From the Kill Pen, Exposing the Illegal and Cruel Underground Horse Slaughter Business in America

Every year, hundreds of thousands of American horses are shipped to other countries for cruel and inhumane slaughter. Each year, 150,000 American horses are slaughtered for human consumption in other countries including in Japan, China, France, Belgium, Italy and the UK – even though 80 percent of Americans are vehemently opposed to horse slaughter and it is illegal in the U.S. Where do these horses come from? They come from any business that makes money off exploiting horses including the horse racing industry, rodeo/ranching industry, carriage horse industry, the premarin HRT industry, the blood farm industry, the mustang roundups conducted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the roundups done by the Indian nations, and the overbreeding of horses for horse racing—every single business that uses, abuses, and exploits horses for profit then has no need for them any longer, or they are injured, or no longer making money for their owner. Yet our country was built on the backs of horses for centuries, and we would not be where we are today, without the labor of horses.

This heart-breaking, extremely important and relevant film, From the Kill Pen, exposes the horrible truth about the horse slaughter industry in the U.S., the conservative political forces behind the pro-slaughter movement, the economy that profits from their exploitation, how the federal government is involved and complicit in horse slaughter, and what it will take to end this brutal, cruel industry for good.\

The film is an exploration of the criminal activity and the misleading forces behind the underground horse slaughter industry in America. With candid interviews, whistleblower footage and underground video, From the Kill Pen investigates how and why unregulated horsemeat is getting into the human food chain. The film examines the risks of consumption and the powerful political and economic forces that encourage the practice.

Sign and share the ASPCA’s petition to end horse slaughter once and for all in the U.S. And please tell Congress NO to Equine Slaughter! #horseslaughter

Learn About the Plight of America’s Wild Horses

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Horse Transport is Cruel

Transport of horses for slaughter has severe problems associated with it – Horses are often injured before transit or become injured during transit due to traveling long distances packed closely together; then are transported hundreds of miles with no rest and in heat and cold temperatures; they receive no food or water during transport, which is illegal and leads to further injuries and death; they are sometimes transported in double-decker horse trailers that are extremely dangerous to horses and should be illegal in every state.

Horse Slaughter Means Horrible Suffering for Horses

Horse slaughter is unbelievably cruel to horses because unlike cows, the physiology and structure of the horse cranium is long and narrow, so neither the penetrating captive bolt gun nor gunshots are ever reliable means of killing (or stunning) a horse. And horses are skittish, fearful animals, they are prey animals, who sense every reason to be afraid and avoid the gun, so they are often wounded over and over again during the slaughter process, and die suffering a very painful, slow death. Very often the horse is still fully conscious and experiences terrible pain during skinning and butchering.

Film Length: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes

Film Launch: 2015

Horse Slaughter: Cruelty Uncovered (by the Humane Society of the U.S.

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More About the Film

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Film Awards

• 2016 Best Documentary NOVA International Film Festival
• 2016 Official Selection Sedona International Film Festival
• 2016 Official Selection Silver Springs International Film Festival
• 2016 Special Selection Napa Valley Film Festival
• 2016 Official Selection EQUUIS International Film Festival
• 2016 Official Selection Animal Film Festival
• 2016 Official Selection Awareness Festival

Organizations Helping Fight Horse Slaughter

This is a current listing of organizations and individuals opposed to the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. They support all local, state and federal legislative efforts to ban the practice in the US including the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act and American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Get The Facts about horse slaughter
2. Learn how the SAFE ACT, the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 113), will help horses – and VOTE for legislators that support this Act.
3. Call, email, and visit your legislators. Call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414 or the comments line at 202-456-1111 during business hours, or find your legislator here. Contact them and tell them to cosponsor the SAFE (Safeguard American Food Exports Act) Act to end horse slaughter. Make these points:
   1. Horse slaughter is unacceptably inhumane.
   2. 80% of Americans are opposed to horse slaughter. They don’t want horse meat served at the dinner table and they don’t want their tax dollars spent on inspecting meat bound for foreign markets.
   3. Horses are commonly exposed to drugs and other substances that are expressly forbidden for use in animals used for food, making their meat unfit for human consumption. Meat laced with toxic products such as fly sprays and dewormers is dangerous to human health.
   4. Horse slaughter plants have been linked to air and water pollution, lowered property values and increased crime rates in the areas where they’re located – and they are extremely cruel and inhumane.
   5. The SAFE Act (H.R. 113/S.B. 1706) would keep U.S. horse slaughter plants shuttered and end the export of horses for human consumption.

4. Post on your legislator’s Facebook pages – Urge co-sponsorship of the SAFE Act to end horse slaughter. Say: “Please cosponsor the SAFE Act (H.R. 113/S.B. 1706) to protect horses from slaughter and to keep U.S. horse slaughter plants CLOSED and END the export of horses for human consumption!” Tell Congress NO to Equine Slaughter!
5. Tweet at your legislators – Urge them to cosponsor the SAFE Act to end horse slaughter. Like this: @joesmith “Please cosponsor the #Yes2SAFE #EndHorseSlaughter.” Click here to find social media handles for your two U.S. Senators. Click here to find your U.S. Representative’s social media handles.
6. Use these hashtags in all posts – #Yes2SAFE #EndHorseSlaughter
7. Speak Out on Social Media to raise public awareness and action – Share the investigative video by HSUS called Horse Slaughter: Cruelty Uncovered and The Horse Slaughter Fact Sheet. Or write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, radio or TV station, sharing the above.
8. Attend Town Hall Meetings – Read up on horse slaughter, then attend your local town hall meeting. See Tips for Attending Town Hall Meetings. Call the U.S. Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to find the schedule for upcoming meetings by visiting the websites of your federal legislators or calling their offices.
9. Volunteer for a Horse Rescue Organization – Contact your local horse rescue groups and offer to volunteer to help their horses – groom them, feed them, clean stalls, fundraise or support volunteers.
10. Support The Doris Day Equine Center in Murchison, Texas – Volunteer, or donate money, or adopt a horse from the center.
11. Join State-Wide Coalitions of Animal Advocates to provide a broader base of support for activism than the rescue alone can generate.
12. Help Support a Horse Rescue Organization on the Homes for Horses Coalition list.

See the COMPASSION INDEX for how your legislators vote.

See the HUMANE SCORECARD for your federal legislator’s record on animal protection issues.

Film Credits

Directed, Written and Edited By: Sharon Boeckle

Produced by: Tony Cane-Honeysett and Sharon Boeckle

Starring: Milton Bagby, Bill Richardson and Keith Dane

Supporting Actors: Neda DeMayo, John Holland, Patrick Meehan, Jan Schakowsky, Alex Brown, Lester Friedlander, Erny Zah, A. Blair Dunn, Rick de Los Santos, Phil Carter, Vickery Eckhoff