Let's Talk About Kill Pens

By Taryn Hillman

---

Let's talk about Kill pens.

Kill pens are a huge problem and people need to quit supporting them.

Why? Because if you are supporting them, you are literally inadvertently causing suffering to at least twice as many horses.

Let's look at a few things.

1) Do you donate towards their bail to "save a horse"? Do you know what happens to that horse after you give to that "fundraiser"? I have seen multiple horses that have ended up in so called "rescues" or other situations where they were actually getting less care and than while at the kil pen. They look skinnier, they have not been treated for necessary medical conditions, and all that has happened is that there suffering has continued to last and even increased going from a kill pen to their next situation after being "saved". It literally would have been better for these horses to continue down the slaughter line where there suffering would have ultimately ended. This is how hoarding happens. This is how some lunatic ends up with over 100 horses on their 30 acre farm that they can’t feed. This is how horses end up starved and dead. Or worse, end up with broken legs, severe injuries and lameness, or severely sick with no treatment and left to their endless, miserable suffering which no animal should be faced with. I know. This isn't hearsay or exaggeration. I have seen it firsthand and it is terribly heartwrenching and unacceptable and can not even be described to its full horror. Is this case all the time? No. But it happens more often than you think.

2) Most kill buyers aren't even going to post and try to sell the horses they plan to send to slaughter. Most get their slaughter horses USDA export tagged at the sale and ship out quickly. The longer they hold the horse, the more it costs them in food and housing. Holding a group of horses for any amount of time significantly multiplies the chances that the horse will get sick or get injured and will fail inspection. There are also certain rules and regulations around which horses they can send. Pregnant mares, foals, injured, and unhealthy horses are not going to be going on the slaughter truck (see attached screen shot or Administration of the Horse Protection Program and the Slaughter ... - USDA https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/33601-02-KC.pdf ). But they use these horses to pull on people's heart strings and it works.

3) Purchasing a kill pen horse doesn’t save horses. True kill buyers hold a contract with a slaughterhouse which demands how many horses they must provide. A kill buyer with a contract for 30 horses will ship 30 horses, every time. You buying that horse does not mean he will ship 29. He will just ship one you didn’t see. And now he has charged you way more than he got the horse for so you have just enabled him to go get more and you are now contributing to the suffering of 2 if not 5 more horses. How is that justifiable?

4) The “kill pen” horses you see online are often not even slated for slaughter. They are purchased for this intent specifically- to be sold at huge profits sight-unseen online under threat of slaughter. It’s an emotional manipulation that pays huge dividends.

5) No reputable, ethical, honest rescue or “rescuer” is acting on behalf of the kill pen to try to save horses. This is not altruism, it is capitalism. They are in kahoots with the kill pen and these people go deeper than you know! They are not actually trying to "save" the horse. These “rescuers” are often hired people working on behalf of the kill pen to make them huge profits advertising selling unwanted horses who have no other profitable market. Sadly, there is usually a reason why those horses ended up there.

6) “Kill pen” horses are often grossly misrepresented. There is no accountability for the description or condition of the horse. A kill buyer is not dealing in honesty and the value of their good name. They are dealing in a world of a-sucker-born-every-minute and huge profits with no repercussions. If they tell you the horse is 10, dead broke, and sound then it is more likely 25, dead lame, and an ex-bronc rodeo horse. Use some common sense- if the horse WAS 10, sound, and dead broke why wouldn’t they sell it themselves for $5,000? Because that is what a horse like that would be worth. It’s certainly not because they have gentle hearts, it’s because they are LYING.

7) Despite the literally MILLIONS of dollars well meaning people have spent “bailing” these kill pen horses; slaughter rates are unaffected. Slaughter numbers are actually way down. But the horses that get shipped to slaughter, you won’t see those horses online.

8) Kill pens are stupidity at its finest. The concept that buying kill pen horses will end slaughter is like saying PURCHASING ALL THE PUPPIES WOULD CLOSE THE PUPPY MILL!!!! No it WON’T!!!! All it does it train these guys to do this more and make more money!

9) Horse slaughter is not really all that profitable right now, and your support of “kill pens” is keeping these guys in business. Kill Pen reps are attending local auctions to purchase horses specifically purchasing horses for the Kill Pen Facebook pages at auctions, outbidding private buyers and rescues.

And it’s killing our horses. Literally. Enabling the kill buyer to continue this cycle and purchase more horses all because you decided it was a good idea to "save" a horse that likely wasn't going to slaughter in the first place.

And it is nearly become an addiction to people who get caught up in fake deadlines to "save" a horse. Social media was the worst thing that could have happened for the horses in the kill pens.

Because of this, a second trend has started that is even worse. Well-meaning horse lovers are crowdfunding the “bail” of horses on behalf of strangers they don’t know who openly say they CAN’T AFFORD THE HORSE!!!! Why in the world would you want to BUY a horse for someone who admits they can’t AFFORD a horse?? What happens once it arrives? What happens when it needs a vet? What happens when it needs training? What if it is pregnant and now there are two? What happens when the “gelding” is actually a cryptorchid stallion and needs a $1200 surgery?

These people get in over their heads and then reach out to an adoption facility or a so called rescue and then you may be starting back at point #1. And any legitimate adoption facilities getting requests from people who purchased horses from kill pen Facebook pages and who are in over their heads many times do not or will not take these horses as they understand what is happening and do not want to support the kill pen fraud and horse suffering.

So how do we stop this and put them out of business? STOP BAILING HORSES FROM THE KILL PENS!! Buy the same horses at the auction before they reach the kill pen. This is the only thing that will actually take money out of the buyers pockets and shut them down. They buy horses cheap at local auction, ask for 2 or 3 times as much, and then are able to buy multiple more horses. And they know which horses will bring them money...foals, pregnant horses, BLM Mustangs....because they tug at heart strings and have a big following. And again, these are horses they likely never planned on or are even legally able to send to slaughter. You can buy these exact same horses for a fraction of the price at the local auctions so if you want to save a horse start looking for them there and bid against the kill buyers.

And to those facilities who intercede for the old, sick, injured horses at the auctions and end their suffering by giving them the last gift of euthanasia before they get to the kill buyers, I commend and thank you. And these places are the places that need your support.

So PLEASE…. If you love horses STOP supporting kill pens. Support your reputable rehab and rehoming facilities who outbid in the auction ring and won’t give a $1 of your money to a kill buyer. And if you don't know where to start finding those places, start with the facilities that are part of the ASPCA Right Horse program.

Please help stop the cycle and start helping the horses.