@Laurierace, I assume from your name you have racehorses or are a race fan. You oppose someone making money from selling a horse for slaughter, yet have no problem making a dollar racing them? No irony here!
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Oh, please. You have acknowledged that you sell animals for slaughter. Thatās fine for you to do. However, there is a substantial group of Americans who feel that horses are not raised for, nor should they be slaughtered. Ask Willie Nelson, as a major example.
You want to be able to use animals for whatever youād like. You can do that. We simply disagree that the slaughter pipeline is in anyway humane, or that this is a reasonable way to treat Americaās horses.
I donāt see what racing a horse and killing it has to do with each other but feel free to enjoy the discussion without me.
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Iām not sure what equine expertise Willie Nelson has to offer as a horse person, but I will pass on it, and stick to what animal scientists with doctorates and actual training present.
Willie knows music. I know production agriculture. My husband has a doctorate in Animal Science, taught at a major land grant university for 20 years, before moving on to working for a world wide company, providing animal health consulting. I think he knows a tad bit more about animal production, care and slaughter than Willie, even though my husband canāt sing a note!
I will assume from your judgmental, nasty post above @ASB_Stars, that you eat no meat or seafood, own no leather tack, shoes or clothing, or have leather seats in your vehicles.
There is absolutely no shame in what I do or have done in animal agriculture. I feed people. Our animals are well fed, and well cared for, and live great lives.
I advocate safe and humane transport and slaughter. There is nothing wrong with that!
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How many horses died or were permanently injured racing last year? Is there no risk to horses racing?
Not a single one on purpose. Surely you can see the difference even if you canāt understand why someone wouldnāt want their horse slaughtered
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And, if you read what I said, itās fine for you to do that. I very specifically said that. You do not need to have a degree to do what you do. It isnāt illegal. I donāt think that my post was nasty, at all. I made no disparaging comments about what you do- just factual.
Willie Nelson is an American with an opinion. There are a bunch of people like him, who agree with him. He has lobbied to stop the slaughter of horses. Because of his visibility, he has been able to raise awareness of the issue.
As for being judgmental, youāve now decided that I can use no animal products because I am against the slaughter of horses. You do not find that fact that you are going straight for the āall or nothingā gambit the slightest bit judgmental? Please.
So how am I supposed to take this quote?
I would never send a horse to the track. But, I am not here advocating the closure of all tracks.
I could argue that life on the track is a very unnatural way for horses to live. For the record, I was licensed on tracks in NY, PA, MD, NJ and DE as a vendor, and spent more than enough time backside. I have seen the way horses live there.
It is not the way I choose to keep horses. But again, these are not my horses, nor am I telling owners what they can or cannot do with them.
Yet, neither you @ASB_Stars or @Laurierace can see the irony. Things that make you go hmmmm.
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But yet the risk of catastrophic injury or even death is present. I would think a higher risk than most other disciplines.
Perhaps. But, it isnāt actually possible. Thatās the real issue.
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How do you know it isnāt actually possible? Numbers, research, published information, hard data?
Or is this all opinion?
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Itās based upon that, currently, the transportation of horses to slaughter alone is not humane. In the event that there is consideration for opening slaughter plants in the US again, we can discuss whether or not those facilities are humane. That discussion is moot, at this time.
Do your horses know where they are going when you put them in the trailer? Mine do not.
(This is not me saying that there are inhumane ways that horses are transported. It is me simply saying that there are humane ways to transport horses anywhere.)
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The manner in which you transport your horse(s) is not the same as a bunch of horses being run onto a truck and jammed together- regardless of the distance that they are then shipped, which another issue.
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Hereās a thought. Why donāt you use your numbers, research and published information to show me why slaughtering a horse is no different than your pigs, cows, etc.? If you truly feel that this is a reasonable process and a viable business, you should be able to do that.
And, the āthis is better than (fill in the horrible death) that isā cannot be a part of this, if you truly believe that horse slaughter is OK. The ābetter alternative than starving, etc.ā idea should never, ever have any traction. We simply need to do better than that, for these magnificent animals.
I think the point that was trying to be made before was that with humane transport. You said there is no humane transport. I am saying that most horses do not know where they are going when I put them in the trailerā¦ so there is humane transport. Unless you think taking a horse anywhere in any trailer is inhumane.
Clearly, shoving them all in a double decker is not humane transport.
But there is humane transport.
I am not debating what happens past transport. I am simply saying that the blanket statement that there is no humane transport is not accurate.
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I understand, however, as regards this discussion, only transportation to slaughter would be relevant.
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Again, the point made above was - with humane transport.
Dobbin does not know if he is going to a show or slaughter when you walk him onto the four horse stock trailer with his buddies.
Are you trying to tell me that if this trailer goes to the slaughter plant that transport is inhumane but if you pull up to a show it is not humane?
There are lots of humane ways to transport horses wherever you are taking them, so if one of those humane ways was used to get horses to slaughter then that reason is taken off the table.
Everyone above is saying - with humane transport and humane techniques.
There is humane transport.
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Without getting into how the process in the slaughter plant is inherently inhumane, the transport to slaughter is seldom as pristine as you are describing. It simply isnāt a realistic theory you are framing. For example, as there are currently no slaughter plants open in the US, how far are you going to drive Dobbin and friends to the slaughter plant? And, in the end, there is, well. the slaughter plant itself.
I certainly do not think that everyone is going to agree with me. I donāt know if everyone remembers the story of Exceller. He didnāt go through the slaughter pipeline, but what happened was just vile, nonetheless.
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Iām leaning towards this poster being a 1) Vegan and 2) a PETA supporter. the types of responses are right in line with that of an āAnimal RIGHTSā person instead of an āAnimal WELFAREā person.
Usually I donāt waste my time with these types because there is no amount of sense that could be spoken that could fix this type of mentality.
So lets start here: No one wants to see horses slaughtered. No one is talking about this subject like it is a happy one. The thoroughbred industry breeds over 20,000 foals a year. I wont even get started on the QH industry. Thoroughbreds purpose as racehorses is pretty short lived. usually by 4-6 years of age they need to find new careers. the good ones move on to breeding establishments but the vast majority donāt make that cut. I donāt know about you, but I have been to the track numerous times outside of the racing genre to look at horses for sport. And I am not insinuating that I was there to view one horse. I went through all of the barns that had something to show. And if you have done this you will find that at many of the lower end tracks; the horses that are available have issues. Soundness, previous injuries, arthritis, ā¦I could go on. The bottom line is they can provide no service to their connections in the racing world anymore. You will still come across the ones whom are too slow and just canāt compete and their ownership would rather see the horse move on sound and in good health. But until you are standing on the backside watching a trainer hand you a leadrope to a seriously unsound horse begging you to take it away for free; you donāt really have a dog in the fight.
the thought of sending horses to slaughter breaks my heart. I have rescued many from that fate and given them a new lease on life. But the slaughter pipeline never went away when they shut down the plants in the US, no, the process just got my horrifying for those on that road. if owners of horses are unwilling to euthanize a horse and take responsibility for that then we have this reoccurring cycle of the unwanted whoās numbers are growing every year. Is it the responsibility of the racehorse trainer/owner or show horse owner or Rancher to euthanize their elderly or unsound instead of handing them off for pennies to the unknown only to end up in a bad spot suddeny? Yes it is?
But no one in the circle of horse ownership wants to have that conversation or take responsibility for those actions. itās easier to load the live horse on the trailer to what seems like a āgreat homeā and never look back
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