The closure of the last U.S. horse slaughter plants in the fall of 2007 has failed to reduce the number of horses shipped to slaughter. Instead, the federal funding ban had the unintended consequence of forcing horses to be shipped great distances to be slaughtered in Canada or Mexico where they are killed and not necessarily humanely. That’s one key conclusion from a 62-page report released Wednesday from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The report confirms what many horse owners have been saying for years: Because of a glut in the horse market, prices for all but the most expensive horses are seriously depressed/Jan Falstad, Billings Gazette. More here. (AP file photo of wild horses, for illustrative purposes)

Question: Should the U.S. allow a few well-regulated slaughter houses for horses to reopen?