The truck probably overturned because this operation has a “record” of not following laws designed to make hauling “safe.” It doesn’t matter to me that the horses were being sold to slaughter EXCEPT that the man engaging in this “enterprise” is such a lawbreaker that he is oprating an “unsafe” business on many levels.
Also, as a result of the “accident” it has now come to light via an eye witness report, that this man is cruel and abusuve – beating, poking, prodding the horses he is selling, and not allowing for proper rest periods for the horses or the drivers-- all against various laws and immoral and unethical.
He apparently endangers the lives and livelihoods of others by shipping horses without proper impsection and health certificates, forces drivers to drive longer than the law allows, doesn’t stop for rest periods as required for horses or people. And didn’t pay his employee the money owed him. (This is illegal, too.)
Additionally, according to eye witness reports by a former driver, he not only engages in unlawful and cruel (animal cruelty is also unlawful in most states) behavior, he apparently knowingly colludes with others who break the law and endanger people by administering steriods, and who knows what else to slaughterbound horses that also lack the proper documentation.
In short, this man deserves to be charged for his crimes and serve time for them regardless as to whether he was shipping horses to slaughter or to some dude ranch string. The fact that these horses are being shipped to slaughter is just “icing on the cake” for those of us who oppose horse slaughter. It is just more proof that the horse slaughter pipeline is abusive and cruel in and of itself from starrt to finish, and often times involves criminal activity. Because of lack of documentation on these horses this man shipps, who is to say that some of them were not stolen, for example?
And as for disposing of “all the poisoned” bodies if slaughter is shut down, well my vet says the amount of drugs present in a euthanized horse is not an issue as far as health and safety. I say, they can be buried or cremated. Really, do the slaughter proponents think that the slaughter houses don’t pose a health and safety threat? What do you think happens to the blood and what is left after the meat is stripped from the bones? What about the offal? Do you think all of this magically dissappears because a horse is slaughtered and not euthanized? DUH.
I also believe that horse breeders and owners should all be responsible for the animals they cause to be born or own. Breeders should all have to pay some sort of surcharge as part of the registration process that is set aside to care for or euthanize horses, or breeders should have to pay for licenses if they want to continue to breed hroses is such a down market. Breed associations should stop encouraging wholesale breeding.
