Since all three U.S. horse slaughter operations were ordered closed last year, the number of 말 exported to Mexico for slaughter has exploded. As of Dec. 20, 2007, 44,475 말 had been shipped to Mexico for processing for human consumption compared with 10,783 shipped at the same time in 2006—a 312 percent increase.

Especially troubling is the treatment of the 말 once they 십자가, 크로스 the border into Mexico. In October, the Humane Society of the United States released a video showing the brutal stabbing death of a fully conscious horse at a Mexican slaughter facility. "It is time for this...