(no subject)

[velessa]

Can you believe this bullshit posted on a friend's FB status?

"Thanks Obama and your legislation of idiots for making it legal to slaughter horses again in the hopes that you will earn the USA money to get out of the debt you have helped create. What you do not seem to realize is that the majority of the horses sent to slaughter auctions are stolen from ranches and horse shows. A lot of them do have owners and microchips that lead back to families but of course you have yet to create a plan on how to identify horses and send them back home and you forget that horse slaughter is done so incredibly inhumane that America still hasn't figured out how to be kind to animals already legalized for slaughter, what in the hell makes you think horses will be any different you morons."

My response:

"Umm...WHAT??

Okay, first of all, the Bush administration is responsible for the vast debt we're in. Clinton left with a surplus, then two ridiculous wars Bush started wiped that out.

Second of all, I would love to see some references citing that "the majority" of auction horses are being stolen from ranches and horse shows. I'm willing to bet most of them are untrained crap that never should have been bred in the first place by idiots who can't afford them or care for them or train them and don't give two shits about their well being.

And thirdly, as wretched as animal slaughter may be here in the US, I assure you it's done a fucking hell of a lot more humanely here than in Mexico where they stab horses in the spine repeatedly before stringing them up by a hind leg and slashing their throats, and that's IF the horses survive the 20+ hour terrifying trip there without being trampled to death first. At least here they can be regulated and experience a lot less horror.

The real problem is the people who keep fucking BREEDING horses and then send them to auction when they realize they can't even give away NICE horses these days! And let's not forget the industries that are racing and showing fucking two-year-old babies that are inevitably lame by the time they're five or six and can't go on to useful second careers. As long as THIS kind of shit keeps happening, slaughter will keep happening, be it here or elsewhere, because it's always cheaper than euthanasia, and the people who don't care about the animals can make a quick buck off of it. The entire horse world needs to change. But since that's not likely to happen any time soon, like in my lifetime, I'd grudgingly rather see slaughter be regulated here than sending horses to a far worse fate in Mexico."

Comments

[lurath]

I don't know about being "stabbed in the neck", but I'm pretty confident when I say the reality won't be much better than that. Legally there is no reason they couldn't be "stabbed in the neck" or whatever the alternative is.

There are no specific regulations regarding how horses are slaughtered with respect to humane standards. I've heard Temple Gradin is going to help with how the horses are slaughtered, but I think this is just a PR move as there is NO movement to add further regulations to how horses will be slaughtered apart from normal livestock regulations (which are designed primarily for humane safety). And I guarantee most will still be going to Mexico/Canada. There are also no federal regulations regarding horse transport. When horse slaughter was legal before 2007 there were only 2 plants that took horses in the entire US. So they still traveled thousands of miles packed into cars meant for cattle. That's not going to change.

It's highly probably that they will just be put through cattle slaughtering plants, using methods developed for cattle. This likely means captive bolt guns, which have been shown to not work well on horses. It's probably horse will be strung up and bled while still conscious. If this happens 15% of the time in cattle for slaughtering techniques designed for them, imagine the suffering a horse will go through. Remind me in a couple months and I can get you a consolidated paper of the research... right now my legal buddies and I are working on something, but there are confidentiality issues until it becomes public.

In the European areas where horse meat is popular, they are raised as purely livestock animals -- and much better than all of our livestock animals. They run in large fields, feeding off grass and occasionally hay and grain. They do not get drugs. They are slaughtered in horse-specific plants.

Once again, Europeans "do it right" in that they regulate before the passage of a significant law. When European governments realized how American horses are treated before going to slaughter, they were horrified. This led to more investigation and the recent ban of American horse meat. Japan is one of the big consumers of American horse meat right now.

As an aside, it's mostly QHs and other stock breeds that go to slaughter right now. The AQHA actually supports horse slaughter because it allows their breeders to over-breed shamelessly.

[red-kite-of-edo.livejournal.com]

The whole food supply system is a disgrace here in the US. When we take responsibility for the earth and her creatures then there will be room for improvement in the equine industry. Until then the horses will suffer, regardless of any kind of slaughter legislation.

[lurath]

Is your point that we shouldn't try to improve things?

[red-kite-of-edo.livejournal.com]

My point is that the root of the problem lies deeper than the horses and the people that breed them and that major overhauling of how we as a society treat all living beings is needed to truly solve the problem. Anything less than that will only slighltly improve the situation. I certainly support any effort to make even one horses's suffering less, but the problem is bigger than just horses and any legislation that deals with just horses.

[lurath]

True, but the neat(?) thing about the law is that small success are what make the large successes possible. So fighting for small changes actually DOES help universal change, even if it feels painfully slow at time.

[red-kite-of-edo.livejournal.com]

Agonizingly slow. I would prefer a complete transformation in all agricultural practices, but that seems unlikely bar widespread disaster or revolution. Until then, we do what we can for those we can.

[velessa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've heard captive bolts don't work so well on horses. I suppose I'm overestimating our government's ability to do anything right, like enforce that animals be humanely slaughtered with methods specified to each species to be as painless as possible. I just hold out hope that any kind of oversight here is at least better than none. Obviously I'd rather have horses not have to be slaughtered at all! I agree with you that there'd have to be a shitload of regulations passed to make it more humane.

Like I said above, the stock horse industry really pisses me off, particularly since I was personally hit by it with my ordeal with Lilly. >:( The way they overbreed, knowingly breed crippling conditions into the horses, and run them into the ground as babies is unconscionable.

[clevortrevor]

instead of setting aside government funds to regulate horse slaughter, why not set aside government funds to provide affordable euthanasia? (I'm pretty sure the answer is "lobbyists")

[velessa.livejournal.com]

Because no one would profit from euthanizing them. ;p Yay capitalism.

[clevortrevor]

vets would! And grave diggers, rendering plants, crematories, etc. And pharmaceutical companies...

Of course you're right, it's less overall money. But that's what government is supposed to do - step in when capitalism slips into the unethical.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

If you've ever had a horse euthanised and had to deal with the disposal side of things as well, there is plenty of expense involved as an owner.

[red-kite-of-edo.livejournal.com]

The best scenario we have come up with in my area is to haul the live animal to the vet school and for $300 you get peaceful euthanasia and the body incenerated. Plus time and money to haul there.

[bella-cheval.livejournal.com]

We're blessed that we've the room on our property to bury our horses when they pass on, I can't even imagine how much it would cost to take care of them if we didn't.

[lurath]

This is really gross... but I've used captive bolts on pig, cattle and horse carcasses (just their heads) at a field trip meat lab thingy (outside of class). There is only one tiny spot on the horse's head that they work well, and it was difficult to hit it even with a dead STILL head being held down by others.

IMO, all mass-slaughter plants are inhumane. And CAFO is SO bad for human health, the environment, and animals. The science says it all, but policy makers and the public are willfully ignorant.

[velessa.livejournal.com]

From what I understand horse skulls are full of holes, so it's really difficult to kill them with a shot to the head. You can shoot them over and over and ugh... >_<

I wouldn't complain if meat suddenly wasn't cheap and available on every corner, but I know a lot of people would.

[allevil.livejournal.com]

Europeans don't always 'do it right' all the time though as I have seen people discuss on forums about similar horrific conditions for travel to slaughterhouses in France. :-( But that is beside the fact, as you raise some real serious issues for what US horses will be facing. It is just sickening.

[lurath]

That's true... I have some horrific stories about France and the things they do to cats and dogs. In general though, the majority of European countries have much better animal protection and humane legislation than the US does.

[clevortrevor]

I'm curious to know what you think of the recent ban on ritual slaughter in the netherlands? I see the point that careful, skilled no-stun slaughter might end up being more humane than mass slaughter houses where they stun first, but it's often botched.

[lurath]

I actually hadn't heard about that, but it does sound promising. In slaughterhouses where they try and kill and process as many animals as they can in as short a period as they can, I think it's impossible to be truly humane. How can a worker worry about both things at once?

[clevortrevor]

here's a recent article if you're interested. The kosher/halal ban is very new in Holland, but there is a similar ban in other countries in Europe. Not sure if it will stick, and not sure if it should... I'm happy to be a vegetarian ;)