Horse Slaughter Continues, Just Not In U.S.

NYT, via Yglesias:

The closing of the country’s last meat processing plant that slaughtered horses for human consumption was hailed as a victory for equine welfare. But five years later just as many American horses are destined for dinner plates to satisfy the still robust appetites for their meat in Europe and Asia. Now they are carved into tartare de cheval or basashi sashimi in Mexico and Canada.
That shift is one of the many unintended consequences of a de facto federal ban on horse slaughter, according to a recent federal government study. As the domestic market for unwanted horses shrinks, more are being neglected and abandoned, and roughly the same number — nearly 140,000 a year — are being killed after a sometimes grueling journey across the border.

Well, no kidding.  I never understood the concept of banning the slaughter of horses for meat.  Just because it doesn't sound appetizing to us, I don't understand why it can't be done in the U.S.  We are talking about 1,000 pound animals who consume an extraordinary amount of feed.  If some individual or group wants to prevent horses from going to slaughter, they can purchase them and continue feeding them.  Why should large amounts of meat go to waste, when people are willing to purchase it?