horsemeat taste?
Those who have tasted both, say that the meat tends to taste more like elk meat than any other type.
10. Is the horse slaughtered only to produce meat for human consumption?
No. The animal produces products that are sold to zoos to feed the big cats, to produce leather for shoes, to produce cosmetics, to produce the materials to build some human heart valves, to provide sausage casings, to produce pharmaceutical compounds, to produce artist brushes, to produce violin bows, and many other products.
11. Are there fewer horsemeat plants in the United States now than years ago?
Yes. Twenty years ago there were about a dozen plants in the United States. As competition grew, some plants that were not as efficient as others closed while through merger and acquisition, some companies bought out some of their competitors. Two of the plants that remain in the United States are Texas corporations.
12. Why are there horsemeat plants in the United States?
The United States has a population of horses that are freely sold in commerce. These horses tend to have been well fed and well cared for during their lives and: therefore tend to produce high quality meat when they are slaughtered. While it is expensive to buy horses, process the meat and then export it by air or by sea to Europe, it is cheaper than it would be to buy the horses and ship them alive by air or by sea to Europe for slaughter in European plants.
13. Is there a demand for horsemeat in the United States?
No. The cultural bias in the United States against eating horsemeat is too large to try to overcome on a mass marketing basis. The industry operates primarily to export the horsemeat to other countries for consumption. It is not the industry's intention to try to force Americans to eat horsemeat, but at the same time, it is the industry's request that Americans refrain from trying to impose their own cultural food biases upon the rest of the world. In Europe, for example, horsemeat has been eaten for centuries. Part of the reason for that is cultural, the meat has long been looked upon as a protein source in Europe and no automatic stigma is attached to horsemeat consumption. Part of the reason is a decision based on health considerations. Horsemeat is generally leaner, with less cholesterol, less fat and more iron than beef. As a result, some European dieticians suggest the consumption of horsemeat as a healthy alternative to beef. Another part of the reason is the European concern for all things natural. Concerns have grown over the past several decades that livestock that is raised specifically for slaughter experience a less natural life style that is reflected in the meat. Livestock raised in feedlots are fattened using a non-varied diet on a factory basis, often with growth hormones or pharmaceuticals to enhance weight-gain efficiency. Horses are viewed, quite rightly, as animals that are raised in more natural settings. They lead varied lives with a variety of diets over their lifetimes. The result is generally a more naturally raised animal that produces meat that the consumer more confidently chooses as being free of some of the excesses and potential risks of force-fed, factory raised slaughter animals.
