Meatpacking plants may get approval to slaughter horses

[NVMojo]

WASHINGTON -- The federal government is weighing a proposal that would allow meatpacking plants to continue slaughtering horses in spite of congressional restrictions set to take effect this spring.

Three slaughterhouses have petitioned the Agriculture Department to let them shoulder the cost of government inspectors that are required by law when any slaughters take place.

Aiming to stop the practice, Congress in November passed legislation instructing USDA to stop paying for federal inspectors at horse slaughter plants, which could effectively shut them down.

The petition by the meatpacking plants was widely expected. Still, critics charged the plants are trying to circumvent Congress and the Agriculture Department is wrong to entertain the idea.

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-07-Sat-2006/news/5248634.html

[napi21]

1. I hate the idea that they slaughter horses, but did you know...

at least in Italy, they sell horse meat for human consumption? I admit, I didn't know that. My son works in Sicily, and we were talking for a while over the Holidays about many different things, and he mentioned a lot of the differences in foods that are available there and not here in the US. When he mentioned horse, I about died! He said it's quite common there. Yuck!!!! I asked him if he ever tried it, and he said yes, once, but it's very tough and he didn't like it. His girlfriend won't cook it either, because she loves horses!


As far as here in the states, aren't horses slaughtered for dog food? I know I see that on the cans in the grocery store all the time.

[DemExpat]

10. My brother is married to an Italian and has lived there for 20 years.

He enjoys horse steak as much as beef. :shrug:

Here in The Netherlands I last saw a horse butcher in this city about 10 years ago.

DemEx

[soothsayer]

17. France, too. I've eaten lion once (and felt really bad about it)

Don't think I could eat horse. And yeah, at the local monthly horse auction, the meat buyers (dog food guys) are always buying up the oldest, sickest, cheapest ones.

[alfredo]

33. I'd rather eat horse, Venison, Caribou, buffalo, goat than beef.

[BeHereNow]

2. The issue is DEMAND! No demand- no slaughter

because there will be no consuming market.
HELLO?
BHN

[BeHereNow]

3. Which leads us to the next question...

WHO is buying horse meat?
We already know about the dog food companies-
Does YOUR dog eat horse?
If so- STOP it.
BHN

[LeftyMom]

6. If it says anything about byproducts, bone meal or any other non-specific

animal ingredient, that can be horse, roadkill, even euthanized pets. All sorts of good stuff from the rendering industry winds up in pet food. :puke: Not just cheap pet food, either.

Read ingredients carefully and don't buy anything that is vauge about the ingredients. For that matter, dogs do really well on veg food.

[politicat]

7. Zoos, for carnivores, for one; export for two.....

Hear me out: Please see the logic of this argument before reacting emotionally. I love horses, and work with and care for them whenever possible; as a teenager I spent summers at an equine rehab camp. At the same time, I don't see a problem with eating horses for the same reason I don't have a problem with my organs being donated or my body being donated to science - when I am dead, what happens to my mortal shell should be put to good use because I'm not going to be here to care, and a squicked out, chemical laden corpse does no one any good.

An aged or injured horse can be mercifully put down, then her body used to feed lions or tigers, and so preserve those species until we who fucked it up can get their habitat restored; she can feed people who would otherwise have to resort to eating bush meat and thus further deplete the numbers of individuals in endangered species; her body may help prevent a food riot or other disturbance that would bring about heavy handed governmental interferance. In my world view, it is better that our bodies, after serving as the carriers for our spirits, be put to some useful purpose than left to rot - such decay is to me the ultimate in disrespect. (Heck, I'd have my partner have my friends over for roast of me after I died if I didn't know that such an event would disturb them all even more than donating myself to The Body Farm or to a crash test study. But let's not turn this into a discussion of cannibalism...)

Cheval is available in most states, though most Americans are squeamish about it. Personally, since horses aren't subject to prion diseases, I'd prefer to have access to cheval rather than questionable beef. Horses will not and cannot eat the heavy protein feeds that caused prion diseases to enter into the sheep and cattle food chain. Such feed would make them very, very ill. (Cheval and goat are both lower in fat, higher in protein, and safer in a lot of ways than beef, pork and lamb.) We may not like to admit it, but humans have been eating horses for as long as humans have been hunting.

Horses that are slaughtered for consumption have outlived their useful lives - many are in pain, from injuries or age; others have suffered what can only otherwise be called mental health breakdowns. We can't treat the latter, and pain is not something I'd wish on anyone - no matter what shell holds that personality. (From a friend in Quebec, young horses have poor meat, so there's no point in slaughtering a young horse for food. Thus, most horses slaughtered have lived long and useful lives.)

The taboo comes primarily from Judeo-Christian tradition and from economic necessity; the horse is like the pig in that it does not have both a cloven hoof and chew cud, and so is unclean; unlike the pig, it has a higher economic value in an agrarian society as a pack and work animal. Thus, in the 8th century, Pope Gregory issued several edicts to protect the "capital investments" in horses during times of hunger and distress. (The edict actually slowed the adoption of Christianity in Norse and Slavic Europe and Eastern Asia.)

Meat is not a pleasant subject in general, but humans are omnivores. There are very few cultures anywhere that don't associate meat with wellbeing, in part because we evolved to desire the fats and proteins to support our big brains. It would be grand if the world would convert to vegetarianism en masse, but it's not going to happen soon, not with the water issues we currently have. There aren't any good answers, but waste isn't going to improve the situation.

[DenaliDemocrat]

8. Meat is meat

that is the bottom line. If you eat meat, something has to die. I eat wild game mostly, but I would have no qualms about eating horse as long as it tasted good. Better to eat an animal than let it rot out in a pasture.

[psychopomp]

11. I love animals

including horses, but when I had the chance to eat some horse I did not pass up the chance. I had it raw, in fact....it was quite tasty!

[Puglover]

15. I agree

what a disconnection to smack your lips over a hamburger but purse them over a horse fillet. I had it in France a long time ago with parsley butter and pomme frites. It was yummy. And I like horses just fine.

[bklyncowgirl]

9. Good points about horse slaughter--a very emotional issue

I love horses. I've been associated with them all my life. I currently own one and he's a delight, intelligent, curious with a sense of humor to boot--not to mention that he's also a fine jumper and a good trail horse. I intend for him to remain in our family throughout his entire 30 year or so lifespan. I figure we can grow old together. When his life becomes a burden he will be put down humanely. I hope that I and my family remain capable of taking care of him to the end of his days.

Owning a horse is a big committment in money and time. Horses live longer than most domestic animals we regard as pets. Also, as people grow in their riding ability, their needs in a horse change. As a result, horses change hands often in their lives. Most people try to make sure their hores go to a good home but often it's not that easy. Racehorses for example get injured. Some can be rehabilitated and retrained for other jobs--others can't. Some horses require extensive retraining--or may be tempermentally unsuited for anything but the rodeo--and even the meanest rodeo broncs get tired of trying to buck off those cowboys. The result--an unplaceable horse.

The owner is faced with an animal with a long lifespan and no future. It costs a couple hundred bucks to have a vet euthanize a horse. Oh, and by the way, what do you do with the carcass? Cremation is beyond most peoples means. If you have access a backhoe and property where there is no law against burying the beast, burial is an option. Otherwise you will have to have your dead horse hauled off to a rendering plant where he will be ground up for pet food or fertilizer.

By the way, there's no clean and surefire humane way to kill a horse. Chemical euthanization sometimes backfires if the levels of the drugs are incorrect--I've heard some real horror stories. Shooting it with a gun or a humane killer is messy but humane provided the bullet or bolt hits the right part of the brain. Many experience horsemen prefer the bullet to the needle--not only because of the cost but because it is less stressful to the animal.

If you shut down the slaughter plants in the US horses will just be shipped to Canada or Mexico. In Mexico at least, humane regulation is non-existant. I prefer to press for better regulation of the slaughter industry, including the shipping of horses in this country where we can at least have some input on how these animals go to their deaths.

Emotionally, I recoil at the idea of an animal that has been conditioned to trust and even to love humans being slaughtered for food. I hope to insure that any horse I own meets his end in familiar surroundings as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Unfortunately, as a practical matter a well regulated, humane, slaughter industry serves the purpose that animal shelters which euthanize unwanted animals do the dog and cat population. I don't like that either but sadly, it's necessary.

[justabob]

14. I don't like the idea of slaughtering horses

but what you say is right. I would add as a side note... when a hunter (fox hunter) goes down it is supposed to be an honor of sorts to be fed to the hounds. I had a horse die under me several years ago. He was a great horse, and in a weird way I was happy he got sent to the hounds of the local hunt.

[FlaGranny]

18. A horse lover here, too, and I

cannot disagree with what you said, except that people don't want to eat old, tough meat. Quality meat means a younger animal. So, for human consumption, the younger animals are preferred. In the past, I've been to those horse auctions, where perfectly healthy horses have been purchased in lots by the "knackers." I would have no problem with old and lame animals being used for zoo meat. I wonder, though, how horses are killed humanely. A horse is not a steer. Do the same methods work? Horses are a lot more high strung than cattle.

[politicat]

19. From what I've read, the slaughter methods are the same...

The heavy blow to the head is used to render the animal unconscious, then it is exsanguinated.

Beyond that, I can't be sure.

[FlaGranny]

23. I'd think that horses

would be a lot harder to handle in that kind of situation and wonder if the standard cattle handling procedures would work on horses that well. The standard set-up for cattle might not even "fit" a horse, which in most cases is taller with longer legs and longer neck. Cattle slaughtering equipment and setup, from what I've read, is specifically designed to fit cattle. Horses are a much different animal both temperamentally and physically.

[politicat]

24. No doubt....

But having not been on a killing floor (and only having helped my uncles slaughter shoats) if I say any more, I'm talking out my ass, and we have Matcom for that. *grin*

[FlaGranny]

31. I am fairly familiar with the slaughtering process because

I did some research on humane slaughter a few months ago. Don't think it would work as well with the horses.

[Silverhair]

29. Why. What is wrong with a pet eating horsemeat?

Why should a horse be protected, and a cow unprotected?

[Up2Late]

5. I heard that Horse saluter houses are very common in Europe.

I don't know where it eventually ends up though. It is a rather repulsive idea to me personally, but if it ended up going to the countries where people are starving (I think the current number is something close to 1 Billion people in the world at or near the brink of starvation), I don't think I would have a problem with it ending up feeding them.

[anotherdrew]

30. most will be exported. Just say no to this. It's so french after all...

[I Have A Dream]

4. This is so very sad. n/t

[cornermouse]

12. Why stop with horses?

There are unwanted and excessive meat-providing animals everywhere. Dogs, cats, ...even old, sick people.

:sarcasm:

This is just sickening.

[asthmaticeog]

22. Old, sick people meat would be really stringy.

[Stella_Artois]

26. Try going to South Korea

They eat dogs there.

Not in North Korea though. I hear they eat rats there, if they are lucky.

[cornermouse]

27. .

:sarcasm:

[leftchick]

13. This is terrible

I say stop slaughtering all mammals. :cry:

[Endangered Specie]

16. hmmm... I've never had horsemeat

is it any good? :shrug:

[swhisper1]

20. Horses off the track , breeding rejects,or having grown injured

during competitions in Germany are sent via boat to the Mediterranean to be sold as consumption animals. The reason? The size of the country and lack of space for horses make them dispensable if they do not reach standards and fail to sell to the US market for competition. There are a great number of breeding programs sponsored by the DOKR (Germany government programs)and thousands of foals born each year that never make it to the INSPEKTIONS due to crooked legs, lack of talent, ect. Survival of the most talented is the rule, and the public lack places to board, and the cost of keeping a horse is prohibitive. German horses are the best competitive horses in the world, and are bred to sell to other countries. The rejects from age 2 on up, are sold for meat, which is very much in demand as a lean meat.

In the US, horses are wormed, drugged and used for many years. They are social pets and not too costly to keep. The track rejects are sold for meat, but those horses have been given chemical cocktails all their lives, chemicals that do not leave the body, folks. Only the mustangs collected from the wild are "clean" of cancer producing substances. Horse meat in this country cannot be safe for consumption, and most of the horses would be so old, well, does rubber like meat appeal? Dogs fed horse meat have had health problems in the past, so now it is beef, chicken and lamb.

As a lifelong horse trainer/breeder, I have spent much time at German breeding farms so speak from first-hand views. Up until the 70's, they did not worm their horses except with a handful of tobacco now and then and inoculations were so rare.

[Kellanved]

21. So what?

Horse is actually quite tasty.

[Hyernel]

25. Run Camilla Parker, RUN!!!!

tee hee!

[Double T]

28. Does ANY corporation follow the law or have we become a nation of......

plain old criminals?? These creatures, the horses, are kindred fur bearers that should NOT be killed for sport or eaten. This is another good reason to be or become a vegetarian.

[Harper_is_Bush]

32. As long as it's the ones that let me down at the track I'm OK with that.

:)

[doc03]

34. Wiiilllbur, you wouldn't eat horse meat would you?