 |
PLAY THE SLIDESHOW»
This 4-year-old stallion was rescued from
under the bodies of two horses who died
in the crash. It earned him the name
Willie, for his will to survive. (HSUS)
|
By Loren Drummond
In the pre-dawn hours on Sept. 27, a double-decker trailer carrying 41 horses and one mule overturned in Franklin County, Mo. When it crashed, the truck was hauling the horses from Oklahoma to the Belgian-owned horse slaughter plant in Dekalb, Ill., where they were to have been slaughtered for meat. The plant, one of three foreign-owned facilities operating in the United States, would have shipped the horses' meat abroad to be eaten as delicacy in Europe or Japan.
Sixteen horses died as a result of the crash, which turned the trailer on its side, throwing the horses into one another and against the sides and roof of the trailer.
"Some of them had their hooves down in the ventilation holes, stuck, crunched up against the walls, kicking each other. Just trying to stand up," said Amy Adams, a veterinarian who arrived on the scene at 4 a.m. with emergency responders and veterinarians called in by the Humane Society of Missouri and the Missouri Emergency Response Service.
"It was the worst thing you could ever imagine, just horrible. Just carnage everywhere," Stuart Robson, the lead veterinarian on site, said.
Accident Reveals a Rare Look at the Slaughter Industry
Most Americans disapprove of the practice of slaughtering nearly 100,000 horses a year for foreign palates, and the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban the practice in September by 263 to 146. The next hurdle toward a ban on horse slaughter is a hearing of the Senate bill, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, S.1915.
 |
Horses loaded together slammed into
each other and the trailer sides. (HSMO) |
"If the Senate bans slaughter in the coming weeks, they will be saving tens of thousands of horses just like those involved in the Franklin County crash. Passage of the Senate bill would forever end the suffering endured by horses each step of the way towards slaughter, including transport," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS.
The slaughter industry argues that the horses fueling the foreign-owned slaughter plants are older, lame or worn out, and that slaughter for meat is a "humane" form of euthanasia. But the Franklin County accident illustrates the industry reality—that 92 percent of the horses sent to slaughter are healthy, sound animals.
"These were not elderly animals at the end of their life," said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations at the Humane Society of Missouri, which has taken over care of the horses during their recovery. "We have some very young animals here, animals that if given the chance could thrive and be companion pets again."
Horses Fate Remains Uncertain
 |
Many of the horses rescued were likely
pets. (HSUS) |
Twenty-six horses survived the crash, yearlings, a 3-year-old gelding and a pregnant mare among them.
"I believe these horses were companions at some point in their lives," said Hill. "It's heartbreaking to think, how did that animal suddenly end up on a kill truck on their way to a slaughterhouse when at some time that animal was in a stable."
The accident response and medical expenses totaled more than $50,000, according to the Humane Society of Missouri. In an offer made to the owner’s insurance company that would prevent the horses from ending up at the Illinois slaughter plant, the organization said it will not pursue recovery of those costs if the insurance company will give ownership of the animals to the Humane Society of Missouri.
Take Action: 
