A Look Into the SAFE Act

The U.S. horse slaughter industry is as hot-button an issue as there is. Find out where current legislation stands with the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act.

The history of the horse slaughter industry in the United States is a long one, dating back to the 1900s, when wild horses were routinely rounded up off the range and sold for dog food. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 stopped that practice, but the business of slaughtering horses for human consumption has continued. While wild horses are protected by law from being sold for slaughter, auctions around the country continue to be dumping grounds for unwanted horses who are sold for to be killed for their meat.

In 2007, the end of federal funding for the inspection of equine slaughter facilities in the U.S. resulted in the closure of the three facilities that still operated within the States. It did not make horse slaughter illegal, however, and since that time, thousands of American horses have been shipped to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada.

“The horse slaughter industry not only exploits horses who endure grueling journeys to slaughter plants and an inhumane death, it also harms the broader equine community, including horse owners, riders and rescues, who fear that their horses will end up in the slaughter pipeline despite their best efforts to keep them safe,” says Nancy Perry, senior vice president of Government Relations for the ASPCA. 

“Approximately 75 percent of horse owners surveyed at the ASPCA’s Equine Transition and Adoption Center admit that the threat of horse slaughter played a primary role in delaying relinquishment and seeking care,” says Perry. “Euthanasia by a veterinarian, a service we provide to horses who need it, is a humane and pragmatic part of horse care; slaughter is neither.”

New Legislation

Since 2007, horse advocates have lobbied for legislation to make it illegal for horses in the U.S. to be sold for slaughter. Each time, the legislation has died in Congress. But the newest bill to be introduced, the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, is giving hope to the horse welfare community.

“The SAFE Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers, and if passed, this legislation would permanently protect American horses from commercial slaughter,” says Perry. “This bipartisan bill has garnered support from more than half of the U.S. House of Representatives, a critical benchmark that means this legislation would pass if brought to the floor for a vote.”

While the SAFE Act can advance through Congress on its own, legislators have an opportunity to include this critical language in the Farm Bill, which would be a monumental victory for horses, according to Perry. Both the House and Senate still have the opportunity to add the SAFE Act to their respective Farm Bill versions and support its inclusion in negotiations.

The SAFE Act would expand the Dog and Cat Meat Prohibition Act, which passed as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, to include equines, prohibiting the commercial slaughter of horses in the U.S. and ending their export for that purpose abroad.

“The horse slaughter industry incentivizes poor treatment, fraud and other predatory behavior,” says Perry. “At auctions, kill buyers acquire horses that may otherwise have had a safe place to land by actively outbidding people and adoption organizations who would offer the horses good homes. These kill buyers also often pose as good homes to well-intentioned owners looking to rehome their beloved equine partner, acquiring the horses and later selling the animals to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.”

Widespread Support of the SAFE Act

Over the past two years, support for the SAFE Act within the equine community has grown. The Thoroughbred racing industry has come out in strong favor of the bill. The Jockey Club, the 130-year-old North American registry for Thoroughbreds, recently released a statement in support of the bill, which includes the following:

“The Jockey Club is unequivocally opposed to the slaughter or processing of Thoroughbreds for consumption by humans or animals. This includes the sale and/or transportation of Thoroughbreds for slaughter. (…) The Jockey Club Is a supporting member of the Final Stretch Alliance to End Horse Slaughter and supports passage of the Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act, which would permanently ban horse slaughter in the U.S. and end the export of American horses for slaughter abroad.”

Other horse industry organizations and individuals that formed the Final Stretch Alliance include the U.S. Trotting Association, New York Racing Association, Maryland Horse Council, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA, and several Hall of Fame Thoroughbred jockeys and trainers. The group sent an open letter in December 2023 to the House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders, urging them to include the SAFE Act in the Farm Bill.

“I am in favor of the SAFE Act, and I hope the members of Congress will invest in the emotional wellbeing of horses as companion animals,” says Jennifer Merlo, DVM, a veterinarian in North Carolina and the director of Veterinary affairs for Fear Free, LLC.

“The conditions that horses face, both on a production farm and within slaughterhouses, are stressful, frightening, and cruel,” says Merlo. “Horses provide us with numerous benefits through the human-animal bond, and they deserve a humane and compassionate end to their life. The conditions horses experience in foreign slaughterhouses are anything but compassionate. I urge Congress to consider passing this Act to safeguard the lives of these majestic creatures.”

This article about the SAFE Act appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!