Help stop cruel transport of horses in double decker trucks

A slaughter bound horse looks out in fear and desperation from a transport truck. Photographer: Unknown.

AWI (Animal Welfare Institute) Sept. 27, 2018 — The bipartisan Horse Transportation Safety Act (H.R. 4040)—led by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Walter Jones (R-NC)—would prohibit the interstate transportation of horses in a motor vehicle containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another.

This measure would ensure that horses are not crammed in double-deck trailers—an inhumane practice that poses a safety risk not only to the horses inside, but also to others on the road.

Hauling horses in double-deck trailers is cruel to the horse because such vehicles fail to provide enough space for horses to stand in a natural position with head raised.

No horse should have to endure a long journey unable to stand upright and in a cramped position that can cause permanent injury. These trailers are also unsafe on the road—they have been involved in several horrific traffic accidents, resulting in severe injuries and the brutal deaths of many horses.

Illustration of a double decker truck used to transport cattle. You can see that they are not intended for horses. Source: AWI (Animal Welfare Institute).

The US Department of Agriculture itself recognizes the inhumane nature of transporting horses using double-deck trailers, noting that these vehicles “do not provide adequate headroom for equines” and that trailers with “two or more permanent levels” simply cannot “accommodate adult equines, especially tall equines.”

Take Action

• Contact your U.S. Representative and ask him or her to co-sponsor Horse Transportation Safety Act (H.R. 4040). • Take  action at AWI online »  • Follow the progress of this bill at Congress.org »

Related Reading

• 30 horses die in tractor-trailer fire on Interstate 81, Tuesday’s Horse, May 8, 2013 »

Horses from Three Angels Farms are transferred from collapsed trailer on I-440 south of Nashville. The trailer was on the way to slaughter house in Mexico, police say. The driver received multiple citations. This is the second accident involving horses being trucked to slaughter by Dorian Ayache’s Three Angels Farm in Lebanon. Source image.

• Driver of slaughter bound horse trailer crash in Tennessee issued multiple citations, Tuesday’s Horse, Jun. 14, 2012 »

• At least one slaughter bound horse killed in Tennessee trailer crash, Tuesday’s Horse, Jun. 12, 2012 »

• Horses injured in Tennessee trailer crash rejected at Mexican slaughterhouse, Tuesday’s Horse, Feb. 17, 2012 »

• Trucker exposes Three Angels slaughter monger Dorian Ayache for horse cruelty, Tuesday’s Horse, Jan. 21, 2012 »

• Driver cited in Tenn horse trailer crash that killed three, Tuesday’s Horse, Jan. 19, 2012 »

Rodeo Horses

Slaughter horses aren’t the only horses travelled in double deckers. Rodeo horses are travelled in them too. Rodeo people however claim that they modify the trailers to give the horses adequate headroom. Perhaps some of them do.