With Cavel International closing last year, horse owners have faced the difficult task of how to dispose of the equines.

On May 24, 2007, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed into law House Bill 1711, which states, “Not withstanding any other provision of law, it is unlawful for any person to slaughter a horse if that person knows or should know that any of the horse meat will be used for human consumption.”

Despite the legislation banning equine slaughter in the U.S., people are still finding ways to slaughter horses.

“Every horse that would have been killed in Cavel now has to be inhumanely hauled to Canada or Mexico,” said Donna Ewing, executive director and founder of Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society (HARPS). “The last report said 43,000 horses have been slaughtered in Mexico.”

Ewing was one of many to fight Cavel’s closure.

“I pleaded with people in Springfield to not close down the slaughterhouse before they came up with alternative solutions,” Ewing said.

She predicted the current situation would arise after the closure.

“There was a ‘feel good’ legislation sold to legislation by The Humane Society,” said Frank Bowman, President of the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois. “They failed to shoulder their response to show any alternatives for disposing of horses.”

Bowman and Ewing are both in favor of euthanasia, but believed Cavel was still a better option than what people have come to turn to now.

“[Horsemen’s Council of Illinois] recognized but never promoted slaughtering,” Bowman said.

Ewing said slaughtering horses was a humane solution.

“Every kind of animal deserves the best of care, which also means a quick, humane exit of their life – which is what Cavel had done,” Ewing said. “They had professors studying at Cavel to see and develop the most humane ways to make the ideal ‘humane’ slaughterhouse.'”

State Representative Bob Pritchard is aware of the economic impact the situation has had on the equine industry.

“We’re not dealing with the basic issue,” Pritchard said. “Putting more regulations on people with how they raise or dispose of their animals is not the answer.”

The only legal option left for people with unwanted horses is euthanasia.

Amy Kuipers, owner of KFK Livestock Removal & Transport of Maple Park, deals with the process of euthanizing and transporting horses. Although it does not cost much to actually euthanize the horse, the fees to remove or transport a carcass add up.

“Most people do not have the proper zoning to bury the carcass on their property,” Kuipers said.

It costs about $130-$160 to euthanize the animal, Kuipers said. It costs $200-$380 to remove or transport it, about 70 cents a pound to cremate – which would require the owner to pay the transfer fee as well – and about $3,000 to bury the horse in a cemetery.

The economy of the equine industry has taken a hit since Cavel’s closure. It has become more expensive to take care of horses – including the method of disposal.

“Taking care of horses requires a disposable income,” Bowman said, mentioning the issue of over-supply, which has become worse since the recent increase in hay prices. “The mechanism for disposing for over-supply is not there anymore.”

Rather than spend more money to euthanize these horses, some have chosen to make money off the unwanted animals.

“People are going to try to figure out a way to make money from them if they can’t afford to keep them,” Ewing said, adding that some are just being turned loose into the wild.

Regardless, the problem remains unsolved.

“There needs to be an economical way to deal with the situation,” Pritchard said.

Until then, advocates for humane treatment of horses continue to be outraged by the cruelty many of these animals are now endure.

“We’re now shipping over our problems across the borders to less humane conditions,” Bowman said.