Regulatory Impact Analysis and 

Analysis in Support of Certification that the Rule will not 

have a Significant Economic Impact on a Substantial 

Number of Small Entities 

Final Rule 

Commercial Transportation of Equines 

to Slaughter 

APHIS–2006–0168 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

April 2011 
i 

Summary 

This final rule amends the regulations regarding the commercial transportation of equines 

to slaughter by making equines delivered to intermediate points en route to slaughter subject to 

the same regulations as those moved directly to slaughtering establishments. The purpose of the 

rule is to ensure the humane treatment of equines bound for slaughter that are moved first to an 

assembly point, feedlot, or stockyard. 

The regulations require that the equines have access to food, water and the opportunity to 

rest for at least 6 hours prior to transit and following 28 consecutive hours or more of transit; 

adequate space during transit to prevent injury or discomfort; segregation of stallions or other 

aggressive equines; use of electric prods only in life-threatening situations; and certification of 

each equine’s fitness to travel, including notation of any special handling needs. 

Since 2007, no commercial equine slaughter facilities have operated in the United States. 

However, the amended regulations will apply to entities that transport equines within the United 

States for slaughter in Canada or Mexico. Shippers who transport equines from farms or feedlots 

to intermediate points en route to slaughter are likely to be largely in regulatory compliance 

voluntarily. They have an incentive to provide the animals with food, water, and care as required 

by the regulations because healthy equines have increased slaughter value. 

The rule will ban the use of double-deck trailers, as is currently the case when equines are 

transported directly to slaughter. Double-deck trailers have a greater carrying capacity (45 

equines) than single-deck trailers (38 equines). Fewer equines per conveyance will mean 

increased transportation costs on a per animal basis. Commercial transporters typically charge a 

flat rate per shipment, and should be little affected by the ban on double-deck trailers. However, 
ii 

businesses that rely on their own or hired double-deck trailers to transport equines will be 

negatively affected by the reduced number of animals that can be transported per trip. 

Notwithstanding the prevalence of small entities among businesses that may be affected, 

the effects of the rule are expected to be relatively minor. The rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
iii 

Table of Contents

Summary .............................................................................................................................. i

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

Costs of the Rule ................................................................................................................. 3

Benefits of the Rule ............................................................................................................ 5

Alternative to the Rule ........................................................................................................ 6

Affects for Small Entities.................................................................................................... 6
iv 

Introduction 

APHIS regulations in 9 CFR part 88 are designed to help ensure the humane commercial 

transport of equines to slaughter. Specifically, the regulations require that: 

(1) For a period of not less than 6 consecutive hours immediately prior to the equines 

being loaded on the conveyance for transport, each equine be provided access to food 

and water and the opportunity to rest; 

(2) Any equine that has been on the conveyance for 28 consecutive hours or more 

without food, water, and the opportunity to rest be offloaded and, for at least 6 

consecutive hours, provided with food, water, and the opportunity to rest; 

(3) Each equine be provided with enough space on the conveyance to ensure that no 

animal is crowded in a way likely to cause injury or discomfort; 

(4) Stallions and other aggressive equines be segregated from each other and all other 

equines on the conveyance; 

(5) Electric prods be used only in life-threatening situations; and 

(6) An owner-shipper certificate be completed for each equine prior to departing for the 

slaughtering facility. Among other things, the certificate must certify the equine's 

fitness to travel and note any special care and handling needs during transit.1

Currently, the regulations apply only to equines moved directly to slaughtering 

establishments, and not to equines bound for slaughter but moved first to an assembly point, 

feedlot, or stockyard. This rule amends the regulations to make equines delivered to 

intermediate points en route to slaughter subject to the same regulations as those moved directly 

to slaughtering establishments. 

 From 2003 through 2008, the number of equines slaughtered at federally inspected 

facilities grew rapidly and then fell to zero in the latter months of 2007, when a Federal district 

court ordered USDA to stop inspecting horse slaughter facilities (table 1). 

 

1

An equine is considered fit to travel if it: (1) can bear weight on all four limbs; (2) can walk unassisted; (3) is not 

blind in both eyes; (4) is older than 6 months of age; and (5) is not likely to give birth in transit. Affected owners or 

commercial shippers must sign the certificate, and it must accompany the equine to the slaughtering facility. 
2 

Table 1. Equine slaughter at federally inspected facilities, 2003-2008 

___________________________________________________________ 

Year Number

2003 50,062 

2004 66,183 

2005 94,037 

2006 104,899 

2007 29,767 

2008 None 

___________________________________________________________ 

Source: USDA NASS Livestock Slaughter Summaries. 

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do;jsessionid=611C2AA64B513A419C890

89657E4766B?documentID=1097

USDA statistics report that from 2001 through 2009, the average number of horses 

slaughtered in North America each year was 97,954.2

 Slaughter in Canada and, especially, 

Mexico has increased substantially following the discontinuation of slaughter in the United 

States. USDA estimates that U.S. export of equines for slaughter in Canada rose from 24,866 

head in 2006, to 49,895 head in 2008. U.S. export of equines for slaughter in Mexico has 

increased at an even greater rate. As of December 20, 2007, there were 44,475 horses 

transported to slaughter in Mexico that year, compared to 10,783 horses transported during the 

same time period in 2006.3

This rule will help to ensure the humane treatment of equines delivered to intermediate 

points en route to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Benefits and costs of the rule are examined 

in accordance with Executive Order 12866, and the benefits are expected to justify the costs 

overall. This analysis also provides the basis, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, for 

certification by the APHIS Administrator that the rule will not have a significant economic 

 

2 http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/may10/100515o.asp

3 http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan08/080115a.asp
3 

impact on a substantial number of small entities. No significant issues were raised during the 

public comment period concerning the economic analysis for the proposed rule. 

Costs of the Rule 

A typical path for equines to move to slaughter is for source suppliers (farms, ranches, 

boarding facilities, etc.) to transport their equines from the point of origin to local auction 

markets. At the auction markets, the equines are sold to persons, referred to here as traders, who 

purchase the equines for the specific purpose of selling them to a slaughter facility. Because the 

traders usually cannot purchase enough slaughter-quality equines at any one auction to make it 

economically feasible to ship the equines directly from the auction site to the slaughter facility, 

they transport the equines to an assembly point (feedlot or holding pen) where the animals are 

kept until more equines are purchased from other auctions. The assembly point may be a 

trader’s own farm. 

When enough equines have been purchased to comprise a shipment, the traders arrange 

for the transport of the equines to Canada or Mexico. In an estimated 75 percent of the cases, 

traders hire commercial shippers; in the remaining estimated 25 percent of the cases, traders 

transport the equines to slaughter in their own conveyances. We expect the rule to have little 

impact on traders who purchase equines at auction markets and transport them to intermediate 

points en route to a slaughter facility. 

The requirement that equines have access to food, water, and rest for at least 6 

consecutive hours immediately prior to the animals being loaded on the conveyance should not 

be a problem for traders who transport equines from auction sites. Sellers at auction markets 

have an incentive to provide equines with food and water because malnourished equines have a 

reduced slaughter value. Furthermore, most slaughter equines tend to be in their pens at auction 
4 

markets for at least 6 hours, since it usually takes at least that long for them to be sold. Indeed, it 

is not uncommon for slaughter equines to be sold at the end of an auction session, after the 

saddle horses are sold. 

Traders typically purchase equines at auction markets that are in relatively close 

proximity to their farms or other assembly points. It is unlikely that equines acquired at auctions 

will have to be offloaded for feeding, rest, etc., while en route to a trader’s farm or other 

assembly points, since it is unlikely that the trip will take longer than 28 hours. 

The rule will require that, during transport to intermediate points, the equines are 

provided enough space to ensure that they are not crowded in a way that is likely to cause injury 

or discomfort. The rule specifically bans the use of double-deck trailers for such transport. 

Double-deck trailers have a greater carrying capacity (45 equines) than single-deck trailers (38 

equines). Fewer equines per conveyance means increased transportation costs on a per animal 

basis. Commercial transporters typically charge a flat rate per shipment, and should be little 

affected by the ban on double-deck trailers. However, traders who rely on their own or hired 

double-deck trailers to transport equines will be negatively affected by the reduced number of 

animals that can be transported per trip. 

This negative effect may be mitigated somewhat by certain factors. Double-deck trailers 

can be used to transport other livestock and produce. Trailers with adjustable deck flooring (or 

floating decks) can be converted for other purposes. The average cost of a double-deck livestock 

trailer ranges between $42,000 and $48,000, compared to $38,000 to $42,000 for a single-deck 

trailer, depending on the model, construction type, and optional features. The useful life of the 

trailers also varies, but it is not uncommon for both types of trailers to have 10 to 12 years of 

useful life. 
5 

Although separating stallions and other aggressive equines is already a common transport 

practice, it requires transporters to spend more time and effort loading and unloading animals. 

Most trailers are equipped with devices, such as swing gates, that facilitate separating animals. 

Traders have an incentive to ensure that aggressive equines are segregated since equines that 

arrive at the slaughter facilities that are injured as the result of biting and kicking en route receive 

lower prices. However, relatively few stallions are transported for slaughter. When federally 

inspected facilities were operating in the United States, USDA personnel estimated that no more 

than about 5 percent of the equines arriving for slaughter were stallions. Accordingly, the 

requirement that stallions and other aggressive equines be segregated during transport is not 

likely to have a significant impact on traders who purchase equines at auction markets. 

The restriction on the use of electric prods should not pose a burden either because 

effective, low-cost substitutes are available for use in non-life-threatening situations. For 

example, fiberglass poles with flags attached, which cost no more than about $10 each, are 

considered to be an effective alternative to electric prods. (Any current use of electric prods by 

transporters of slaughter equines probably derives from the traditional use of these devices to 

assist in moving other livestock, such as cattle and swine.) 

Benefits of the Rule 

The principal benefit of the rule will be the greater assurance that equines transported to 

intermediate points en route to slaughter are humanely treated. Equines being transported may 

endure stress, weight loss, and dehydration, especially when transported over long distances. 

Horses transported for extended periods of time may suffer weight loss of as much as 8 to 10 
6 

percent.4

 The provisions of the rule will help to minimize if not eliminate these and other illeffects of transport. 

Traders may also benefit from the rule in terms of higher prices paid by the slaughter 

plant for higher weights and better quality meat because of healthier equines. Prices received for 

the equines at slaughter facilities (the price varies in relation to the weight of the equine and the 

quality of the meat), together with transportation and other operational costs, determine the range 

in prices that traders pay for equines at local auctions. 

Alternative to the Rule 

An alternative to the rule would be to leave the regulations for equines to slaughter 

unchanged. In doing so, traders who transport equines to intermediate points en route to 

slaughter would be able to continue to circumvent regulations designed to ensure the humane 

commercial transport of these animals. Double-deck trailers could continue to be used, and there 

would be no regulatory restraint on potential abuse in terms of insufficient resting periods, 

feeding periods, and space during transport. The status quo alternative is rejected in favor of 

providing equines transported to intermediate points the same welfare safeguards that currently 

ensure the humane treatment of equines transported directly to slaughter.

Affects for Small Entities 

APHIS estimates that there were no more than 100 entities in the United States involved 

in the commercial transportation of equines to slaughter prior to the closure of U.S. facilities in 

 

4

 T. H. Friend. A review of recent research on the transportation of horses, Journal of Animal Science, 2001. 

79:E32-E40. http://jas.fass.org/cgi/reprint/79/E-Suppl/E32.pdf
7 

2007.5

 Based on the average annual number of equines slaughtered in the United States between 

2003 and 2006 (approximately 79,000) and the estimated number of shippers at that time, the 

average number of equines transported annually per shipper was probably about 800 head.6 

APHIS does not have information on the current number of traders who ship horses to 

intermediate points en route to slaughter. 

Although the number and size of these entities are unknown, it is reasonable to assume 

that most are small by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) standards. This assumption is 

based on composite data for establishments that provide the same or similar services, as 

categorized in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). In 2007, the most 

recent year for which data are available, there were 33,865 specialized freight local trucking 

establishments (NAICS 484220) and 11,391 specialized freight long-distance trucking 

establishments (NAICS 484230).7

 Average gross receipts of establishments in these industry 

classifications, including businesses engaged in the transportation of livestock, were $930,000 

and $2.6 million, respectively. These average receipts are well below SBA's small-entity 

threshold of $25.5 million. Similarly in 2007, there were 765 establishments categorized as 

other farm product raw material merchant wholesalers (NAICS 424590), a category that includes 

horse dealers. For establishments included in this industry classification, the average number of 

employees was fewer than 9, well below the SBA's small-entity threshold of 100 employees.8

 

Clearly, most if not all of the businesses that may be affected by this rule are small entities. 

Notwithstanding the prevalence of small entities among businesses that may be affected, 

negative effects of the rule are expected to be relatively minor. Costs of the ban on the use of 

 

5

 Based on the APHIS VS-1013 database. 

6

 Based on data reported annually by USDA NASS. 

7

 U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census. 

8

 Ibid. 
8 

double-deck trailers, perhaps the most burdensome regulatory change, will be mitigated by a 

five-year phase-in period following promulgation of the final rule. Based on this information, 

the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this 

action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.