Sick horses are being abandoned due to the increasing cost of carcass disposal. This is one of the major concerns raised at the International League for the Protection of Horses annual seminar, jointly sponsored by Kbis Insurance.

David Mountford, head of equine operations at the ILPH gave a comprehensive overview of how the disposal of horse carcasses has changed over the last 20 years and the impact that this is having on knackermen, hunts, abattoirs and horse owners.

Until recently, when a much loved horse or pony had reached the end of its days, the basis of your decision to have them put down was ultimately their “quality of life.” You will not have based your decision on cost,” says David.

During the 1980s cost was not an issue. Hunt kennels would offer free euthanasia and removal; knackermen were given a token payment and abattoirs would pay significant sums for large horses. Alongside that, even native ponies had a significant value dead or alive, so it made economic sense for even the poorest owner to make decisions that did not prolong suffering.

“However, the situation is very different in the new millennium,” says David. “Both hunts and knackers now charge and the few remaining abattoirs are selective. Add to this the rock bottom prices for semi-feral stock and one can see that decisions for the less well off owners are not as clear cut as they were back in the eighties.”

The ILPH is voicing concern over these issues and it estimates, based on experience, that the owners of at least 25,000 horses and ponies in the UK would be unwilling or unable to pay over £100 for carcass removal. This is being borne out by the increased incidence of “dumped” carcasses and abandoned old and sick horses.

Of the 35,000 horses and pony carcasses dealt with in the UK in 1999, 39% passed through knackers yards, 36% through abattoirs, 22% through hunt kennels and the remaining 3% were buried or cremated.

Previously knackermen, kennels and abattoirs would have taken their slice of the carcass and sold on the by products. Some of these would have been immediately incinerated but the remainder  would have passed through the rendering process. This produced meat and bone meal for fertiliser, animal feeds and tallow; tallow being used to make candles, soaps and cosmetics.

However in the late eighties there was a collapse in the market for meat and bone meal and tallow. The BSE crisis resulted in strict limitations on the use of meat and bone meal and also products of vegetable origin began to be used in manufacturing. The result was the renderers lost their market for the waste products which means they now have to charge kennels and knackers to take the waste away. Add this to the plummeting price of hides and all profit has gone out of their business. Hence, a charge is now levied to the horse owner to remove a carcass.

There were 135 knackers in England, Scotland and Wales in the late eighties, this has dropped to 82 with an expected reduction to 60 in the foreseeable future. With the loss of trade in hides and waste products and the new Animals By Product Order 1999, which will result in a cost of £25,000 per business to comply with all the regulations, the future for knackers is not bright.

The 179 hunt kennels in the UK are in a similar predicament. The biggest threat to them is political. A ban on foxhunting would close them all.

The position in Europe is not much better. Cheap horsemeat from Eastern Europe is swamping the European market and the overall demand for horsemeat is decreasing. Plus the waste disposal problems mean the abattoirs are facing similar problems. There are only two abattoirs of the 350 in the UK that regularly take horses. It is estimated these will fall to 75 with the requirement to double the veterinary cover. The provision to take horses long term is therefore doubtful.

A fourth option to dispose of carcasses is burial. But with the talk of EC legislation banning on-farm burial and the necessity to ask permission from your local authority and consult the Environment Agency, this is an expensive and awkward alternative.

Cremation may be the main way to dispose of carcasses but it is very expensive  and there are few whole carcass incinerators in the UK.

The ILPH is becoming increasingly concerned about equine carcass disposal. “The ILPH is addressing the issue in a number of ways,” says David Mountford. “We sit on the British Equine Veterinary Association working group on carcass disposal and are trying to inform the public by raising the issue at seminars. We have also developed, with the equine insurance specialists Kbis, an insurance policy, which will, amongst other things cover the cost of euthanasia and carcass disposal. We are working with the New Forest and Dartmoor breed societies to encourage them to remove the poor quality stock and only breed ponies for which there is a sustainable market.”

“Most horse and pony owners are in a position to pay for disposal of a carcass but there are those that are not willing or able to meet the costs. As a result their animals suffer. If the cost of carcass disposal increases there will be an increase of owners that cannot afford to make the right decision.”