The export of horses for slaughter from the UK – still happens everyday!

Despite laws to make it more difficult to export live horses and ponies for slaughter, the one vital piece of legislation that would have stopped the trade, has not become law.

Earlier this year, The Kept Animals Bill was not debated in Parliament within the specified time for it to become law and, to stop the export for slaughter for good. There is now less than a parliamentary year to go before a General Election however, there is still time to call on this Government to deliver on its manifesto and to officially end this horrific trade.

This link  HERE enables anyone in the UK to ask their MP to act with just a few quick clicks … DO IT NOW!!!

These are not just horses that have been bred for this trade. Any horse or pony can end up being exported to slaughter, from outgrown children’s ponies through to ex-sports horses, many of which have been sold with the best of intentions, in the belief that they could never end their lives in a slaughterhouse.

Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare said “The demise of the Kept Animals Bill earlier this year was hugely disappointing but we still have a significant opportunity to keep the pressure on the UK Government (to make good on their manifesto commitment) to tackle this trade – much of which happens ‘below the radar’ – so that the voices of these suffering animals are not silenced.”

Ever since World Horse Welfare’s founder, Ada Cole, stood on the docks and witnessed the cruel and brutal treatment of work weary horses being exported from British shores to slaughter abroad almost 100 years ago, the charity has been campaigning to stop this trade.

While no horse, pony or donkey has officially been declared as being exported for slaughter in recent years, sadly there is a trade in equines being smuggled out of the country – often in poor welfare conditions and on fraudulent passports to ensure that all could go to slaughter.

Some of these vulnerable animals will end their lives in a slaughterhouse, despite being signed out of the food chain on their official passports. These horses may move direct to slaughter, indirectly via another trader or, must endure the horror of standing for hours at a European market before being are sold for meat.

For more information on the campaign visit: https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/what-we-do/our-positions/horse-smuggling-to-from-great-britain