It's Final: Last U.S. Horse Slaughter Plant Must Close

[flvegan]

September 21, 2007

Today, The Humane Society of the United States hailed a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upholding the State of Illinois' decision to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

Illinois is home to the last remaining horse slaughter plant in the country, and the ruling effectively ends all slaughter of horses for food in the United States.

"Today's court decision marks the end of the line for the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry in the United States," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Now it's up to Congress to finish the job and protect American horses from being exported to foreign abattoirs in Canada and Mexico for human consumption overseas."

In a unanimous ruling, the Court rejected each and every one of Cavel's legal claims and reiterated that "States have a legitimate interest in prolonging the lives of animals" and promoting the "humane treatment of our fellow animals."

"This ruling should make the people of Illinois proud to stop the last remaining horse slaughterhouse in the country," said Illinois State Representative Bob Molaro, one of the key sponsors of the bill. "This was a hard won fight for the legislature, but the fight is not over. I applaud U.S. Rep. Janice Schakowsky for her federal leadership on this issue, and hope that this decision will spur the passage of federal legislation to prevent American horses from being shipped to Mexico or Canada for butchering."

http://www.hsus.org/horses_equines/cavel_horse_slaughter_plant_closed.html

Also more at

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ap-il-horseslaughter,1,7041500.story

[Annces]

1. Great news

Thank you to Humane Society.

[lligrd]

2. Finally

Wonderful news.

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

3. Yahoo!! n/t

[PDenton]

4. This seems like a way for the US to slam Europeans

Ban horse slaughter? Why? Why did a Republican Congress, of all people, ban it? The only reason I can think this was done, was to snub Europeans, who are the main consumers of horse flesh.

If you are going to ban horse slaughter, you might as well ban cow slaughter as well. People in the US have a highly romanticized notion of what horses are.

[Annces]

5. Someday we will have a romanticized

notion of cattle too. It is called compassion and love.

[Javaman]

6. I wrote this a while back...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2497555&mesg_id=2500496

Right there with you...
We slaughter cows who have just as much right to live as a horse, but no one goes crazy over that.

Horses are just as exploited and used as cows are yet, they are held up to a higher regard, because?

Up until about the 1920's, horse meat was eaten fairly regularly in this nation.

Given that fact, I find it interesting that as cars become more prevalent in society, eating horses went down while eating cows went up. One would think that since horses were no longer being used as beasts of burden, by and large, they would easily become a big part of the human food chain.

Go figure.

So, let me get this straight, the slaughtering of horses is bad, the slaughtering of cows is good, the slaughtering of just about any other animal that isn't on the endangered species list is also good.

But horses are off limits. Okay, I'm good to go now.

oy.

[flvegan]

7. I

am against the slaughter of any animal, for any reason, personally. I see this as a single step towards a more compassionate society.

[Javaman]

8. While I agree with you, you can see the hypocrisy right? nt

[flvegan]

9. The hypocrisy in which?

The OP and article by HSUS?

The initial legislation/ban?

or

The thought process behind horse slaughter = bad, cow slaughter = tastes good?

[Javaman]

10. no that although we shouldn't slaughter either it's socially exceptable

to slaughter cows but not horses.

[flvegan]

11. It's speciesism.

I see your point, and I agree that one could look at your point and find hypocrisy. Just as we confine battery hens how we do, but if you did that to cats you'd go to jail. Or how some animals aren't covered by the Animal Welfare Act.

I also think that there's a touch of hypocrisy in everything in one way or another, but I take the positive steps as they come.

[Javaman]

14. That's all we can do. nt

[Hawkowl]

20. One step at a time

And obviously you do not have much experience with live horses or cows. Horses are extremely intelligent and emotionally sensitive, not to mention historically crucial partners with mankind in advancing civilization. Cows are....not particularly smart, but that is no excuse to eat them.

[PDenton]

13. I don't believe vegetarianism necessarily leads

to a more compassionate society.

In certain religions vegetarianism may be part-and-parcel of a nonviolent ethic towards living, but vegetarianism in itself I don't believe leads to more compassion or any particular increase in spirituality or morality. I'm a vegetarian myself, more out of habit. It is something I started in my teenage years and just hung on to. However, I don't feel it makes me all that much more compassionate or nonviolent, and I don't believe vegetarians in the US are any less violent or more compassionate, especially towards people.

It is an old canard that Hitler was a vegetarian (he actually wasn't, though he was disgusted by raw/whole meats, and he did eat a very bizarre diet), but actually Hitler's Reich wrote glowing PR BS about Buddhism (Buddha was an Aryan after all) and the Nazis made gestures towards limited vivisection (on animals, not Jews). Hitler also loved dogs, but could not feel the same level of compassion for human beings. I think that is really damning in itself, and I believe there are many in the animal-rights movement who have similar sentiments.

In short, the best way to learn to be compassionate towards people, is to be compassionate towards people, not animals.

[Annces]

16. I was not talking about people

I just made the point that protecting horses is a good thing, and I hope will be extended cattle in the future. I don't say vegetarians are better in how they treat people. I am looking at it as far as the cattle are concerned. Stopping slaughter of them is compassionate.

Who cares what Hitler did. Just because he may have been some kind of wacko, does not mean anything for the rest of society.

And your pointing out your vegetarianism is just out of habit, shows it does not stem from a dedication to compassion toward animals.

Not to get overly philosophical, but of course there are many things people do, that they do solely because society tells them to, and not out of an individual choice. There are people who would run down pedestrians if there were not laws protecting them. So if cattle are eventually protected, it will be because society decides it is best, not because every person will have decided it is best.

I think the word anthropocentic applies to you here. You are obviously not biocentric.

[Annces]

21. I thought you were replying to me

Too much caffeine.

[flvegan]

19. That's, um...not what I said.

When someone can open their mind to the suffering of another, recognize that it's suffering, and decide against it, it increases their levels/thoughts of compassion.

[Zywiec]

12. There goes my dinner. n/t

[11 Bravo]

15. Can we keep whacking chickens, pigs, and cows?

[Zywiec]

17. I hope so, what else would we eat? n/t

[ThomWV]

18. If some people had their way you'd feast on nothing but soybeans