Printer-friendlyThis issue is emotionally loaded for most people; myself included. I would move heaven and earth to be sure that no animal in my care ever suffered this fate. I would rather eat salad forever than have to consume horse meat, and I would never forget the images I would see if I were to visit an equine slaughter facility. All that being said, I am in favor of horse slaughter in the United States; however I do not support the way the horses have been handled in those facilities in the past or how they are transported there in most cases. Our world is complicated and most issues are not black and white but fall somewhere in the middle. I think the horse slaughter issue is a good example of such a circumstance.
Making horse slaughter illegal in this country does not mean that horses are not slaughtered. What it means in many cases is that horses that are destined for slaughter are crammed into cattle trucks for several days while they are transported to Canada or Mexico where the closest slaughter facilities are now. This tremendous hardship for horses would not be necessary if we had facilities scattered across the US. In my area the economy is very depressed and many people honestly cannot afford to feed their horses. They try to give them away and can't find homes for many of them. The horse rescue facilities are full and overburdened. What happens to LOTS of these horses is that they are "turned out to pasture", often with inadequate feed, shelter, and farrier care. Many of these horses suffer year after year until they eventually die. As I write this it is snowing outside and I have just come in from breaking several inches of ice in the water troughs. I think about those suffering horses and believe that a quick and respectful death is preferable to abandonment or long term neglect. Parts of the US are struggling with drought conditions that have made hay extremely expensive. In response to this situation many, many equines of all types are simply being dropped off in remote areas to go their own way. Again, it is survival of the fittest and many of them will suffer until their bodies just can't take it anymore.
I am one of these people who doesn't want to be kept alive by life support should that come to be and I choose to euthanize the animals in my care if I cannot provide them a high quality of life. I do not sell my old animals as I feel this is when they need me the most, and I owe it to them. I am fortunate that I am in a financial position to do this but there are truly others that are not. Horses that go to slaughter have a quick death and an end of suffering.
What I would like to see changed is the treatment of horses while going through the transport and handling within the slaughter process. I would like to see strict guidelines for humane and respectful treatment while in these facilities prior to their actual euthanasia.
Horses that are euthanized in these facilities go on to contribute to the circle of life in that their meat is used in a positive way and there are untold uses for almost all of the horse. There is very little waste. My feeling is that if these horses must die it is preferable for them to contribute this way. But again, I am going to donate my entire body to science in an effort to provide organs for transplant and greater learning that will hopefully help to find cures for some of the tragic diseases that exist. Life is full of difficult choices and decisions like these must be very personal. I wish it were a perfect world.
Thanks for the post
Great post Cindy. I appreciate your comments on this controversial subject. Many of us feel that the transport of these old, sick or unwanted horses is problematic. Because of current regulations, horses that suffer this fate must be trucked long distances. What a terrible end.
Wouldn't it be nice if every horse, when quality of life is degraded to the point where in our best judgement, it makes sense to end the life, could be quickly and humanely euthanized.
Mark Sellers
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Horse Slaughter For Human Consumption
First, horses are NOT "humanely euthanized" in slaughter plants! I have seen it and it is in NO sense humane. They are not even close to being in compliance with the regulations for humane handling of livestock. Captive bolt study: http://www.box.net/shared/3jbna7fyga
Double Deckers And Horses: http://www.box.net/shared/5dkjmqnddd
From Pasture To Plate FORBES: http://www.forbes.com/sites/vickeryeckhoff/2011/12/06/horse-slaughterhouse-investigation-sounds-food-safety-and-cruelty-alarms/
Dodman Report: http://www.box.com/s/l6i1nid7ffjrktligft8
Also, don't you think it depends on where the horses come from whether Mexico or Canada is a longer ride? The U.S. is huge and we only had three plants at the time inspections were defunded. Two in Texas - less than 75 miles apart - and one in Illinois. There are many places in this country that are closer to Mexico and especially Canada than to Central Texas or Illinois. Besides, the killers don't necessarily take horses to the closest plant. They take them to the plant that does the slaughtering for the meat company the particular killer works for. It doesn't matter to them how far away it is. Horses suffered just as much being transported within the US as they do now, believe me. If you don't, go to http://kaufmanzoning.net and you will find 999 pictures of transport violations taken by the USDA - violations they photographed but did nothing about.
Then there is the matter of what slaughter plants will and will not accept. They do not - and never have - accepted old, sick, crippled, skinny horses. Even if the killers - or someone - rounded up these abandoned horses the plants would reject them. In fact, this may be exactly what happened. It has now been documented that many abandoned horses are slaughter plant rejects that the killers routinely abandon where they are - or worse, abandon them in feed lots without access to food or water as happened in Presidio, TX last summer: Abandoned Horses Final: http://www.box.com/s/sn881xn6m3ukb5t3ks4k
What about the very real food safety issues that pertain to eating unregulated, non-food animals? This is a very serious issue with our horses. I'm sure you are aware that many horse medications and other widely used products contain ingredients that are absolutely banned from any use in any food animal - bute is hardly the only one. These substances have NO withdrawal time. If a horse is ever exposed to these even once during his/her lifetime they MUST be permanently removed from the human food chain. We have NO way of tracking these horses nor a way to remove them from the human food chain. Even for products that DO have withdrawal times, we have no way of identifying them either or knowing if the withdrawal time has been met - especially with those that have very long withdrawal times, some as long as six months.
The European Union - owners of the commercial plants in Mexico where our horses go - all of the Canadian plants and all of our domestic plants as well - is well aware of our situation. Having found banned substances and forged documentation in our horses in both Mexico and Canada, the EU has stated - as they have been warning for three years - that unless we implement a traceability program comparable to their passport system, they will no longer accept our horses after July, 2013.
FVO Inspection of Mexican Plant OFFICIAL: http://www.box.net/shared/bgsda62zd15xh4r8bs27
FVO Inspection Report Canada: http://www.box.com/s/u11mb9n4dbh74asj6o3r Horse Passports And Why You Need Them: http://www.box.com/s/c26dc21083d75ce42223
Actually, the rescues have the situation pretty well in hand, especially if everyone would get their minds OFF slaughter and thinking about alternatives of which there are many. White Paper on Slaughter Alternatives: http://www.box.com/s/67a22403323dd820a2cc
In a recent poll by Lake Research Partners, one of the most highly respected pollsters in the country, 80% of Americans - 71% of horse owners, including me! - are strongly against horse slaughter for human consumption. Don't we count?
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