browser icon
You are using an insecure version of your web browser. Please update your browser!
Using an outdated browser makes your computer unsafe. For a safer, faster, more enjoyable user experience, please update your browser today or try a newer browser.

Horse Slaughter Controversy Won’t Quit

Posted by on March 28, 2013

Horse Slaughter Controversy Won’t Quit

Source: A Humane Nation ~ Wayne Pacelle

“The notion that the U.S. would resume horse slaughtering at a time when the global horse meat market is in turmoil raises all sorts of curious questions.”

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The issue of horse slaughter is playing out at the highest levels of government – both as a matter of policy and the actual mechanics of overseeing the industry and its effects. Presented with a half dozen applications for horse slaughter plants his agency will be called on to inspect, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this week that there should be a “third way” to manage America’s horse population, and that we can develop a system to deal with homeless horses without sending them to slaughter. European authorities are still trying to figure out how some parties in the supply chain swapped out beef for horse, and duped consumers. They’re also trying to determine how to maintain food safety standards by allowing trade in a class of animals not originally raised for food, and in terms of the industries from which they originate, are routinely fed and injected with drugs not fit for human consumption.

In Congress, several veteran lawmakers introduced legislation two weeks ago to ban the live export of horses for slaughter for human consumption. Meanwhile, under pressure from agriculture interests, Oklahoma is poised to repeal its longstanding horse slaughter ban. That would clear the state path for a horse slaughter plant to open, but doesn’t guarantee any final approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on any particular plant.

The notion that the U.S. would resume horse slaughtering at a time when the global horse meat market is in turmoil raises all sorts of curious questions. Where does the financing come from? Why would anyone invest in a shadowy business enterprise like horse slaughter, with no domestic market, with congressional legislation looming to ban exports, and with the primary global market of Europe in a tail-spin over the recent horse meat scandal? It’s like investing in beach-front property right after a hurricane has slammed into the area.

The HSUS and the ASPCA have just released a poll that reveals that 66 percent of Oklahoma voters won’t support horse slaughter legislation. Yet the state legislature, goaded by the phony arguments of horse slaughter proponents that killing horses is good for the animals, seems hell-bent on the idea. Remember though, it took a ballot measure to outlaw cockfighting in the state. There were some lawmakers aligned with the cockfighting lobby who believed it was a form of economic development they didn’t want to squander. Hell, the family of the author of the horse slaughtering bill runs a major horse auction site, and she may be able to get a piece of the economic action that results if Oklahoma becomes the new hub of the American horse slaughter industry.

And why are the cattlemen so hot on horse slaughter? Yes, I understand they take a strictly utilitarian view toward animals, and would rather sell off a horse they no longer want for $200 to a killer buyer than to pay $200 to humanely dispose of the animal. But aside from that, if the U.S. has a horse meat scandal like Europe does, you can bet that beef sales will plunge here. As was the case with “downers,” sick or injured cattle they still wanted to slaughter, big beef is an industry that’s pennywise and pound foolish.

The whole thing smells like a rotting carcass. One thing you can count on is that The HSUS will not relent in our efforts to protect horses in the U.S. and throughout the world, especially from this predatory, vile slaughtering industry.

Click (HERE) to visit Wayne’s Blog and to Comment
Related Articles
Comments

TO EVERYONE DO SOMETHING AND SHARE LIKE THE WIND THIS EXACT MESSAGE CUT AND PASTE BUT DO SOMETHING!!!WILL YOU WALK AWAY OR WILL YOU FIGHT FOR THEM. WHAT HAPPENS IS UP TO YOU. I KNOW YOUR BUSY BUT THEY WISH YOU REMEMBERED THEM NOW IN THEIR TIME OF NEED. EVERYDAY COUNTS DOWN TO THAT NEW SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN NEW MEXICO OPENING. YOU KNOW THE ONE>>> THE ONE THAT SHOT THAT YOUNG HORSE IN THE HEAD FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN TO UPSET THOSE THAT WERE FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE OUTSIDE THE GATE… SO WHAT WILL YOU DO IN THESE COUNTING DAYS GET BUSY AND FORGET THEM????? DON’T EXPECT THEM TO BE THERE FOR YOU LATER THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLY BUT YOU DIDN’T TAKE THE TIME TO TRY AND SAVE THEM. SAY YOU WILL OR SAY GOODBYE…………….
Reinstate a National Ban on the Slaughter of Horses!

Can you imagine having horse for dinner? Some companies are hoping you will in the near future. The Valley Meat Co. in New Mexico hopes to be the first company in the United States to slaughter horses for meat. Slaughterhouses in other states are also planning to begin producing horse meat for human consumption. These companies are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval of such practices.

Horses are incredibly sensitive and intelligent animals. The thought of eating a horse is sickening, as many of us have gone horseback riding, been to a horse stable, and maybe even owned and loved a horse as a pet. For those who have encountered a horse, you know how easy it is to develop a connection with this incredible animal.

Like many animals, most horses killed for meat are perfectly healthy and young. The way that horses are killed, the captive bolt method, can be very harmful to the animal and to the meat that humans would then ingest. Certain traits that horses have, like cunning fight or flight responses, can make stunning them properly very difficult, and they can sometimes be fully aware as the slaughter is carried out. Not only is the slaughter of horses inhumane, but it could also be very unhealthy for humans to consume horse meat.

Sign these petitions to stop the slaughter of horses before it starts, and urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to place a national ban on the production of horse meat for human consumption:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/us-against-horse-slaughter-2-boycott/

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/endhorseslaughternow/

http://www.petitiononline.com/trotaway/petition.html

http://forcechange.com/62426/reinstate-a-national-ban-on-the-slaughter-of-horses/?utm_source=ForceChange+Newsletter&utm_campaign=37cb9477d2-NL3863_26_2013&utm_medium=email

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/against-american-horse-slaughter-prevention-act.html

Read more: http://stophorseslaughter.com/site/

We hold the solutions in our hands. We are here for animals. Help us spread the message by sharing the page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Cruelty-Exposed/363725540304160
Photo: Reinstate a National Ban on the Slaughter of Horses! Can you imagine having horse for dinner? Some companies are hoping you will in the near future. The Valley Meat Co. in New Mexico hopes to be the first company in the United States to slaughter horses for meat. Slaughterhouses in other states are also planning to begin producing horse meat for human consumption. These companies are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval of such practices. Horses are incredibly sensitive and intelligent animals. The thought of eating a horse is sickening, as many of us have gone horseback riding, been to a horse stable, and maybe even owned and loved a horse as a pet. For those who have encountered a horse, you know how easy it is to develop a connection with this incredible animal. Like many animals, most horses killed for meat are perfectly healthy and young. The way that horses are killed, the captive bolt method, can be very harmful to the animal and to the meat that humans would then ingest. Certain traits that horses have, like cunning fight or flight responses, can make stunning them properly very difficult, and they can sometimes be fully aware as the slaughter is carried out. Not only is the slaughter of horses inhumane, but it could also be very unhealthy for humans to consume horse meat. Sign these petitions to stop the slaughter of horses before it starts, and urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to place a national ban on the production of horse meat for human consumption: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/us-against-horse-slaughter-2-boycott/ http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/endhorseslaughternow/ http://www.petitiononline.com/trotaway/petition.html http://forcechange.com/62426/reinstate-a-national-ban-on-the-slaughter-of-horses/?utm_source=ForceChange+Newsletter&utm_campaign=37cb9477d2-NL3863_26_2013&utm_medium=email http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/against-american-horse-slaughter-prevention-act.html Read more: http://stophorseslaughter.com/site/ We hold the solutions in our hands. We are here for animals. Help us spread the message by sharing the page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Cruelty-Exposed/363725540304160

more wild horse info at www.windwildhorse.com

Comments are closed.