More than 170,000 horses are considered unwanted in the United States each year, according to a 2009 survey.
“It is difficult to elucidate the cause,” said Rebecca Bott, a professor at South Dakota University. She was an adviser to 11 graduate students who published a 160 page study called Equine Issues and Leadership.
The study linked part of the problem to a ban on horse processing that has cost the U.S. roughly $26 million annually in lost meat exports.
The study reported Belgium is a large consumer of horse meat where it sells for $25 to $40 per pound.
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In many countries, the meat sells for 35 percent less than the equivalent cut of beef and is considered a dietary staple.
The controversy of unwanted horses has two camps, where one side considers them livestock, while the other says horses are companion animals deserving special treatment.
The Unwanted Horse Coalition, a division of the American Horse Council, surveyed more than 20,000 horse owners and stakeholders in the industry.
The horse council represents about 160 organizations in the U.S. The 2009 survey said 87 percent of those polled believe unwanted horses have become “a big problem,” compared with only 22 percent who identified it as an issue three years ago.
Many owners who reported that they could not afford to keep their animals were breeders who said their businesses were in decline because of poor economic conditions.
Respondents report that euthanasia is also on the rise.
While all groups cite the economy as the number one cause of unwanted horses, they agreed that closing slaughter facilities is also a major contributor.
Anti-slaughter plant advocates promote horse shelters but the study found six out of 10 rescue facilities are at near or full capacity and, on average, turn away a third of the horses brought to them.
The study calculated it costs about $2,300 annually for horse care and the industry needs a minimum of $25 million annually to cover shelter expenses. There are no government subsidies so shelters tend to run as non-profit societies that depend on donations and fundraising.
A U.S. department of agriculture study on a national animal identification scheme targeted the costs of abandoned animals. Led by a team of university based researchers, the study found more than half of horse owners have less than $75,000 (US) per year in household income.
The study said some form of universal identification is needed to count the actual horse population as well as track down those who abandoned animals.
