# 'It is so brutal': New bill targets thriving illegal horse meat market

New legislation could be one step closer to putting an end to the horse meat industry.

## Background
The Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act was introduced by Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan and Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. The legislation aims to permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption. The bill would also prohibit the export of live horses to Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses to be sold overseas.

## Legislation Impact
The SAFE Act would protect Florida horses from crossing borders into other countries. This would have a double effect of protection for our equines in the state of Florida if the bans are utilized.

ARM Richard Couto, the founder of Animal Recovery Mission, said despite strict state laws, the horse meat industry continues to thrive in South Florida. Palm Beach, Miami, and Broward County are high markets for horse meat, offering a high demand for horse meat.

Couto has uncovered more than 200 illegal slaughterhouses in Florida alone. "We're guesstimating 30,000 horses in our state boundaries are being killed for the illegal meat trade per year," he said.

Florida law states, "Any person who willfully and unlawfully, by any means whatsoever, kills, maims, mutilates, or causes great bodily harm or permanent breeding disability to any animal of the genus Equus (horse) or any animal of any registered breed or recognized registered hybrid of the genus Bos (cattle) commits a felony of the second degree."

The penalties for violating this law include a $3,500 fine and a minimum of one year behind bars.

However, the law does not cover the transport of horses overseas. "This new SAFE Act would protect Florida horses from crossing borders into other countries," Couto said. He said tens of thousands of horses are being taken from the United States to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada each year. "It's not the slaughter part that is where the true brutality is seen on these horses, it's the transports. It's these horses sitting on transports with no food, no water, crammed; many of them are sick for days and days, and they're dying on these transports before they even get to the slaughterhouse. That's where the brutality hits the animals and that's why the SAFE Act is so important," he told WPBF 25 News.

ARM has gone undercover in several states and overseas to expose the illegal horsemeat market and how the industry operates. The way these horses are being killed is the real problem. They are being butchered alive. They are being sectioned and skinned alive. It is so brutal how these horses are being killed, he said.

As for why the market exists, Couto said it's largely due to the profit that can be made and how some cultures, like the Cuban culture, view the meat. "They're consuming it for medical purposes, thinking it cures side effects and chemotherapy, that it cures AIDS and blood disorders. Males are eating it thinking that it helps the libido, like it's stronger than Viagra. None of the above is true," Couto said.

With it being so sought after, he said people selling it can make anywhere between $7 to $40 a pound on roughly 600 pounds of meat from a single horse. "The profit margins, the return on investments are huge for these people, and that's why they'll go to the lengths of breaking into someone's barn in the middle of the night and harvesting the meat from someone's pet horse because of the value of the meat," Couto said.

With so many horses being killed for their meat, Perry asked Couto where the slaughterhouses are hiding or if they exist in plain sight. "Many of them are in plain sight, and many of them are actually posting ads in Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for their meat," he said.

However, he explained that others are deep underground and extremely hard to detect. Couto said while ARM has been successful in shutting down several of those illegal slaughterhouses, they need the help of all local and state agencies to continue their work. "It's still a 50-50 shot when the animal recovery mission brings a case to a sheriff's office if it's going to be taken or not," he said. They need to start treating this much more seriously right here in the state of Florida. "30,000 is a huge, huge number," he said.

When it comes to the SAFE Act and the impact it could have on South Florida, Couto said he's hopeful the regulations on transporting horses across U.S. borders will make a large difference. "This is going to be more of a regulatory issue looked at through the animal transport companies, the auction houses, and our border patrol, ensuring that tractor trailers now are not crossing into Canada and Mexico," he said.

Saying that alone could curb the majority of the issue. "Because right now you have double-deckers that are crossing into Canada and Mexico from the U.S. on a daily basis and being documented by border patrol. Once those borders close for U.S. horses, it'll solve the problem," he said.

## Resources
A list of resources and examples of the work ARM is doing can be found on the Animal Recovery Mission website. .

Lawmakers hope to include the SAFE Act as part of the 2025 Farm Bill when it is considered by Congress later this year.

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