In the end I think the only noticable change for the horses will be that there are fewer internet discussions on horse slaughter.
[QUOTE=county;1864222]
The reason other countries don’t slaughter their own horses is mostly because of room for them and feed stuffs. Those countries don’t have the avaliable land we do for large numbers of horses and the many acres it takes to raise the food for them to eat.[/QUOTE]
I’m glad you pointed this out. This is why I believe eliminating slaughter in the US can be an important step toward reducing the supply of horse meat overall. Without the ready supply from the U.S., prices will rise. Eventually, those who partake in raw cheval will have to find something else to eat. Shrimp, maybe.
By the way, I read your story about the starved cattle. It was appalling. But, these people had the option to send their cattle to the auction, and they did not. This sort of evil will continue regardless of the outcome of the horse slaughter legislation.
[QUOTE=county;1864317]
And no doubt will hopefully if a law is passed someone actually puts some though into it instead of the useless thing passed today.[/QUOTE]
I have only skimmed through this, but county your views are very abrupt to say the least, and personally i dont see how a person can love and respect a horse as a companion and friend when there so uncarring about such a cruel end, would you feel any differnet if it was YOUR horse that was poss. stolen or ended up at a slaughter house and still alive while being butchered?, or still think of it as a usefull way of disposal??? or are you the type of person that belives in it so much that even you send your horses to slaughter after they dilligently tried so hard to please you only to be disposed of in this fashion?? never understood people who had the thought concept of “use it or loose it” and if this is not your piont o veiw than please explain this is just what i got out of the posts you posted on this topic
What am I missing here? I barely remember Econ 101 but if there’s a large supply of something and the demand decreases or is stable, the price goes down. If there’s a lot of demand for something, and the supply of it decreases or is stable, the price goes up.
- There will be a higher demand for euthanasia.
- Unless we start allowing lay people to perform euthanasia, the supply (vets) will not go up, it will remain the same.
Doesn’t this lead one to conclude that the cost of euthanasia will go UP?
[QUOTE=JoZ;1864414]
Doesn’t this lead one to conclude that the cost of euthanasia will go UP?[/QUOTE]
No, because the “supply” of euthanasia is not limited in any practical way.
[QUOTE=RoseBud143;1864380]
I have only skimmed through this, but county your views are very abrupt to say the least, and personally i dont see how a person can love and respect a horse as a companion and friend when there so uncarring about such a cruel end, would you feel any differnet if it was YOUR horse that was poss. stolen or ended up at a slaughter house and still alive while being butchered?, or still think of it as a usefull way of disposal??? or are you the type of person that belives in it so much that even you send your horses to slaughter after they dilligently tried so hard to please you only to be disposed of in this fashion?? never understood people who had the thought concept of “use it or loose it” and if this is not your piont o veiw than please explain this is just what i got out of the posts you posted on this topic[/QUOTE]
There are several other threads on the topic here. I recommend you read them thoroughly and then state that those who oppose this slaughter bill are uncaring.
Your comments about “still alive while being butchered” underscore the need for stricter rules governing slaughterhouses. No animal deserves this. I don’t care if it’s a horse or a cow. NO ANIMAL DESERVES THIS! And it makes me sad that the matter of horse slaughter makes this somehow an issue, while so many people don’t give a crap what happens to the animal that ends up on their plate. I buy family-raised, locally slaughtered beef for a reason.
Fix the slaughter industry. Hold them accountable. Then tell me that a captive bolt is a million times worse than euthanasia - and tell me why.
Paragon, I am curious about the apparent mutual exclusivity of your position. Why would banning horse slaughter preclude reform of the slaughter industry?
Hmmm. Just availability of vets I guess.
But my vet isn’t going to reduce the price of a farm call, and the renderer isn’t going to be any cheaper, or the backhoe guy, or the crematorium. Maybe the big pink shot… maybe. I very much doubt it.
Euthanizing my old horse was $350 (emergency vet call included). I was lucky, the backhoe guy charged me $100. It probably wasn’t legal to bury him but I wasn’t inclined to search out the regulations at the time. At least the option was available to me – I live on a farm. In my previous 20 years of horse ownership I’ve never before been in a situation where burial was a possibility… nor did I know anyone with a gun. I’d bet that’s the case for many, many horse owners. And really, $450 would be a financial hardship for many of them too. Say all you want that people need to accept responsibility and the costs that come with it – I will, and you will, but many others won’t or can’t or don’t think that way. And no law is going to make them do so.
[QUOTE=LarkspurCO;1864422]
Paragon, I am curious about the apparent mutual exclusivity of your position. Why would banning horse slaughter preclude reform of the slaughter industry?[/QUOTE]
I never said it did, and I apologise if I made it seem that way.
I’m continuing to fall back on what I’ve always believed, and what seems to be represented on this forum: It’s not the slaughter that upsets people - horses are euthanised with regularity. It’s the fact that these animals are abused, neglected, and emotionally destroyed. Much of this happens before the horses ever get to slaughter.
Nobody has provided a satisfactory answer for the question of what will happen to all these animals when they are no longer allowed to be slaughtered. Who will buy them from the low-end auctions when they’re injured or on their last legs? Will they be purchased to be killed, but in a ‘socially acceptable’ way?
And finally, again, what makes euthanasia - or taking your old friend out back to shoot him - so much more humane and acceptable than a captive bolt?
I think it’s a healthy helping of romanticism, chased down with a bit of hero complex. Yes, we can rescue horses. Yes, we can save them from death and abuse, and I hope we will all continue! I was blessed by my rescue, who was bought from under a kill buyer. He taught me a great deal. But overbreeders around the country are cranking out more than we can save. What will happen?
[QUOTE=Paragon;1864446]
But overbreeders around the country are cranking out more than we can save. [/QUOTE]
Ah, yes. that’s kind of hte problem…
[QUOTE=Paragon;1864418]
There are several other threads on the topic here. I recommend you read them thoroughly and then state that those who oppose this slaughter bill are uncaring.
Your comments about “still alive while being butchered” underscore the need for stricter rules governing slaughterhouses. No animal deserves this. I don’t care if it’s a horse or a cow. NO ANIMAL DESERVES THIS! And it makes me sad that the matter of horse slaughter makes this somehow an issue, while so many people don’t give a crap what happens to the animal that ends up on their plate. I buy family-raised, locally slaughtered beef for a reason.
Fix the slaughter industry. Hold them accountable. Then tell me that a captive bolt is a million times worse than euthanasia - and tell me why.[/QUOTE]
no were am i sating tat a bolt is less or etter than the pink juice, only that it was apperant that “fix” the slaughtering issues" wasnt doing any thing and animal welfare was being stretched when you have animals eyes gauged out to behave better yet ok to travel??? yes there may be an increase in horses BUT im sure that to will level out as one person said just b/c you wernt wanted ther doesnt mean no one wants you, the divorce one, BUT that aside trying to hold the slaughter industry accountable didnt work so this was the next step and i think it coundnt come soon enough
and im sure if a person could afford to care for a horse while it was being of use for thm tat they could put out the extra $$$ for a humane death Pink or bolt, instead of on that just lead to a dinner plate
you dont see Animal control killing our dogs and cats and shipping them overseas… they are humanly disposed off, and that at least is a step in th right direction for our equine friends.
Okay, what? Who’s talking about gouging eyes out, and how does that relate to slaughter?
[QUOTE=RoseBud143;1864458] yes there may be an increase in horses BUT im sure that to will level out as one person said just b/c you wernt wanted ther doesnt mean no one wants you, the divorce one
[/quote]
I’m not sure where human relationships and horse rescue correlate. It’s comparing apples and peaches.
You know, maybe this is such a curious issue for me because I grew up in a town that had a slaughterhouse. It was a very small building, right on Main Street in this population-3,000 town, sandwiched between a bar and a bank. When sitting at the drive-thru on Tuesday mornings, the truck would pull up and four or five little brown cows would be herded into the building. The local meat market was a few blocks away, and they sold fresh, local everything. It smelled amazing and had a great reputation. Before my family moved away, my son, in kindergarten in 2002, went on a field trip there. All the classes go at some point, to see gross things like cow guts, and to see where their food comes from. They don’t watch slaughters take place, but they know it’s there, and they understand.
That’s what happens when slaughter is a local affair. The cows come from just down the street, right out of Farmer Bill’s pasture. They’re killed quickly and easily. It’s a reputable operation, owned by families. In some areas, local legislation shuts these places down. Cattle are forced to go on longer trips to meet their end, travelling to large, impersonal houses with shady reputations. It’s really too bad.
I’m on a h/j group on myspace and someone said that the AQHA is for slaughter houses?? Anyone know anything about this?
One of the news articles I read is why I think horse slaughter should be banned. Ranchers want a “quick and cheap” way to put down horses. However they’re killed, they have already done their duties…ropers, show horses, pets, pleasure horses… they were bred and raised to be at their human’s right hand, not to be discarded when they’re all used up. I say give them the respect at the end of their life that they deserve after working for us for so many years.
I’m on a h/j group on myspace and someone said that the AQHA is for slaughter houses??
Kalele,
The AQHA is against anti-slaughter legislation; so is the APHA for that matter. Other breed associations may feel likewise, but those are the two that I know of that don’t want slaughter outlawed.
RoseBud your post isn’t even worth answering. Your certainly entitled to your opinion but then so am I.
Agreed.
[QUOTE=poltroon;1864329]
In the end I think the only noticable change for the horses will be that there are fewer internet discussions on horse slaughter.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I do want the government out of farming. Let fair market determine the cost of food. People in the US pay the least percentage of their income for food of any country in the world. But that is besides the point. Horses with the exception of a very small few (a few Amish and ranchers) it not farming it is a hobby or sport. There are those that make a living in the horse industry but it is for others entertainment not farming.
This entire subject evolves around are horses livestock or pets. The anti-slaughter folks believe that horses are pets and therefor protected and special critters. Becareful on that slippery slope!
I would love to go on but must attend to the milking of my livestock. LF
Here is the link to the article, and you can find the related thread on COTH if you search for Texarkana.
http://www.saplonline.org/news/texarkana.htm
Edited to add: for the faint hearted, the pix are very disturbing.
[QUOTE=Kalele;1864511]
I’m on a h/j group on myspace and someone said that the AQHA is for slaughter houses?? Anyone know anything about this?
.[/QUOTE]
AQHA states it’s position and why in several publications, including the July/Aug 06 Americas Horse, pg. 14. They take no position on the consumption of horse meat, outside their scope. They do state that “by allowing animal rights activist to determine how we manage our horses opens the door to letting them put limits on what we can or cannot do with our horses”. They have activily supported legislation to ensure safe and humane transport to the 3 Federal plants along w/ guidelines as to how the horses must be treated. They have also donated milions upon millions of dollars for equine reserach, which benefits all horses.
Here is more from AQHA www.aqha.com/association/who/unwantedhorses.html
Hope this answers your question, and more importantly, provides the facts in this debate.
[QUOTE=luvmytbs;1864568]
Here is the link to the article, and you can find the related thread on COTH if you search for Texarkana.
http://www.saplonline.org/news/texarkana.htm
Edited to add: for the faint hearted, the pix are very disturbing.[/QUOTE]
Interesting, but I wonder if this is a normal, documented occurrence? Because I could take a look at the breeding operation that sent my boy to auction, emaciated and stunted, and say that breeding leads to neglect. It doesn’t, of course, because there are jillions of competent breeders in the world. I like to think that most horses out there, slaughterbound or otherwise, are allowed to live without this kind of horrific incident.
I read this article and I’m not sickened because these horses are going to slaughter. I’m saddened, of course - I think it’s a damned shame when people discard any animal. That’s why I have three rescue cats. (Hubby said no more. Boo!) But I’m absolutely sickened by the treatment they received. No animal deserves that, and I think this further supports the idea that animals bound for slaughter need to be treated with respect. Reforming slaughter is a step in the right direction.
