• Horses may end their days at a UK abattoir for a number of reasons - sickness, old age, they prove too costly, or (for race horses) they are deemed inadequate to enter or to carry on racing.

• Horses may change hands many times at markets as people outgrow them, get bored with them, or (as in the case of race horses) they are not performing satisfactorily on the racecourse. Many horses will be subject to a downward spiral of neglect, before arriving at the slaughterhouse.

• Dealers may visit markets on the lookout for cheap horses - there being a good financial return for the meat of slaughtered horses.

• Private owners may choose to sell their horse to the slaughterman for around £300 rather than paying a vet £200 to euthanize their animal.

• Horse meat is sold abroad for human consumption. It is reportedly not used in pet food in the UK.

• Based on the best available evidence, Animal Aid conservatively estimates that around 2,000 race horses, which have not made the grade as racers, are killed in slaughterhouses every year.

• Each year, around 100,000 horses are exported from Central and Eastern Europe for slaughter in Italy, France and Belgium in what can fairly be described as one of the cruelest and least regulated aspects of Europe's live animal trade.

Poland is the biggest exporter of live horses for slaughter in Europe. Ten years ago there were one million horses in Poland but that number has now been reduced to 500,000. Nevertheless, each year, 87,000 leave Poland to be slaughtered for meat. 90 per cent go to Italy and 10 per cent to France and Belgium. Horses endure horrendously long journeys. One of the furthest destinations is Sardinia, a journey of 2500km (1500 miles) which may take as long as 95 hours. Roads are often extremely pot-holed and drivers usually travel too fast.

• When each horse's time comes they are lowered by their hind legs down a chute which is referred to as the "kill box." First, a spike is swiftly driven through the top of the skull and into the brain. very seldom does this kill the horse, it just paralyzes them. Then, the throat is slit and they are hung to bleed. The horse usually does not die for an agonizing ten minutes. After what they have been through to get there, at this point it's a blessing. The horses are then dropped onto a conveyor belt and cut into pieces.

• Each year, around 100,000 horses are exported from Central and Eastern Europe for slaughter in Italy, France and Belgium in what can fairly be described as one of the cruelest and least regulated aspects of Europe's live animal trade.

Poland is the biggest exporter of live horses for slaughter in Europe. Ten years ago there were one million horses in Poland but that number has now been reduced to 500,000. Nevertheless, each year, 87,000 leave Poland to be slaughtered for meat. 90 per cent go to Italy and 10 per cent to France and Belgium. Horses endure horrendously long journeys. One of the furthest destinations is Sardinia, a journey of 2500km (1500 miles) which may take as long as 95 hours. Roads are often extremely pot-holed and drivers usually travel too fast.

• Another common reason for horses ending up here are auctions. Sometimes horse owners figure they can make a quick few bucks by auctioning off their horses, but this is a huge gamble. More often then not horses end up with the wrong buyers.

• If an owner really cares enough for their horse they will take the time to ensure that they find a buyer with good intentions. Even if there is nothing else which can be done, horses should be euthanized rather than die a slow and painful death. We owe them this. Thank you for taking your time to read this.