FOR VOICES.
American horses & donkeys need us.
A live bill in Congress (HR 1661 | S775) will stop the perilous, needless, tortured journey that a small group of traders are inflicting on companion horses & donkeys. The slaughter pipeline is a torture pipeline & 83% of Americans want it to stop.
A host of experts joined our live telethon, asking the public to speak up!
UNITED FOR CHANGE
The experts below come from different industries, experiences and political perspectives, but they agree on one thing: no horse or donkey should suffer this torture. Together we have an opportunity to end the horse slaughter pipeline once and for all.
Sonja Meadows
Animals' Angels Inc.
President | Publisher 2026 State of Horse Slaughter Report
"It's a common misconception that bringing your horse to a sale barn is a safe thing to do. Kill buyers are frequenting pretty much every larger auction in the United States. So, you never know who will actually buy your horse...We do not need horse slaughter, and we do not need kill buyers. The vast majority of horse owners are already doing the right thing, or they’re providing a humane ending at the end of its life." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Nancy Perry
ASPCA
Senior Vice President of Government Relations
"We've never had such clear agreement—when you talk to anyone in Congress. They understand that 83% of Americans, bipartisan citizens, support this. They get it. ... At this moment in time, what is encouraging is there is a vehicle. The Transportation Bill is moving... When we are using our voices like today, we can prevail." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Shawn Smeallie
The Jockey Club
Former White House aide to President George H.W. Bush and the lobbyist leading The Jockey Club's SAFE Act initiative in Washington
"The full horse racing industry is 100% behind this bill ... It stops 6 or 7 bad actors that transport these horses across our borders.... I don't think anybody knew how gruesome it is. Once they knew that their star athletes have potential to go through this process, and they're a major part of their state’s economy, that really changed people’s minds." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Ashley Avis
The Wild Beauty Foundation
Founder & President | Director of Disney's Black Beauty
"We’re on the cusp of something. The incredible teamwork that's happening with a variety of organizations - the racing industry coming with us to Congress - it’s incredible... I know it’s exhausting to send the messages, make the calls, but as you know, our collective voices work. Right now is that moment not to let up the pressure." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Kim Elger
Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue
COO
"How we treat our animals that work beside us, and once literally carried this country’s infrastructure on their backs says everything about who we are as a nation. These animals were not raised as food animals. They are raised as companions. They are raised as family members. Some of them are working partners. They helped build this country. They deserve dignity and protection."
Shelby Bobosky, Esq.
Lonestar Humane Association
Founder of Lonestar Humane Association & Adjunct Law Professor of Animal & Wildlife Law at SMU
"It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican. Over 83% of citizens support this law. So our Senators have to fall in line and understand we want this... That’s the whole message that we want to give to you all. Contact your Senators. It takes less than the time to order pizza. It's the easiest thing you can do." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Gene Baur
Farm Sanctuary
Co-Founder of Farm Sanctuary, American Author & Activist
"I think people should contact their Senators because it's the right thing to do. It's the kind and humane thing to do, and it's something you'll feel good about... You know, if you take action and make a positive difference, I mean, it's really hard to put a dollar figure on that, honestly. And it doesn't take a lot of time either." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Laurie Hood
Alaqua Animal Refuge
Founder & President
"What people don’t realize is that kill buyers move very quietly in this industry. Horses and donkeys move through livestock auction pipelines very quickly. So animals that were once beloved companions can suddenly end up in a terrifying situation... Years ago, something inside me that said, if I know that this is happening, and do nothing, I’m really part of the problem." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Tessa Archibald
Homes For Horses
HHC Manager
"We have over 550 nonprofit members located around the country you can reach out to, all helping - from rescuing, to taking in owner surrenders or offering owner assistance programs to help an owner keep their horses through periods of financial hardship, offering rehoming services, and even counselling for owners who are not sure what the right next step is for their horse or donkey." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Rebecca Arizmendi
Yaqui Animal Rescue
COO
"We often hear people say, well, I'm not going to send that email because they're not going to read it. I can't say this enough: It’s just not true... I used to work for a local congressman and as legislative staffers, we pay attention when we're getting all these emails about this issue." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
Joanna Grossman, PhD
Animal Welfare Institute
Equine Program Director
"Tens of thousands of American horses are still transported abroad to be butchered for their meat. It’s a problem that to some extent is out of site, out of mind and a lot of Americans aren’t aware that it’s happening. Once they find out about it, the public is of course understandably appalled..." Excerpted from interview — watch the full conversation below.
FAQ with Expert Panel
Is rehoming my horse through a sale barn always a safe thing? Has anything changed?
Sonja Meadows:
Unfortunately… that's a common misconception and a lot of people romanticize auctions and think that's a place where horses are traded from one family to another family and that it's a safe thing to do - to bring your horse to a sale barn. Our investigations have shown that that's absolutely not the case. Kill buyers are frequenting pretty much every larger auction in the United States. So, you never know who will actually buy your horse.
Does America really need kill buyers?
Sonja Meadows:
No, absolutely Absolutely not. We do not need horse slaughter, and we do not need kill buyers. And if you think about it, there's over 9 million horses in the United States and only 25,000 horses are shipped to slaughter every year. If you look at it, 0.3%. So, the vast majority of horse owners are already doing the right thing, or they’re providing a humane ending at the end of its life. No, we don't need horse slaughter and we don't need kill buyers.
Why is slaughter uniquely cruel & inhumane for horses?
Sonja Meadows:
Slaughter is as far from a good death as you can get. There is nothing humane in the slaughter of a horse – they are a flight animal. A horse is very concerned about anything approaching its forehead. It moves a lot. So in a commercial setting, there is no chance that the horse will have a humane death.
The minute a horse is labeled a slaughter horse, everything changes for it. From the behavior of the people dealing with it. At an auction for example, a slaughter horse is put in a completely different pen. Usually they use large scale pens all these horses in a group and there's kicking and biting… some horses drop dead.
Then they're transported long distances. I've followed horse slaughter trucks 36 hours. You have 30 to 40 horses crammed inside one trailer. And you have draft horses, you have thorough breads in there, you've got mustangs in there. So, you can imagine that that's a recipe for disaster. And I've seen horses go down in the trailer being trampled to death.
And then you have the lack of food and water, because at the auctions they're already deprived of water a lot.
Then you have the long distance transport from north to south, for example, where there's also these drastic temperature changes, So, I've seen transports start out in the snow in Ohio and then end up in 100 degrees in Texas. They’re transported in aluminum trailers, which means inside those trailers, temperatures can soar even higher and dehydration is a real concern. A lot of horses don't even make that trip, and then they're lingering again at a feedlot or an export pen where they're again receiving very poor care if any.
Veterinary care is usually not existent. I hear so often even from people that are tasked to protect these animals, like veterinarians or law enforcement, they’ll say: “This is a slaughter horse. It's going to be dead anyway.”
What alternatives exist, instead of selling my horse at the sale barn?
Sonja Meadows:
I would advise going several days in advance before you actually sell your horse to look at suspicious buyers. A kill buyer usually buys more than one horse. So, if there's anybody who buys 5 - 10 horses or more, that's certainly a red flag and, somebody you shouldn't sell your horse to. And so I always tell them to act with caution. And worst case if somebody like that buys your horse, to “no sale” the horse then, which is an option that you have at every sale barn.
Tessa Archibald, HHC:
We have over 550 nonprofit members located around the country you can reach out to, all helping - from rescuing, to taking in owner surrenders or offering owner assistance programs to help an owner keep their horses through periods of financial hardship, offering rehoming services, and even counselling for owners who are not sure what the right next step is for their horse or donkey.
Three resources with a nationwide network to help include:
https://homesforhorses.org/
https://aspcarighthorse.org/helpforhorses/
https://horseshelternetwork.org/directory/
Who is buying our horses and donkeys?
Sonja Meadows:
Europe banned the import of meat from Mexico. So right now we're looking at Japan as the new remaining market for horse meat. The donkeys are slaughtered for their hide, which is used for Chinese medicine, and that's a concern, especially in Mexico.
And then in Canada, we also have the issue that the meat is shipped back to the United States to be sold in zoos to feed carnivores.
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