More horses sent abroad for slaughter after US ban

[douglas9]

Source: Associated Press

RUSHVILLE, Neb. (AP) -- At dusk, after all the fancy horses had been auctioned, Doug Barnes settled into a seat at the sale barn and got down to business. Three, four, five or more horses ambled into the ring at a time.

The auctioneer stopped making sales pitches. He looked straight ahead at the familiar visitor from Fort Collins, Colo., waiting for him to tip his hand. Barnes didn't disappoint.

In about 30 minutes, Barnes bought 25 so-called "killer horses." Their new owner would subject them to what animal rights groups say is a growing type of abuse: trucking them nearly 700 miles to Canada for slaughter, circumventing a U.S. ban on the practice. Much of the meat is eventually exported to countries in Europe and Asia for human consumption.

Stacy Segal, a horse specialist at the Humane Society of the United States, and other animal rights activists want a ban on exporting U.S. horses for slaughter abroad.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HORSE_SLAUGHTER?SITE=PAYOK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Mari333]

1. horrible. n/t

[Jack_DeLeon]

2. that some people eat horses?

everybody has to eat something.

[DetlefK]

4. Actually, I ate a horse-steak once and it was pretty good.

It tastes mainly like beef, but with a finer flavor and a touch of sweetness (like calf).

[orleans]

3. Ken-l Ration (when it was owned by quaker oats) used horse meat

in the dog food according to a family member who worked at quaker. apparently it was fairly common knowledge.

[jmowreader]

8. It was even more common knowledge among other brands

I remember canned dog foods that were clearly labeled as "Horse" flavor. People bought a lot of it, or at least they did where I lived.

[robcon]

5. What's wrong with eating horses?

Eat whatever you like.

edit:spell

[Runcible Spoon]

10. all ethical considerations aside, it is full of chemicals

we use worming medication on the horses, from a very early age and at least twice a year every year on, that clearly says "not for use in animals intended for food". Regulation is needed. While I would much rather see these horses given a nice retirement, I am realistic. I would rather have unwanted animals put down painlessly than make that horrific trip. It's not the eating of them that is so offensive, it is the way they are treated on the way that is just horrible.

[bklyncowgirl]

6. Good intentions and unintended consequences

I'm a horse owner and a horse lover. I'm also a realist.

There is an unwanted horse problem exacerbated by a foreign market for horse meat. Animal lovers were understandably horrified by the thought of thousands of horses crammed into trucks and sent to slaughter. Now instead of being crammed into trucks and sent to slaughter in Texas or Illinois, where at least in theory, they were covered by USDA humane slaughter regulations they are crammed into trucks and sent to slaughter in Canada or Mexico.

Thousands of dogs and cats end up each year in kill shelters where, if they are lucky, they will be euthanized in a humane fashion. If they are not lucky, they will be gassed drowned or otherwise disposed of. Thousands of horses likewise will end up with no one wanting them except the killer buyer. If they'e lucky they'll go to Canada where there are at least some semblance of humane slaughter and handling laws. If they re unlucky they will be shipped to Mexico where anything goes including a slaughter method that involves stabbing an animal in the spine (usually several times) to sever it's spinal cord so it can't kick, or breathe, hoisting it fully conscious and cutting it's throat.

Horses are expensive to keep and they live a long time. Thirty years is not an unusual life span for a horse. Riders go through different phases in their careers. The gentle old soul who taught you how to ride and work with horses is not going to satisfy your desire to compete in some extreme equestrian sport like eventing or or barrel racing. The racing stable owner who's paying $100 a day in training fees is not going to want to hold on to some nag who can't outrun an old man going downhill. The parents who's daughter begged them to buy her a horse and then lost interest or went off to college are looking at $500 a month boarding bills and thinking about what else they could do with that money.

Fortunately for Old Faithful, a sound, well trained and well mannered horse can usually find a home. If he has a talent which is in demand, he'll probably bring his owner a good price as well. The failed race horse, if he's sound and sane could get into a program like ReRun where they find homes for ex racers--if his owner cared--unfortunately for the horses many of them do not. Also, many of these programs are full to capacity. They are very selective about what they take--adoptable animals please--or you pay to sponsor the beast.

The ones that end up at the sales are usually horses that the owner could not sell privately. Buying a horse at the sales is gamble. You could find a diamond in the rough, maybe a good horse that had fallen into the wrong hands and will blossom under proper care and handling. More likely you're going to get an animal that is lame, psychotic or both and spend a ton of money to find out that there's nothing you can do about it except resell it.

As much as I hate the idea of slaughtering horses, I had always thought that the best thing to do was put some teeth into the existing humane transportation, handling and slaughter laws and making new ones where applicable, such as using a gun or a captive bolt pistol that was actually designed for horses in facilities that were designed for horses and not cattle. If an animal can see over the kill box and watch other horses hanging by their heels bleeding out it is going to go into a full fledged panic. Try getting a clean shot with that captive bolt pistol that was designed for cattle whose brains are closer to their skulls under those circumstances.

This of course would cut into profit--too bad. Horsemeat is a luxury item in Europe--these guys are making money hand over fist.

Other alternatives would be to provide humane euthanization programs at a discount for cash strapped horse owner. Some zoos will accept donations of unwanted horses, euthanize them on the owner's property and use the carcasses to feed their carnivores. Most of us don't want to think about what happens to Old Faithful after he's no long among the living but taking him out behind the barn and shooting him (provided you know how to do it) is better than cramming him on a trailer to Mexico. The old fashioned knacker who killed unwanted farm animals and sold them for dog food was not a bad idea.

What we've done is ship the problem out of the country--out of sight out of mind. This has been tragic for the animals.

[newfie11]

7. I totally agree with you.

When that law pasted I knew the horses were going from the kettle into the fire. I have 4 horses and a mule now. I am very lucky that I can afford to keep and feed them. Hay in my area is 180.00 a ton when you can get it. Most of the hay has already been consigned to buyers out of state.
My horses will die of old age or illness on this farm. They range from 29 to 10. They are going no where.

The economy has caused many people to run their horses through the sale barns or they stand out in fields with no grass starving. My part of western Nebraska has had 10 years of drought so grass that used to be plentiful is no more. I am west of Rushville near the Wyoming/Colorado border.

The only way most people can sell a horse in this area (that isn't a roping horse) is the sale barn. I am all for better more humane legislation for killer buyers and slaughter houses in this country.

[bklyncowgirl]

9. I think that a great deal of the outrage was due to the fact that the laws were not enforced.

My horse too is staying exactly where he is. He's ten years old, an unraced Thoroughbred who can jump 4' plus under English tack and win pleasure classes and ride the trails in Western. I'm in my early 50s. I figure we'll grow old together. I've made sure that if anything happened to me that he has the training to make sure that anyone else who was lucky enough to get him would love him too. If something happens to him so that he cannot have a good quality of life, I will pay have him put down. Most of the people I hang with feel the same way.

Not all horses are so lucky.

The USDA put some pretty good laws in place regarding transport due to public outcry. They were never enforced. Violators got a slappypoo on the wrist at best. In addition, killing a horse humanely in such a way that it's carcass can be used for food is difficult. The animal has to be still in order to get a good shot with a gun or humane killer. Regulations regarding proper stunning and pre-slaughter handling were of course, never enforced.

In my area, New Jersey, things are pretty tough, but not as bad as you describe in your area. No one's buying marginal horses here. There's something of a market for well broke and well bred horses but you're not going to get much. The really high end warmbloods are of course still out of sight for the less affluent equestrian. Most horse people are hunkered down.

The problem is that the middle ground of people who realize that there's a problem and that it needs to be dealt with and not shipped out of sight is drowned out between the anti-slaughter people and the 'don't wanna know' pro-slaughter crowd.

[XOKCowboy]

11. Leroy is going on 30 now...

He's had a helluva life. Roped hundreds of cattle, taught several kids how to ride, ridden in dozens of parades and all the while the most even tempered horse you ever met. Now he's just a great old friend living out his days in a very peaceful retirement. When he finally does pass on we'll call our neighbor with the backhoe and bury him next to Pancho and Virgil out on the backside of the place. In this respect we're very lucky because we have the land and the means to dispose of a horse carcass. Not many people have that option.