Is anyone following this on horse slaughter?

[Patiod]

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2006_horseslaughter_usda2?rk=Apz

"In a hard-won battle last year, the American people convinced Congress to stop the use of tax dollars to promote horse slaughter. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the administrative agency charged with carrying out Congress' will, is thumbing its nose at federal lawmakers and attempting to find a way around Congress' directive to stop inspections for the cruel and un-American horse slaughter industry. USDA announced that it will bow to the foreign-owned industry's request to create a whole new payment structure for horse slaughter inspections, an effort that directly undermines Congress' mandate and the law."

I admit to being a total hypocrite here. I eat meat, my cat eats meat, and yet I abhor the thought of eating horse meat.

[Lisa0825]

1. Yeah, I'm a hypocrite too.

That story made me cringe, but I haven't been able to work out a solid position on it. I think the reason it bothers me so much is that to ME, horses are not livestock. They are animals kept to ride and love as pets and companions. Cows, pigs, chickens, etc are more typically food than pets, so I am accustomed to thinking of them in that way.

[CottonBear]

2. Horses are not raised for human consumption and their feeding,

vaccination and supplementation is not within USDA standards for human consumption.

There is no way to tell how or what has been fed to or injected into a horse or other domestic equine species. Many race horses and some show horses are (illegally) pumped full of steroids and all sort of performance enhancing, anti-inflammatory and pain relieving drugs. My own horse has been given Banamine on occasion for visceral gut pain due to colic-like symptoms as have most horses. Many horses are given herbal and joint, hoof and coat supplements. Many of the horses which are slaughtered are very old, very thin and weak or very sick (bacterial infections, fungal infections, cancer, viruses, etc.)

I got into a HUGE flame war about this issue the other day in another DU forum.

We don't eat our pets here in the USA. We don't raise horses, dogs and cats for human consumption.

The horse slaughter houses are owned by foreign companies and the meat is sold in Asia and Europe. Why should we allow OUR horses to be sold for meat in other countries.

BTW, my cats do not eat canned food horse meat.


edit: Add link to previous and very long thread on the topic:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2091857