Too Tall for Transport: Ending the Use of Double-Deck Trailers for Horses

Imagine not being able to lift your head for hours on end in a moving vehicle. For horses forced to travel in double-deck trailers, this is the reality. While experts agree that the proper ceiling height for horse trailers is 7–8 feet, double-deck trailers, which are designed to transport shorter livestock such as cattle and hogs, usually have a ceiling height of less than 6 feet—too low for adult horses to extend their necks and stand upright.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the potential for injury to horses while traveling in a double-deck trailer is significantly higher than it is in a single-deck trailer. Horses forced to stoop under the low ceiling may be unable to balance themselves and are more likely to fall or suffer cuts and scrapes to the head. Steep ramps to the second level also increase the risk of injury, as horses may slip or stumble.

In 2011, the US Department of Agriculture banned the use of double-deck trailers for transporting horses to slaughter. The regulations were published at the behest of Congress, which recognized that horses going to slaughter “have unique and special needs” that necessitated further regulation. Horses hauled for other purposes, however, such as for recreation or sale, are not afforded the same protection.

At least seven states—Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont—recognize that transporting horses via double-deck trailers is inhumane and prohibit it altogether. An eighth state, New York, bans the use of double-deck trailers for carrying more than six horses on the highway. Rhode Island’s law not only bans the use of double-decker trailers to transport horses but also prohibits a person from sheltering “any equine animal” in a vehicle with two or more levels.

HR 3623, the Horse Transportation Safety Act (HTSA), would establish a nationwide ban on the interstate transport of horses via double-deck trailer for any reason, not just for the purpose of hauling them to slaughter. With strong support from AWI, the HTSA was first introduced in Congress in 2008 in response to a horrific accident in Illinois in which a double-deck trailer carrying 59 horses overturned, killing or severely injuring a number of the horses. The HTSA was most recently reintroduced in the House of Representatives in May by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Dina Titus (D-NV).

This legislation would be a major step in the right direction for protecting horses in transport. In his introductory remarks, Rep. Cohen highlighted that “accidents involving double-deck trailers are a horrendous reminder that the practice is also dangerous to the driving public.” In recent years, transportation bills that included the HTSA’s provisions have twice passed the House, indicating strong bipartisan support.

Visit AWI’s Action Center to contact your US representative and ask them to cosponsor the Horse Transportation Safety Act to prohibit the use of double-deck trailers and support public safety and the humane transport of horses.

See more AWI Quarterly articles about: Double-deck Trailers, Equines

See more of type: Feature Article, Government/Legal