Not only that but there is also an amendment to the ag law that states:
Section 1. Agriculture which provides food, energy, and security is the foundation and stabilizing force of Missouri’s economy. To protect this vital sector of Missouri’s economy, it shall be the right of citizens to raise domesticated animals in a humane manner without the state imposing an undue economic burden on animal owners. No law criminalizing or otherwise regulating crops or the welfare of any domesticated animals shall be valid unless based upon generally accepted scientific principles and enacted by the general assembly.

Note that this says ‘scientific principles’. In other words you can’t pull something out of the air and say that it is good for the animals or people. You have to have science behind your statement.

To say I am excited is putting it mildly. Horse and animal people are banding together to kick the HSUS and ASPCA out of our state.

I often feel like we don’t have the money as horse owners to donate to these causes, because we are too concerned with the welfare of our own animals. But if we don’t start, we won’t have them to be concerned about. Something has to give. No pun intended!

I have been following this organization since it hit the internet and they are working their tails to the bone on all horse related legislation. So far they have states backing and Tribal backing to reinstate slaughter plants. At one time we thought one of the Tribes in OK was going to open one up but then the attention switched to WY or MT (can’t remember which). After that the state legislatures have been passing resolutions that the closing of horse slaughter plants has destroyed the industry.

Second – the closing of the slaughter plants were the beginning of the end for the horse industry and unless they can be reopened, the industry is doomed as the KY breeders are swallowing the HSUS kool-aid and welcoming them and their ideas into their state.

As far as I am personally concerned, I do not own enough horses nor do I breed that the slaughter plants had any affect on my ownership of my horses. I have never sent a horse to a slaughter plant.
BUT, there is nothing inhumane in slaughter plants as long as the proper procedures are followed as I have had the experience of working on small private kill floors for cattle and have observed large operations on their kill floor. Horse slaughter is no different except for a being a different species.
The waste of edible protein for starving people in other countries is a shame and is another exhibit of the wastefulness of the US people. But neither the ASPCA nor HSUS care about this as they are both against the consumption of animal protein and are trying to eliminate it from the human diet.

Both of these agencies, ASPCA and HSUS, said that horse rescues would be able to take care of any excess animals that were not wanted and they would be able to live out their (horse) lives comfortably. What they failed to mention is that neither one of these operations run big enough horse sanctuaries to take in the number of animals that have been abandoned due to the failure of the economy in the USA. HSUS did run the Black Beauty Horse Sanctuary in Texas but closed it down due to being overcrowded, I believe. This was when horses started flooding the horse rescues and of course HSUS does not use money for animals that they can use for legislation.

Horse rescues are overrun as we all know. Many of them are being raided with other groups to rescue the horses there as money runs out and the people who started out doing a good thing find out that they can’t give the horses away and have to watch them starve because they won’t send them out of the country to be slaughtered (which is very cruel as these truckers don’t care about the animals, only getting them delivered).
Recently here in Missouri, the HSMo (a side branch of the HSUS) rescued around 20 head of horses from a farm where they were literally starving with several found on the farm dead. The owners had run out of money for hay, barely surviving themselves and could not give away the horses. Of course they will be portrayed as the abusers but in my eyes, the ASPCA, HSUS and any legislator that voted to close the horse slaughter plants are the real abusers.

Finally the argument that horse owners can take care of the body of the horse once it has been euthanized is totally false.
If put down by barbituates, most rendering packing plants cannot take the body due to the drug contaminating the meat for consumption by pets.
In many areas you cannot bury a horse because of the water table or restriction of planning and zoning.
IF you are lucky enough to be able to bury a horse on your property it can cost anywhere from $300 in rural areas to as much as $1000 in urban areas.
If you cannot have the carcass picked up by a rendering plant, nor can you have it buried, the last option is to have it cremated. This is highly prohibitive as the crematories are few and far between that can handle a horse. IF you can find one (ASPCA is kind enough to list them on their website) AND they will come to your place to pick up the body, it will cost $1000 to $1500 for the service.
Disposing of the bodies is very problematic and something that is almost impossible to solve depending on where you live.

ASPCA, HSUS, and the legislators that voted for this, did not care what it would cost the owner nor the horse industry. The initial intentions were to destroy the horse industry. They have almost succeeded. Currently, ASPCA and HSUS are focusing on dog breeders across the nation, while HSUS is also focusing on animal husbandry practices. IF the horse industry means to survive they have to get the horse slaughter plants reopened. This is the time to do it and one organization for horses has begun to lead the fight. Everyone else in the horse industry needs to join the fight. Then as all animal lovers are finding out, we have to join forces regardless of the species that we are involved in.