One of the nation's last operating horse slaughter plants was in Fort Worth. People would bring horses there to be processed into meat, that was sent overseas. Now, it's illegal to slaughter horses in the US. Breeders say that's hurting the horse business.
For 45 years, Marlin Baker has been in the horse business. He owns a breeding center in Granbury, Texas. At Alpha Equine, he breeds hundreds of horses every year. Now, Baker's putting those horses out into a much different market. "There's such a tremendous amount of unwanted horses. In the economy, people can't care for them properly," said Baker.
Parker County deputies are investigating why nine horses died near weatherford. The owner claims a malfunctioning well is to blame. It's happened before. In 2009, nearly a dozen horses died on a nearby farm, after a well malfunctioned.
The stories we don't hear about are the ones where malnourished horses die, and the owners do know about it. In 2007, the country's last horse slaughterhouses were shut down. The Humane Society led the push, citing inhumane conditions.
"There's no need for it. There are alternative solutions. Slaughter has, for too long, been relied upon by some in the horse industry as a crux," said Keith Dane, Director of Equine Protection.
Now, when a horse doesn't sell many are, illegally, sending it to a slaughter outside of the country.
"Unfortunately, a number of horses are going to slaughter now that were going when the plants remained open in the United States, they're just going to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered. So, there definitely is still la market. So, the theory that prices have plummeted because of that doesn't hold water," said Dane.
Legislators in six states have passed bills urging gongress to allow slaughter houses to operate. For now, the one in Fort Worth is processing specialty meats. That doesn't include horse.