Wayne Covil CBS 6 Senior Reporter

6:12 p.m. EDT, August 8, 2011
RICHMOND¿, VA (WTVR) - Most people see it as they’re speeding by on Interstate 95, but there is little doubt a billboard in Richmond is getting people’s attention.

The billboard shows two horses and reads, stop slaughtering us.

It sits off Bells Road, facing north bound traffic on the Interstate heading towards Richmond.

Some who work nearby say they’re confused about the exact message the billboard is trying to send, and that it can be interpreted in several ways.

Another believes the billboard simply sends the wrong message.

But horse advocates say, the general public seeing the billboard probably doesn’t know horses are still being slaughtered.

According to Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue, about 100-thousand horses here in the U-S, are sent to Canada and Mexico where they are slaughtered, some of the meat being shipped overseas for food.

Cindy Smith, with Central Virginia Horse Rescue says the public needs to understand, the slaughtering of horses stopped here in the US about 5 years ago, but not in other countries.

The problem advocates say, is not just that they are being killed for food, but the manner in which they are shipped to the slaughter houses, and how they are ultimately killed.

Both Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue and Central Virginia Horse Rescue say horses should not be given away or sold cheaply because that could lead to them being shipped out for slaughter.

The billboards were purchased through donations to Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue and the I-95 billboard is the only one in Virginia.

Identical billboards are now in 15 other states.