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In June 2006, the last of the horse slaughtering plants in Texas was shut down, and the very last horse slaughtering plant in America located in Illinois was finally shut down as well in September 2007. As of now all horse slaughtering facilities in the United States have been closed. This has been a great victory, but the war is not won. Now American horses are being hauled out of the country and sent to Canada and Mexico, and even overseas, for slaughter. Unfortunately, these horses will be faced with an even harsher experience. These horses will enduring longer hours being hauled in cattle trucks with no water and no rest. Many collapse with exhaustion and dehydration in these trailers. It's not unusual for horses to be badly injured or dead when they arrive to the slaughtering plant. In Mexico there are no laws to protect the well-being of animals before slaughter and the method of slaughtering is very cruel; the horse is stabbed with a spike in the back of the head repeatedly until the spine is severed and the horse collapse. So it's even more important then ever for us to push for the new act presented in 2009 called the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503) , which will make it illegal to export American horses to foreign countries for slaughter. Horses need your help and support!! As you know, throughout history horses have played a very important role for Man. They helped us win wars and build civilizations. They transported us and pulled our plows. Where would man be without that noble animal called the Horse. Now it's time to repay them for all the duties they've given us throughout the centuries. Horses are not livestock like cattle -their loyal companion and working animals. They are intelligent and affectionate. They are brought up around humans and pampered as valuable pets and show animals. Suddenly this pet is taken from his clean stall and shoved in a cramped trailer designed for cattle and taken to slaughter, where he is poked, prodded, and shoved in tight chutes and kicked and bit by other terrified horses to await his doom. The animal shelters are overpopulated with unwanted cats and dogs, but we don't send them to slaughter for foreign countries where dog and cat meat is consumed, so why do we not give our horses the same respect, dignity, and protection? There's a misconception that horses sent to slaughter are old crippled nags on their last leg, that is not true. Many are beautiful, healthy, fit, young horses. They range anywhere from former race horses who weren't fast enough, foals from the PMU industry, pregnant mares, family pets, stolen horses, wild mustangs, or a random horse that was purchased by a meat buyer at auction instead of rider. I have seen numerous footages of horse slaughtering and it's absolutely the most ghastly thing to watch. Unlike cattle, horses put up more of a fight and have to be stunned several times. Even still they are hoisted up still moving as they're being gutted. The other horses waiting to be next are hearing and smelling this horror and are panic-stricken. Also, unlike cattle, horses are not accustomed to being run down chutes and made to stand in a cramped aisle for a long period of time; this frustration causes them to kick and bit each other, so they are even more stressed and frighten. Lastly, unlike cattle, horses are accustomed to human contact and brought up to trust us, so the day at the slaughter house is very confusing and frightening for them. I'm still haunted by one image...I saw one terrified and confused horse look into the eyes of his soon-to-be-killer as if he was asking for help and to be saved from that cramped kill box, slippery with blood from the prior horse, then with no sympathy for the helpless animal, the man stun the horse repeatedly until he dropped. After the horse dropped, the man had to hang over the edge of the kill box to reach in and stun the horse 3 more times as he lay kicking. I thought to myself, "My God, that could be my horse! He was no different than my beloved horse." I want to reemphasized that a lot of these horses are young and decent condition, and just need a little TLC, but sadly they ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. For horses, life is a game of chance. Some horse people -particularly breeders- are also to blame for this practice. There are many people who love their horses, but there is just as many who see them as a product. Horses are over bred, either by a commercial breeding farm or by a backyard owner, making more babies when there are already foals and horses that need homes. As for the competitive horseman or horsewoman, they show or compete on their horses until they're used up and instead of selling them to a rider as a pleasure horse or retire them, many cast them away at auction or haul them to a slaughter facility. Then they buy or breed another youngster and the process is repeated. When a horse is no longer useful, and retirement is not an option, the owner should take on the responsibility of humanely euthanizing the horse, like they would their dog or cat. Not haul it away to slaughter to get maybe $100 bucks for it. Is that a suitable reward for a horse that won his owner ribbons and prizes?
Please take a moment to
view the video below on
Horse slaughtering, narrated by Bo Derek. It's not too graphic. I
encourage you to educate yourself and open your eyes to this horror and
learn about this darkside to the Horseworld. I also want to point you in the
direction of this website
SaveDaHorses, it
has articles, images, and footage to raise awareness and educate you.
From The Canadian Horse Defense Coalition: "The Canadian Horse Defense Coalition (CHDC) applauds the efforts of all involved in the movement to protect equines from slaughter in the United States. In 2006, over 100,000 horses were slaughtered for human consumption in the U.S.; however, there have been recent favorable developments in the efforts to end this industry. U.S. Federal legislation banning the slaughter of horses (as well as export for the same purpose) has been introduced as Bill HR.503 in the House and S.311 in the Senate. Until this legislation is passed, we can expect to see Canadian feedlots filling up with horses from the U.S., and the equine slaughter plants of our nation to be running at, or past, capacity. Although 2006 statistics have not yet been released, in 2005, 48,715 horses were slaughtered in Canada, and 9,353 were exported for slaughter. You can help end this industry in Canada! At such a critical time, while momentum is gaining in the U.S., it is vitally important that Canadians rally and contact their federal legislators in order to express their concerns about the horrors of equine slaughter here in our own country. Remind them that an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in May 2004 reveals that the majority of Canadians (64%) do not support the slaughter of horses for human consumption. This message begs to be rolled out before our legislators! The horses need you to take action on their behalf. Only through lobbying our government can we bring a similar Bill to the Canadian Parliament to be passed as Federal law."
Slaughtered bound horses are old, crippled, sick, injured, and can't be ridden, so why not slaughter them if they're going to die anyways? Incorrect. Although there are older and injured horses going to slaughter, the vast majority are fit and healthy. Meat buyers actually refuse horses that are too skinny or sickly. I was shocked to see how young and well-conditioned horses were that were going to slaughter. What shocked me even more that yearlings and foals were being butchered, as well as pregnant mares. Many are even race horse; there is mixture of race horses that weren't fast enough or did make a career in the sport, but as they got older they slowed down or became injured. Some are backyard pets that were stolen out of someone's yard or a pony that a child out grown. These are gentle, sociable, and rideable horses that are going to slaughter, not ugly crippled mean old nags. If the horse is old and injured, the horse deserves some dignity to be humanely euthanized after a life time of service, not butchered. Aside from a moral stand point, horses are not exactly healthy to eat. Since horses are companion animals, they are vaccinated, de-wormed, and medicated by chemicals that are never used on livestock intended for human consumption, such as cattle and pigs. This is indeed a health concern for those who eat horse meat. If the slaughtering of horses is banned, there will be an increase in abandonment, cruelty, and no place for unwanted horses to go. In 1998 the state of California banned the slaughter of horses and there has not been an increase in abandoned or abused horses, and horse theft had actually dropped significantly. Statistics has shown that states that do slaughter horses actually have a higher rate of horse abuse and neglect. As for unwanted horses, as I stated before, majority of these horses going to slaughter are young and useful, which makes them adoptable. Horse slaughtering methods are not cruel or abusive. The most common ways to slaughter a horses is by captive bolt, gunshot to the head, and a spike to the spine. Since horses have longer necks, they can move their head around better than a cow and put up more of a resistance when being stunned with the captive bolt or stabbed with a spike. Unfortunately, this results in the horse having to be stunned or stabbed several times. As for the gunshot, a horse must hold perfectly still and not move if he's to be shot directly in the brain to die instantly...if not, the horse will not die before he hits the ground but instead only suffer severe head trauma. Most horses at a slaughter facility are frighten and stressed, so they don't hold perfectly still when shot and are usually still alive and struggling when they're hoisted upside down for gutting. As for transportation, horses are crammed and jammed together in double-decker cattle trucks with the roof so low, they have to duck their heads down to avoid hitting the ceiling. They stand like this for as long as 23-36 hours without food, water, or rest. Now horses aren't accustom to be in such close contact with other, so they kick and bit each other and some even collapse from exhaustion and get trampled on by the others. Then they are either led in one by one into a slaughtering plant or ran down a narrow chute. Imagine this...one day a horse is in his clean roomy stall with plenty of food and water or running freely in a pasture with is buddies, and once had a owner calling him by name and feeding him carrots. Suddenly, his life is turned upside down and he's in a slaughtering plant being treated like a cow or pig that doesn't know the difference. Well, horses do know the difference. That's why horse slaughtering is inhumane. What can I do to help?
There are horse rescue organizations that need funding to
help rescue these horses from slaughter, so donations are in need. It can be
money, a vehicle, a horse trailer, feed/hay, ranch equipment or supplies. If
you're looking to buy a horse, consider adopting a rescue horse or even
foster one. If you can't keep a horse, you can sponsor one at a horse rescue
facility or a retirement farm to help pay for his upkeep. You can also join
the fight by petitioning and contacting your
State Senators or
Members of Parliament to put an end to horse slaughtering. Lastly, raise
awareness, you'd be amazed on how many people don't know this going on. The
more people that know and get involved, the more of a stir we can make and
raise some eyebrows.
Don't turn a blind eye to this matter or
leave it to others to do something. Any effort can make a difference. At the
very
least spread the word! |
The
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (to ban the slaughter and
export of America's horses) was passed by the House of Representatives in
September of 2006, then it went to the US Senate in December where they
would've voted to enforce it. Unfortunately, it stalled for so long, it was
dismissed and now the fight to past the newest bill begins.
