Wellington, FL – In the state of Florida, where the horse industry generates $7 billion in revenue and employs over 250,000 people, most of us never thought horse slaughter would be an issue we need to worry about.  But unfortunately, we have discovered it is indeed a concern here.  Recently the PBSO has put out a flyer with tips on how to keep your horse and your barn safe, and the ASPCA held a summit during the George Morris clinic regarding horse welfare.

With the recent discovery of horses in a pen on a slaughter farm in Miami, more crimes against horses have been discovered.  As if the cruelty of the slaughtering of horses wasn’t enough, there is a new side to this crime that makes it even more disturbing.  The demand for lean horse meat from some cultural groups has spurned a new technique that is not so new at all:  the horses are being starved before they are slaughtered.

Pure Thoughts Inc. Horse Rescue has taken in 17 of these starved, slaughter-bound horses in the past 12 days.  Jennifer Swanson, co-founder of PTHR, stated, “It has been crazy.  We have had to work diligently to find foster homes and stalls available because we are full, but the work is worth it.  This is what we have been hoping for: the stopping of horses going to slaughter. After years of traveling to kill pens and discovering that many of the horses there were from Florida, in early 2009 we decided that we need to focus on keeping the horses of this state safe.  We are working to stop them from ending up in kill auctions, we’re rescuing horses from abuse and neglect, and taking in abandonment cases. The recent uncovering of the Miami slaughterhouses has added an extreme influx, but we can and will do it.”

The responsibility and mission of Pure Thoughts, Inc. has grown exponentially in recent months, are we’re now at a point of desperate need from the public and the community. We are in need of volunteers, foster homes, adoption and donations.  Our goal this year is to expand the rescue, to show the great people of the horse industry how wonderful these horses are, and to help them make the next horse they put in their barn, a rescue horse.

If you can help please visit www.PTHR.org or email Jennifer@PureThoughtsHorseRescue.com