Court rejects appeal on Ill. horse slaughter ban

[douglas9]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has declined an appeal from the owners of a horse slaughtering plant who challenged an Illinois law prohibiting the killing of horses for human consumption.

Cavel International Inc. closed its plant in DeKalb, Ill., last year after a federal appeals court upheld the ban. The company urged the justices to step in to allow the facility to reopen. The court did not comment on its order Monday.

The plant was the last horse slaughterhouse in the United States. About 40,000 to 60,000 horses were there annually, and most of the meat was shipped to be eaten by diners overseas.

Two other U.S. plants, both in Texas, also closed in 2007.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5839887.html

[BrklynLib at work]

1. Great news!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dbackjon]

2. Stupid Law

Now more horses are just neglected, left to starve to death, or shipped to Mexico to be killed.

[safeinOhio]

4. Sad

but the truth is that with feed prices so high and no market for horses, they are being turned out and starved. If you really love horses, go get a couple, they are giving them away.

[Jack_DeLeon]

16. I agree, whats wrong with eating horse?

Its not my choice for meat, but there are people in the world who apparently like it. Better for them to be eaten than to go to waste.

[Runcible Spoon]

24. well regardless of any ethical considerations, and there are many, horses are given toxic dewormers

right there on the package it says "not for use in horses intended for food" but every single horse owner I've ever known, including track people, worm their horses at least once a year and the recommended dosing is every other month. Not to mention all of the steroids that racehorses are jacked up on. Even wild horses are dosed with wormer when they are rounded up.

I don't see why people would want to consume meat that is so highly unregulated when it comes to toxins and hormones in the food supply. :shrug:

[mopinko]

18. i agree the end result of this will not be more humane treatment of horses.

they will be crammed into railroad cars, and shipped to mexico or canada, and will die in terror. i have to predict that when the full brunt of $100/barrel oil AND a deteriorated climate really sink in, they will be taking the shutters off that plant.

[Runcible Spoon]

27. that is a separate issue and many of us are working against that too..

restricting breeding in the racehorse industry and holding breeders, trainers, and owners accountable for their horses is a good first step, as is making sure wild horse populations are protected and controlled (I would honestly rather see culling than shipping them to Mexico for slaughter, but I think selective castration is a good first approach).

[Scairp]

3. Very good

But this won't stop the slaughter of perfectly good horses until we stop allowing them to be shipped out of the country and into Mexico for the same purpose. They are still auctioned off here, many of them beautiful and healthy Thoroughbreds who have had a losing streak. The trainers get paid by the guy who takes the horses off their hands and off to auction, and the horses still end up slaughtered and on a dinner plate in Japan or wherever.

[damntexdem]

9. Hurrah for Mexico! I'm glad that Mexicans will get the jobs the U.S. is tossing away.

And a starving world will retain one, small source of food.

[CottonBear]

23. A Kentucky Derby winner was slaughtered! It is a horrific story. n/t

We need to control the horse population so that there are not too many unwanted horses.
There are many people who own horses that have no business doing so. They don't know how to properly care for them (much more complicated than any other livestock) and the horses suffer in life and in death.

[sui generis]

5. so . . . they can still slaughter for dogfood consumption?

My understanding is that horsemeat is still allowed in dog food in Canada. I used to drive I-30 out to Ft. Worth here in Texas and would see trailers of old horses being hauled west all the time.

My in-laws pastured their old horse "Babe" until he decided it was time to go, then borrowed a back-hoe from Mom-in-Law and gave him a proper burial at home. Well you can do that on a farm.

[Runcible Spoon]

28. that's how my last three horses went.

two dropped dead in the field of heart failure at a ripe old age, with grass still in their mouths; the third had to be put down because of a severe colic episode...called the farmer up the road, dug a hole, buried them on a peaceful slope. The way it should be.

[jakem]

6. so, not to intentionally sound ignorant here, but is it just because horses is pretty?

Why the moral outrage at eating horses?

[CottonBear]

7. 1: Horses are companion animals. 2: Horses are NOT raised for food i.e. USDA approved meds etc.

I own a horse. Almost all of the medications, vaccines and supplements that she is given are labeled "not for use in animals intended for human consumption." Horses have served mankind for thousands of years in war, work and competition. Now, we OWE them a humane life and death that does not include being slaughtered for human consumption. The domestic horse depends on humans to provide all of their needs: food, salt, water, shelter, farrier care and vet care. We owe the horse a debt of gratitude for helping to advance civilization.

Lets put it this way: We don't eat our dogs and cats either.

[petersjo02]

10. You've got my vote, Cotton.

We have five horses buried in our pasture, along with a beautiful collie dog and a fair number of beloved house cats.

[CottonBear]

22. I hope that you and your pets are not in the flooded areas here in Iowa! Stay safe!

:hi: Greetings from a fellow horse person! :hi:

[jakem]

11. kind of a mix of approaches there-

So you are saying:

1. not food grade
2. we owe them
3. you like them

Now, I am not particularly pro horse-eating, I am just trying to understand the thought process here... let's just run through it as you presented:

1. valid concern, but has the ring of a 'concern troll' if you know what i mean. granted, they should be safe to eat if we are going to eat them.
2. this argument is a problem, as we owe all domestic animals a lot. but the cow, chicken and pig do not fare so well.
3. again, valid for your own behavior, but tough to see why others should abide.

Would i eat my dog or cat you ask? no. of course not.
Did i kill my own chickens this year for food? 4 roosters were killed, though one i gave away, as he was our first, and i didnt want to kill him.

Seems like the more important issue is killing with dignity, as we are going to be a meat-eating culture for some time.

[CottonBear]

19. 1. NO domestic horse is safe to eat because none are raised for food.

2. Horses are in a very different category than other livestock. Man has used the horse for transportation, agriculture and in war as well as a companion animal for pleasure riding and driving.
Untold millions of horses have lived brutal lives and died brutal deaths in work and war. (Think back to WWI and before.) Since WWII, we have treated the equine very differently. General Patton went out of his way to SAVE the Lippizaners from extinction during WWII.

3. In the USA we do not eat OUR horses, cats or dogs. It does matter that we sell OUR horses to be slaughtered (sometimes in Mexico) and then shipped abroad to be eaten by foreigners in other countries. Let the Europeans and Japanese eat their own horses. There are huge numbers of horses in Europe. Let people in other countries like Korea and China eat their OWN dogs and cats.

4. Death with dignity: ALL domestic horses deserve this. Humanely putting down a horse is painless for the horse and it is very quick. (I've had to have a horse put down because he had an inoperable and fatal condition.) There is NO death with dignity and freedom from fear and pain in horse slaughterhouses.

[Runcible Spoon]

25. well since "we" don't eat them, why should we care whether or not they are food grade?

if the Japanese and the Europeans want foodgrade horses sans hormones and toxins, they can feel free to raise their own. Fuck them.

[Kali]

14. Horses have been eaten for far longer than they have been "companions"

Now, I too have several including a geezer I will let die here, rather than ship, so I fully understand the SENTIMENTAL value of horses. However they are livestock and the fact of the matter is this ban on slaughter is having some major consequences that are by no means HUMANE!

[CottonBear]

20. I know that but domestic horses in the USA are not suitable for human consumption

because of the vaccines, medications and supplements that they are given.

I know that horses were/are used for food in many countries in the past and in currently other countries. However, we do not now eat horsemeat in the USA.

I do realize the inhumane and unintended consequences of the slaughter ban but we should work to solve those problems and consequences.

[Jack_DeLeon]

17. Some people eat dogs and cats....

in other parts of the world.

I've also read stories about how cats would be eaten here during the great depression. The euphemism for cat was "roof rabbit."

[Runcible Spoon]

26. in cultures that eat animals that are also kept as pets...

they differentiate varieties: there are "pet" dogs and "eating" dogs, "pet" cats and "eating" cats. Maybe this is why Europeans don't eat their own horses, because they are sentimental about them and horses shipped in form abroad are emotionally abstracted.

However, there are no cultures that systematically count "pets"(what constitutes a pet varies widely, however) in the food supply. Of course in times of great famine, people will eat their animals, but as a matter of regular practice, it is not done.

[Kali]

13. I think so - a step down a slippery slope

towards the eventual goal of legal RIGHTS (not just protections) for animals - including livestock.

[damntexdem]

8. What a shame in a world of food shortages.

So, of course, the jobs will go to other countries.

[LeftyMom]

12. Gourmets in France and Japan will surely starve now.

:nopity:

[Acadia Blue]

15. I love horses but old sick horses that have to be put down should

not just be put down for nothing. In my state the owner must pay 400.00 to have the body removed by the state as it is illegal to bury them as one would do with a dog or cat.
I am totally against inhumane slaughter of any animal.

[CottonBear]

21. AN old, sick horse should not be used for human consumption

Perhaps the animal's carcass could be processed and rendered for pet food and other products.

However, inhumane slaughter for human consumption is wrong.