Incidence of Abandoned Horses on Rise?

There are many factors contributing to the growing numbers of unwanted horses; vastly fewer animals going to slaughter in recent decades may be one of them.

Photo by Alana Harrison

The May 2008 issue of Horse & Rider included a Q&A with the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) discussing various consequences of the slaughter ban. In that article, LMA Vice President Nancy Robinson referred to the increasing numbers of unwanted horses being abandoned or neglected; below are links to stories on this topic.

• TIME.com: An Epidemic of Abadoned Horses
• Reuters: Horses Abandoned In West as Feed Prices Rise
• CBS News Report: Why Are Horses Going Hungry?
• Utah State University: Effect of the Closing of the Horse Harvesting Facilities on the Horse Industry
• National Public Radio: Horses Require Rescue as Georgia Drought Persists
• WKYT: Starving horses found in Kentucky
• USA Today: Homeless on the range
• USA Today: Shelters saddled with unwanted horses
• Tucson Citizen: Abandoned horses on rise in Arizona
• Wall Street Journal: Leaner Pastures: As Horses Multiply, Neglect Cases Rise

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