American horses are revered as companions, cultural icons and partners in recreation and sport (“Horse processing resumes in the United States,” Wednesday). Nowhere in our country’s narrative are horses considered dinner. Our pervasive love of horses is the primary reason why the idea of slaughtering horses for human consumption is so abhorrent to the vast majority of Americans, and it will never gain acceptance.

When the last three horse slaughter plants operated in the U.S., they employed fewer people than a strip mall in low-paying, dangerous, high-stress jobs. The companies that owned them were all foreign-owned, so their profits went overseas. Neighboring communities were beset by pollution and the unending stench of rotten blood and offal. In their quest for higher profits, the companies did their best to avoid paying property taxes and the fines levied against them for environmental violations. That’s no record to try to revive.

Irresponsible breeding practices are at the root of the horse slaughter issue. By treating our equine companions as a throwaway commodity, some breeders and breed groups — including some of the loudest voices calling for the killing and butchering of American horses — have come to rely on cruel and predatory killer buyers to snatch up their castoffs, instead of using taxpayer dollars to pay for inspections to subsidize foreign-owned businesses that prey on our nation’s horses. It’s high time the horse industry took realistic and sustainable steps to prevent overbreeding.

Horse slaughter is bad for horses and runs counter to American values. To protect our horses, Congress should take swift action to finally ban the slaughter of American horses by passing S.B. 1176/H.R. 2966, the American Horse Slaughter Prevent Act of 2011.