Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada

In the news:

• Horse meat in Wyo?, Animal rights advocates object to horse disposal plan | Star-Tribune capital bureau | April 25

The United Organizations of the Horse is working with Dr. Temple Grandin to implement an Equine Assurance Program to ensure meat quality and address animal welfare concerns

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal has signed HB 122-Disposal of livestock into law which provides the Wyoming Board of Livestock three options to deal with abandoned, estray (animals whose ownership cannot be determined), feral, or abused animals which come under their control. The first option is taking the animal to a public sale, which was the only alternative before passage of this legislation. Additional options provided are sending the animal to slaughter, or destroying the animal.

While the legislation applies to all classes of livestock, the need arose because of the current lack of a market for low-end horses that are small or are in poor condition. Since the closure of the last US horse slaughter plant in 2007, the only unusable horses that have any value whatsoever are those that are big enough, or healthy enough, to be worth the transportation costs to Canada or Mexico. This has resulted in a huge increase in abandoned and neglected horse cases in Wyoming, and across the nation. Wyoming has seen more than a tripling every year in these numbers, which has required emergency funding through the Governor since they are unable to recoup the cost of care and feeding by selling the horses.

If the Board of Livestock chooses the slaughter option they are required to provide the meat to Wyoming state institutions or nonprofit organizations at their cost. They are authorized to sell the meat to profit entities at market price. Meat intended for human use will be state inspected and used in Wyoming.

The United Organizations of the Horse is coordinating a working group that includes state agencies, private meat processing businesses, nonprofit relief organizations, Dr. Temple Grandin, veterinarians, and other experts to design a system for the processing of horses, and the efficient and practical use of valuable meat and byproducts. The product of this working group will be a pilot Equine Assurance Program which will be a model for other states to utilize to address animal welfare concerns, and ensure the humane handling, transportation, and processing of horses.

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The United Organizations of the Horse

 The United Organizations of the Horse is a mutual benefit nonprofit organization registered in the state of Wyoming that is in the process of becoming an IRS 501(c)(6). The United Organizations of the Horse was formed to address two key issues:

1. To restore humane and regulated horse slaughter in the U.S.; and
2. To control the overpopulation of wild and feral horses on federal, state, tribal, and private lands.

The organization has been set up primarily for political action, but is now moving into the pragmatic implementation of programs to benefit the equine industry and horse people of the United States. These programs include:

• Equine Assurance Program - a horse meat quality and equine well-being certification program
• Horse Rescue, Rejuvenation, & Slaughter - a program which seeks to rescue and rejuvenate starving and neglected horses
• Horses for Humanity Programs - allows an owner to donate a horse with the full knowledge that they may be killed humanely, and processed to benefit the needy.
• National Do Not Slaughter Registry
• A Suite of Programs

For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the United Organizations of the Horse web site.