Investigations by animal welfare groups and media reports describe horse slaughter operations in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, as harsh, unsanitary, and lacking standard humane regulations.
Key Conditions and Practices
• Location and Environment: Facilities have historically been located in industrial or rugged, semi-isolated areas outside Juárez, operating with limited federal oversight or regulatory enforcement.
• Condition of the Animals: Many of the horses arriving at the facilities—often sourced via kill-buyers and transported across the border from Texas—are exhausted, malnourished, or injured after long-distance transport in open-sided trailers.
• Slaughter Methods: Undercover footage and investigative reports from organizations like the Animal Recovery Mission and Animal Equality have documented crude and painful methods. These include the use of primitive stunning or puncture techniques (such as the puntilla method or repeated knife stabs), electric shocks to force movement, and hoisting conscious or semi-conscious animals by their legs before bleeding out.
