During the last few months, Animals’ Angels conducted extensive research on the current state of the US/Mexico horse slaughter trade. Our investigators spent many long hours compiling and analyzing almost seven years of data in order to evaluate the true state of the horse slaughter industry and to detect emerging trends in the global horse meat market.

The results of our study are truly remarkable, revealing the significant impact on the industry caused by legislative changes and recent commercial disruptions.

While our findings demonstrate that real progress has been made through our animal advocacy efforts, they also highlight the need for continued action if we are to achieve our ultimate goal of ending the slaughter of US horses for good.

To the delight of our research team, our findings show a massive decline in the number of US horses sold into the Mexican horse slaughter industry over the last seven years.

In fact, after the implementation of the EU ban on horse meat from Mexico in 2014, the number of US horses shipped to Mexico for slaughter dropped over 50%, falling from 108,583 horses in 2014 down to 53,947 horses in 2019.

Then in 2020, the number of horses shipped from the US to Mexico dropped even further, falling to 28,653 horses for the entire year. This substantial decline was partially due to the epidemic and partially due to a shutdown of the trade between Mexican horse slaughter plants and German dog food producers after Animals’ Angels exposé. 

We were thrilled to find that this downward trend continued into 2021. Last year, 9,707 horses had been shipped to Mexico between January 1st and March 20th, while this year only 3,379 horses were shipped to Mexico during the same period.

These numbers reveal an impressive 75% reduction in the current number of horses being shipped from the US to Mexico compared to 2014.

As our research has revealed, even in the declining US/Mexico horse slaughter market, thousands of horses still face a horrific fate each year at the hands of US kill buyers and the Mexican slaughter industry and our work is far from done.

After the EU banned horse meat from Mexico in 2014, the Mexican plants began reaching out to new global markets in a desperate bid to find new customers and replace lost revenue, eventually finding new markets for horse meat in other countries.

Currently, their largest market is Japan (46.6%), followed by Russia (22.7%), Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. The Mexican plants also managed to maintain trade of various horse by-products which are unsuitable for human consumption.

However, our analysis of the data has revealed the true financial impact of the EU ban: all the new markets combined do not come close to making up the revenue the Mexican plants previously earned by selling horse meat to the European market.

Based on the industry’s declining market and decreasing revenue, the international Mexican horse slaughter trade is now basically driven by only two Mexican plants: Empacadora de Carnes de Fresnillo and Carnicos de Jerez.

Carnicos de Jerez is also the largest known offender when it comes to animal cruelty and poor conditions. Several investigations conducted by Animals’ Angels have documented the horrific conditions at their plant. 

After uncovering the true state of the horse slaughter industry, our team was determined to find out which US kill buyers were still providing horses to the Mexican plants.

Although the number of kill buyers has dwindled significantly over the last few years, an extensive review of customs paperwork allowed Animals’ Angels to compile a complete list of kill buyers currently active in the market and delivering directly to Mexican plants.

Few of our supporters will be surprised to find the resulting list consists of a dozen of the largest and most notorious kill buyers we’ve investigated over the years, including:

What does all the data tell us? It tells us that earnings on Mexican horse meat exports over the years have declined by more than 75%, going from a $50 million a year industry to an approximately $12 million a year industry.

This means, according to publicly available documents, that a large scale kill buyer such as M & M Livestock, who previously shipped over 700 loads of horses per year, earning revenue of $13 million, is now only able to ship about 200 loads, earning about $3.7 million.

And it means that competition between US kill buyers has become fierce. The market decline has already squeezed many buyers out of the trade altogether, and the remaining buyers have to fight to secure what’s left of the business.

The data also clarifies how important the income from the broker program business has become for the buyers left in the industry. Looking at the numbers, we can only assume that without the broker program income, several kill buyers on our list would have already gone bankrupt.

The fact that broker programs enable kill buyers to stay in the slaughter business is a key finding of our research. Without the proceeds from the broker programs, kill buyers would find it much harder to make a living off the slaughter and suffering of innocent animals. 

Of course, the kill buyers or those who pretend to be kill buyers, and broker programs do not want anyone to know about the dwindling market for slaughter horses, or their own financial predicament. It is difficult to sell a horse under the manipulative premise that “the truck is coming” when the potential buyer knows it isn’t true.

That’s why it is vitally important to share this updated industry information as widely as possible. People who care about horses need to know the truth about the current state of the slaughter industry so that they can make smart, compassionate decisions.

It is also why Animals’ Angels will continue to monitor, document, and share our findings on the horse slaughter industry with all of our supporters until we reach our goal of putting a total end to horse slaughter once and for all.

The Animals’ Angels team is grateful to be able to share the encouraging results of our research with our supporters. We’re thrilled that the horse slaughter industry is declining in the US, and that animal advocacy has achieved meaningful changes in the lives of so many horses in the last few years.

The effort to provide you with the accurate, reliable information in this report required many resources and much time, as does our ongoing work to advocate for the thousands of horses still caught up in the slaughter industry every year.

We invite you to join us in our mission and donate today if you can. Together we can make a difference in the lives of the animals who so desperately need our help. 

Animals' Angels

PO BOX 1056

Westminster, MD 21158

443-821-3343

Animals' Angels works to fight cruelty against horses, dogs and farm animals in the US, Canada and Mexico. Every week, our team conducts undercover investigations at auctions, kill pens, feedlots and slaughter plants to document the abuse animals face every day.

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For more information about our work and ongoing campaigns, please visit www.animalsangels.org

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