Horse meat: a scandal for horses, not just consumers

The ongoing horse meat scandal has put the role of the horse as a food-producing animal centre stage.

But behind the headlines is the stark truth that the animal we all love is being slaughtered in great numbers.

And many do not have the humane end we would wish for.

Deputy news editor Charlotte White looks at why the scandal behind the headlines — the way slaughter horses are treated — has been largely ignored.

She investigates why horses destined for the table are not killed locally and whether horses are being raised in the UK for meat.

News editor Flora Watkins tackles the consumer side of the scandal and considers how consumers came to be duped in what one contributor describes as a “dirty trade”.

We find out the historical reasons behind this nation’s distaste of horse meat — and speak to the Edinburgh restauranter for whom horse meat is a bestseller.

All this and more — only in this week’s issue of H&H magazine, out 21 February.

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