How many horses are slaughtered each year?

During World War II, due to the low supply and high price of beef, the state of New Jersey legalised the sale of horse meat. At war's end, the state again prohibited such sale, possibly in response to pressure from the beef lobby. Although people in the United States rarely eat horse meat, around 50,000 horses are slaughtered each year in two abattoirs in Texas for export to Europe, Mexico, or Japan. Horse meat produced in the U.S. is also sold to zoos for carnivore feeding, due to its high protein content. The 1986 Kentucky Derby winner and 1987 U.S. Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year winner, Ferdinand, is believed to have been slaughtered in Japan, likely for pet food.