A Must Read about Slaughter hot off the press

[RHF_cSi]

HORSES are not COWS, it's not the inhumane death its because we dont eat horses in america europe can kill there own F*&^ing horses

[RHF_cSi]

why does it always have to be about the other animals i eat cows pigs and chicken because i was born and raised on them, i wasn't born and raised eatin horses, horses where my pets, HORSES ARE PETS!!!!!! if someone wants a freaking cow as a pet who cares, but you dont EAT YOUR DOG.......HORSES ARE DOGS if you do not see them as dogs then you do not see them, they are just an animal to you there fore instead of objecting horse slaughter i'm going to open a DOG slaughter house and see the feathers fly thats how i feel i figured any respectable horse owner would.

[county]

So what your saying is if the world doesn;'t see things as you do there wrong and your right? I don't hardly think so.

[bryn]

County, there you go again twisting words. Please don't.

Our culture does not eat horse, and horses have not been considered a meat animal in this country, classifying horses in the eyes of the vast majority of Americans much like dogs and cats. If horses were considered meat animals we would not be having any discussion here. That is not the case though. While you see your horses as livestock not much different than cows, most Americans would not. People name their horses, board their horses in boarding facilities, ride their horses, show their horses in all sorts of competitions like racing, jumping, dressage, gaming, reining, endurance, decorate them with fancy saddle pads, bridles, blankets, glitter, and love them with all their hearts in the same way they love their dogs and cats. I am sure there are many who would have them in their basements if they could. Mini horses are used as guide horses and physical support horses for disabled just like dogs. Horses are used as emotional therapy animals for troubled children. Horses are used as physical therapy animals for special needs folks both young and old. Horses are used in law enforcement just like dogs are. IN THIS COUNTRY, the MAJORITY prefers to treat them thus. They are not meat animals, and therefore the majority believes they should not be slaughtered.

[county]

I have no problem with how people look at horses or any animal my problem is when they try and force me to see it the same as they do. Just because this country does or doesn't do something is no reason to try and tell the rest of the world to do the same. Horse meat is an ag. export we import alot of things into our country that we don't produce I hardly think the import and export system should stop if it did the people here would be the first to scream. I can just hear them crying because they don't have cheap gas and oil.

BTW I name my cows and have one thats broke to ride.We also show cattle and hogs. And horses to some are meat animals, always have been. Liokwe I've said before I would never try and tell anyone they shiould sell their horse for meat, eat their horse, or what to do with them or how to see them.

I will accept no less

[Echo]

There is no 'right' in horse slaughter. There is nothing good about it for the horses. It does not benefit them at all. The only thing the inhumane slaughter system does is put a few dollars in someones pocket to treat the horses inhumanely. It's akin to taking money to let someone beat your horse to death.
The only thing similar to the slaughter of cattle is the use of bolt gun which is far from being accurate and precise. It is a very large pnuematic device that hangs overhead that is attempted to be guided into the precise locatation for an accurate shot at a precise spot. When a terrifed horse enters a blood soaked box, does anyone really think they are going to stand still for that precise target spot to be hit? Horse breeders raise horses for intelligence, responsiveness and athleticism and the natural flight or fight response makes it very unlikely that they are going to enter a blood soaked box and stand still. Almost everything we give our horses is labeled "not intended for animals for human consumption'. Bute does not ever withdraw from their system and is not allowed in food animals. Food animal producers know the difference between food animals and non food animals. Not only is it cruel for the horses, the meat is not safe for human consumption.

[county]

The meat is not safe for human consumption? Where do you get your facts? The meat is USDA inspected same as all meat is. If it doesn't pass inspection its used in pet foods same as all types of meat. And bute and Banamine are used in cattle also as in sheep and hogs.

I agree totally there needs to be a new system for restraining horses on the kill floor the system used now was designed for cattle and is a poor one for equines. But I'm not holding my breath it will be changed. I've propsed to differant anti slaugher groups to work together with slaugher houses and pro slaugher groups to get changes but have always ben told. NEVER makes me wonder if there for the horses or their own agendas the most.

[Echo]

Bute is prohibited in food animals and unless they test every horse, the confidence levels are inadequate. Horses are not raised in mass for human consumption and should be considered 'individual lots'. Any group testing is inadequate.

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext...ButeProhib.pdf
[quote[FDA Prohibits Extra-label Use of “Bute” in Certain Dairy Cattle
John H. Kirk, DVM, MPVM
Extension Veterinarian
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California Davis
Tulare, CA
The FDA has issued an order prohibiting the extra-label use of phenylbutazone, “Bute”,
animal and human drugs in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older. The FDA
issued the order based on evidence that extra-label use of “Bute” in these dairy cattle will likely cause an adverse human event. Currently the drug is approved for oral and
injectable use in dogs and horses. The use in horses is limited to use in horses not
intended for food. No uses are currently approved for food-producing animals.[/quote]

There is only one pet food company that uses horse meat and they are phasing it out. The pet food companies stopped using horse meat because Americans find it appalling.

[Ridge Runner]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Echo:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The captive bolt is a very efficent way to slaugher livestock it works 99% of the time first try with cattle. The problem with horses is the restraining chutes they need to be changed a great deal for horses. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually in the Washington Post article "They Die Piece by Piece" the slaughter industry targeted a 95% success rate and only 36% of the facilities audited even made that. 95% means 5 out of a hundred or 1 out of 20 are not rendered 'unconsious' on the first blow.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=artic...ntId=A60798-2001Apr9 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

OMG...that many...that's horrible. This is a good time to post the SHARK videos shot in a Texas slaughterhouse undercover. Several people have said that they were staged or that only the horses that suffered were shown being killed, but after reading that, I think these videos are probably showing us the real picture of a day in the slaughterhouse.

Watch if you have the guts too folks. It's very graphic and disturbing video. I cried the first time I saw them.

Horse Slaughter Videos

Last I'll put up the White Paper commissioned by the TB Retirement foundation. It lays out the arguments and facts against the slaughter industry very nicely and is full of USDA supplied statistics. No matter where you stand on the argument, it's a worthwhile read.

Slaughter-An UNnecessary Evil

[county]

So how many cases of sick and dying people have there been in the countries that eat horse meat? And do you beleive that the gov. of those countries are doing nothing to protect their people?

Not sure how many pet food companies use meat in their food but IO know tuffys does there less then 100 miles from here and have a contract with the rendering plant thats 17 miles from here. Actually if there phasing it out I wonder why they upped their order this spring?

[Ridge Runner]

If the horsemeat industry in this country continues to expand as the Mad Cow disease scares more people off of beef onto horsemeat, than we will most certainly see restrictions in the US as to what medications we can and cannot use. In Continental Europe, bute was banned years ago since many old horses are slaughtered for human consumption there. The fear was that it would get into the human food chain...so it was banned. With increasing regulations like the Animal ID plan coming our way by 2008, I think we will also find ourselves having to change how we care for and medicate our horses.

So County...if you don't like someone telling you what to do with your horses now, you have a rude surprise coming when you are forced to microchip all of them and then might be forced someday to stop using certain drugs on them.

The UK addressed this problem with the European Union by creating a Horse Passport System which has proven very tedious, expensive, and a major pain in the butt. At the owner's expense, they must keep a passport on each horse and everytime a drug is administered, it is recorded in the Passport by the veterinarian. Giving certain drugs like bute will make a horse unfit for human consumption and it must be noted. The passport stays with the horse for life and it is against the law to not do this over there.

Do we American's really want to have to change how we care for and medicate our sport and pleasure horses just because someone might someday eat them?

[county]

I'm 100% for microchipping and tracking our livestock. The Mad Cow cases here in the U.S. have proven just how far behind the 8 ball we are when it comes to food safety in our meat. It took days for us to figure out where the animal/s had been. Not a real secure feeling to the customers were trying to get world wide. I'm a livestock producer the bigger market we have the better.

[county]

BTW could someone show me where the USDA has propsed horses being in there tracking system propsal. All the liturature I've sent for and received has said its for any meat animal legally sold within the U.S. borders.

[Echo]

Easy to search horsemeat illness....
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000730.htm
Horsemeat-Associated Trichinosis -- France

Don't confuse 'rendering' with slaughter. Rendering facilities only accept dead animals which are liquified at a temperature that kills almost everything - except of course they found out that mad cow survives the rendering process. "Tankage' - the result from rendering is used in all kinds of products.
The slaughter facilities ONLY accept live animals and only exist for human consumption.

[county]

I know how rendering works I've worked there as have I at the packing plant in the same town. And both places sell meat to the dog food company up the highway.

[Sswor]

I found this little juicy tidbit thanks to safehorses urging me to educate myself:

"The Sweeny-Spratt amendment passed 269 to 158. This amendment will ban the use of federal tax dollars to be used for the purposes of horse slaughter and transportation of horses for slaughter. This means the USDA will not be funded for plant inspections and meat inspections. Food of any kind intended for human consumption HAS to be inspected by the USDA before it can be exported out of the United States."

A link to read more:
http://www.hr857.com/index.php?module=announce&ANN_user...b31582a8f3d0c 0c883c8

I read that to mean that we no longer have USDA inspectors going into these equine slaughter houses. That means we have NO feds ensuring that the humane slaughter laws that are already on the books are being enforced and adheared to.

This seems a step backwards to me. Horses are still being slaughtered, yet now there are NO provisions to ensure that it is done as humanely as posible. They might as well be in Mexico now.

Insanity. Misplaced activism. Loosing sight of the foest for the trees. This is not a movement I can ethically back in any way shape or form. In my heart, I know this is the wrong way to go about it.

We need MORE inspectors. We need MORE laws and guidelines ensuring the humane treatment of slughter bound animals OF ALL TYPES. Not LESS.

So congrats. Now the slaughter house workers can string them up alive if they so choose. Way to go.

[county]

Falls under the heading of are they for improving things or out to satisfy their own agenda.

Much as when the terrorists burned slaugher plants, slashed workers tires, called their homes and threatened their families, etc. They got most plants shut down. Then instead of the horses being hauled short distances by people they knew in trailers they had rode in many times before. They get to be crammed into large semis with other horses they don't know and hauled 1000's of miles.

And these people are the horses freind? I don't hardly think so.

[Snowbird]

<span class="ev_code_red">I am dismayed that these activists take for granted the corruption of Senators who want our votes. They are well paid, overpaid in many cases for their efforts to be fair and objective. To skew statistics whether by intention and disign or lazy stupidity whatever the issue this should raise a howl from all voter. Perhaps their efforts could be better spent.</span>

I love my horses but not all of them Loved are equal. Anyone who seriously believes that this will stop bad breeding programs is delusional. If that's the goal then go to the definitions for eligibilty to gain "Farmland Assessment".

<span class="ev_code_blue">Effort then needs to be spent on reforming the Farmland Laws and not producing a product for resale will not help the ecomomy and will not save the family form.</span>

The "today is what counts" mentality has overlooked that to be eligible for a "Farm Mortgage" and Farmland Assessment you have to produce a breeding plan.

It is juvenile to say there should be a law that no one can eat horse because the horse is your favorite animal. All animals are entitled to equal protection. Removing inspectors is not going to improve the terminiation of life for any animals. No one answered the question, is it true that because the activists are vegetarians they want to inflict the world with their opinions? Suppose people with a pig started a campaign to end pig slaughter for human consumption? Suppose bird lovers decided to stop the breeding of chickens for human consumption?


Eminent domain is also part of this issue. The Constitution of the United States guarantees our property rights. Our pets whether you like it or not are our property. Freedom means due process under law. I believe this Law is unconstitution and an invasion of privacy.

You, no matter how well intentioned should not and do not have the right to tell me how to care for animals, you cannot decide what I eat or when I eat and how I live. THAT IS WHAT FREEDOM MEANS.

You have the right to never dispose of your horse. I do not have the right to charge you for not doing it the way I believe. You step on my toes whn you want me to be your clone and I would never require that you eat meat. I don't like vegetables and rarely eat fruit. What is next a law to force feed me vegetables?

I am a dastardly person the most evil of humans, I smoke cigarettes. I respect your right not to smoke cigarettes and not be in the room with me when I do smoke a cigarette.

I think it is grossly unfair to charge "sin" taxes for things that others believe are not good. That's been tried before an failed. You can penalize drinking if the person crosses over to where they endanger other people but you cannot ban the use of alcoholic drinks.
How do you know that the horses being used for human coosumption are not imported French horses?

I care equally for all animals and believe that they are entitled to fair and human treatment. The only benefit from this law is that the Inspectors will be unemployed. Whoopee! now they will be paid by our welfare taxes. What a great idea?

You who believe this drivel are convinced you are right, I believe you're wrong and that's law until you step on my toes and tell me what I must do. Where is your proof that 80,000 horses that are euthanized with chamicals and dumped in the land fill are not a worse danger.

Horses are an import/export business. The Commerce Committee deals with them as a product. Agriculture are the one who are caretakers of the livestock and we care about all equally. Unless, you can figure out a way that horses can live in your house with you and don't need hooves they are a farm animal and not a "Companbion".

We may not eat a product but we have one that people do want to eat. That however, is NOT THE ISSUE. The issue is does this law accomplish it's purpose and clearly the answer is NO.

[DocHF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> If you no longer want to care for your horse and no one wants to buy your horse or take your horse for free, then step up to the plate and euthanize your horse in its own environment with YOU the owner present instead of selling your horse for 30 pieces of silver </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think this bears repeating. Most of us will not follow this path with our unwanted/old/unsound/un-needed animals. Of course, 20 years ago, most of us would not admit to being gay either, if we were. Times change. Its high time that animal owners of all types had it hammered into their heads, that like having children, animal ownership is at least a 20 year committment. If you can't see that far ahead and finance it, then maybe you should re-think your "right" to own an animal. And anyone who sells a horse should think long and hard about the life journey of that animal after it leaves their care.

Look, I'm 48 now. IN 20 years, I will be near 70, if I make it. My horses are 16, 6 and 4. At least one of them is likely to still be around then. I have made provision for, and hope to be able to, humanely euthanize them at home when the time comes, or to discover that they dropped peacefully of a heart attack at an advanced age. I will bury them on my land, or if that is no longer legal, I will pay the $1000 disposal fee at the local composting grounds.

I would sell my saddle and such to finance such an end, if necessary.

I wish we had a rendering plant.

[county]

Animal ownership is a 20 year commitment? I hardly think so not many people wsnt to eat 20 year old cattle, hogs, sheep, or any other animal. And just how long do you think a livestock producer stays in business selling 20 year old slaugher stock?