His name is Royale with Speed. He is the grandson of Secretariat. In January 2012, PETA undercover
investigators rescued him just hours before he was due to be trucked to a slaughterhouse.
At this livestock auction in Kalona, Iowa, having a famous pedigree doesn’t matter.
Horses here are valued only for their bodyweight. They will be transported to foreign slaughterhouses
to be killed and cut up into meat, primarily for human consumption in France, Russia, Canada
and Japan. At the Kalona auction, frightened horses of all breeds, from thorough breeds
to Belgian draft horses are packed into waiting pans. The terrified horses are prodded through
a hydraulic gate that often slams shut on their heads and necks as they enter the auction
ring. Royale with Speed, who earned his owners $127,000 on the racetrack, was bought by a
kill-buyer for just $350. PETA investigators were able to rescue him just hours before
he was schedule to be hauled to Canada for slaughter. They later identified him by researching
the number tattooed on his lip. He is not only the grandson of Secretariat on his maternal
side, but also the son of Breeder’s Cup Classic Champion, Skip Away. Like many horses
at these actions, Royale with Speed had contracted some of the illness that runs rampant in the
crowded and filthy conditions. He was diagnosed with Strangles, a highly infectious disease
of the lymph nodes. After weeks of care and rest, he is now recovered and lives in a safe,
permit new home. Most of the other horses at the auction were not as fortunate. The
33 horses aboard this truck, mostly standard breeds, were made to endure an 1100 mile ride
to the slaughterhouse. A PETA investigator rode on the truck and others followed the
truck from Iowa to the slaughterhouse in Quebec, Canada. The horses suffered through sub-freezing
temperatures and were never unloaded or given food or water throughout the entire 36 hour
ordeal. Because the trucks are sealed shut at customs by Canadian officials, the drivers
aren’t permitted to help the horses for any reason, even if they are seriously ill
or injured, or they have fallen for the remaining 500 miles to the slaughterhouse.
America’s dirty little secret is that since horse slaughter houses were closed in the
U.S. several years ago, more than 130,000 horses are still being killed each year, the
same number as before the U.S. closures. But now, the horses are also subjected to these
additional, grueling cross-border trips to Canada and Mexico. Instead of exporting horse
meat, America now exports live horses, exacerbating their suffering. At this slaughterhouse in
Quebec, the horses faced a terrifying and excruciating death. Undercover footage taken
at the same facility in 2011 showed cruel treatment and ineffective methods. This slaughterhouse
worker needlessly slammed the captive bolt pistol into the horses head, then sarcastically
waved goodbye to the dying horse. This incompetent worker, who is required to administer instant
death, inflicted 11 captive bolt shots to this horse’s head, before the horse finally
collapsed. And this slaughterer mockingly tells a horse, “I love you too” when the
horse whinnies after being shot. Please go to Peta.org to register your support for the
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act to ban the re-opening of horse slaughter houses
in the U.S. and stop the export of American horses for slaughter. Thank you.
