Horse slaughter plant.

[hurleyjd]

I have just read an article in The Country World Newspaper about the forced closing of the last horse slaughter plant in the USA. The suit was brought by The Humane Society of the United States. Here is a quote by the court, "States have a legitimate interest in prolonging the lives of animals and promoting the humane treatment of our fellow animals." My question is which animal interprise will they go after next, the cattle industry, poultry, swine or what. I am going to start an old cow farm and charge each of you a fee to keep the old cows after they get to old to produce, what do you think will it work. :lol:

 

[Jogeephus]

With Hollywood's humanizing of animals, it probably will. I guess this is why I have seen so many horses for sale lately. Last ad I saw was for two horses with saddles for $500. I figure they were selling two saddles and giving away the horses. :lol:

 

[brownmule]

few yrs ago i was at a horse sale a friend of mine bought a saddle that had a horse under it for 50.00 for real.. the pool old thing was very old, had frost bit on his hip bones.. ribby it was the worst thing id ever seen,, bobbie took him home, treated him,, and got him back on his feet,, but it was along time.. he never looked like a 10 yr old but he did look better.. few summers ago he found him a home.. we started calling him "last chance ranch"

 

[bigbull338]

the sad thing is with the plants closing.theres no place to go with the sick old or crippled horses.an all of that will make horses cheaper than dirt.the horse market is unstable anyway.people think they want a horse an buy it.then after awhile they decide they dont want it anymore.

 

[Victoria]

When people think of dogs they think Lassie and Old Yeller. When they think horses they think The Black Stallion and Black Beauty.
When they think cows they think McDonalds and Barbeque. Most people don't eat horsemeat, most people do eat beef. They ban cow slaughter and they wouldn't have a hamburger, most people aren't going to give up their burgers.

I can't help but think that Canada hasn't followed the US on slaughter bans because we have Quebec. There you can find cheval on the menu. I am not sure how popular it is there. Maybe if gendronf is reading he would fill us in.

 

[john250]

When they think cows they think McDonalds and Barbeque. Most people don't eat horsemeat, most people do eat beef. They ban cow slaughter and they wouldn't have a hamburger, most people aren't going to give up their burgers.

I hope you are right, but, be very afraid.
The plan of the HSUS and GRACE is to get their agenda in to law. In the instance of horses, they have succeeded.
How many people pay attention to Congress' daily proceedings? Mostly lobbyists, representing HSUS and GRACE and PETA.
I never would have believed you could ban a practice as old as horse slaughter. I believe "they" could achieve a beef slaughter ban as well, (OK, I'm paranoid) given the lack of knowledge the general public has about where and how food is produced.
The public sees the choice as "suffering" vs "no suffering". Of course they choose "no suffering". Who wouldn't? In the countryside, we see the unintended consequences. In my area, many horses will die of malnutrition this winter. We're droughty, and hay prices are 5 times as high as they were last year. A lot of horse owners struggle to feed their critters at normal prices.
Horses are no longer saleable, except at performance horse or race horse levels. Slaughter was a prop under the market. I think the market is in free-fall mode.
I'm not a bad guy. I GAVE my daughters 2 horses to a good home when they were worth at least $800 each at slaughter. I'm not poor, but I don't often give $1600 away either.
I've never eaten horse. Doubt if I ever will, but I don't imagine I'll ever eat another squirrel, either.
All the groups I mentioned have vaults full of cash. And they have attitude aplenty. If they can game the system (political system) and get a law passed, they would do it without hesitation.
I've seen this up close, on a local level. These folks have evangelical fervor. And their means are justified by the ends, in their view.
I apologize for ranting. Be certain, they are really out to get us. us=anyone who handles livestock in any way

 

[Victoria]

John, you are right they are nuts and they are out to get us. That said Cargill and others have quite bit of money and power too.
I wasn't at all surprised when the US banned horse slaughter. Most people wouldn't go for dog slaughtering either. Have you read some of the anti-horse slaughter websites? The majority of the supporters eat cows, pigs, chickens. To them horses are different, personally I don't know why. So now the job we have is to educate the public on the negative effects of the slaughter ban. Make people realize what is happening out there.

 

[Victoria]

PS-
No need to apologize for ranting- it's easy to do when dealing with the PETA groups. :roll:

 

[Hunny Do Ranch]

With Hollywood's humanizing of animals, it probably will. I guess this is why I have seen so many horses for sale lately. Last ad I saw was for two horses with saddles for $500. I figure they were selling two saddles and giving away the horses. :lol:

Man send them down this way. I am looking for a new horse for the hubby!

 

[docgraybull]

an all of that will make horses cheaper than dirt.the horse market is unstable anyway.

It's already happened. Reliable sources tell me that some horse sales now require the seller to leave a deposit along with the horse to cover yardage, insurance, etc., in case the horse doesn't bring enough to cover it. Heard of two registered Quarter Horse yearlings sold for $60 apiece at a horse sale recently.

 

[mnmtranching]

I have this neighbor, retired, bought 160 acres. Uses the place for unwanted horses. People just drop them off. The numbers are growing fast. Especially now as Winter closes in. The guy must have plenty of $ or donations maybe? But MAN :roll: Takes up a lot of the local hay supply, and raises the price. :x

 

[flaboy]

It will only get worse before it gets fixed. How many folks do ya think will just turn them loose like they do pigs when the pigs become hogs? Wait till one of these folks have a horse land in the front seat of their car with them after being hit because they are running wild.

Maybe folks should find the richest PETA member with the most land and just start delivering their unwanted/sick/old horses to their front gate.

 

[Crowderfarms]

Someone told me yesterday that Oprah had a big power play in getting the slaughter houses shut down. Wonder if there's any truth to it?

 

[flaboy]

Don't know but if PETA is for real then they should start taking care of all the unwanted horses.

 

[ETF]

Don't know about Oprah, but Willie Nelson actively lobbied against the slaughter houses. He's done a lot of good for farmers over the years, but that was a bad decision.

As far as pigs, these folks got an amendment to Florida's constitution passed that mandated certain care requirements for pregnant pigs. Supposedly it was a test for legislation they want to pass in the Carolinas for the big hog farms up there. Anyway, a lot of the farmers just killed their pigs rather than deal with it. Not sure that was the end results those idiots were expecting. :roll:

 

[TheBullLady]

That's what I don't understand.. PETA and the Humane Society have BILLIONS of donated dollars.. so why the he!! aren't THEY taking the horses??? They don't want anyone to slaughter them, but they don't want to be responsible for the results.

It is truly SCARY.. they are two of, if not THE richest non-profit organizations in the world. People don't have a CLUE.

 

[rouxshortorn]

Sounds to me if PETA wants to save the world,they should take care of the orphans! And they should let us keep all these food chain's going with our beef,pork,and chicken to support the other kids of his world. I wonder if all PETA are VEGETARIAN'S???????

 

[Oldtimer]

Daily News Update, Oct. 9, 2007


AVMA addresses consequences of horse-processing ban

Efforts to shut down horse processing plants in the United States have led to increased abandonment and neglect of horses in this country and the inhumane death of horses in Mexico, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, director of the AVMA Governmental Relations Division, says that the AVMA, far from being pro-horse slaughter, opposes bills banning slaughter because there are no provisions to take care of the more than 100,000 horses that go unwanted annually in the United States.

"If they think that by passing one of these bills they'll get rid of the problem of unwanted horses, they're simply fooling themselves," Dr. Lutschaunig said.

Efforts by groups calling for an end to horse slaughter, such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), have led to the closure of the three remaining processing plants in the United States. Now, as the AVMA has repeatedly warned, horses are being abandoned in the United States or transported to Mexico where, without U.S. federal oversight and veterinary supervision, they are slaughtered inhumanely.

"The reality is, the HSUS has done nothing to address the real issue here, and, in fact, by seeking to ban horse slaughter, they have made things significantly worse," said Dr. Lutschaunig. "If they really wanted to do something productive to improve the welfare of horses, they would address the issue of unwanted horses in the United States."

Even if a bill passes banning the transport of horses for slaughter, it would be nearly impossible to enforce. Such a law could easily be circumvented by transporting and selling horses as "working" or "pleasure" horses, only to have them end up in an unregulated foreign slaughter facility.

"The AVMA does not support horse slaughter," Dr. Lutschaunig said. "Ideally, we would have the infrastructure in this country to adequately feed and care for all horses. But the sad reality is that we have a number of horses that, for whatever reason, are unwanted. Transporting them under USDA supervision to USDA-regulated facilities where they are humanely euthanized is a much better option than neglect, starvation, or an inhumane death in Mexico."

 

[msscamp]

That's what I don't understand.. PETA and the Humane Society have BILLIONS of donated dollars.. so why the he!! aren't THEY taking the horses??? They don't want anyone to slaughter them, but they don't want to be responsible for the results.

People don't have a CLUE.

They simply want to be able to tell other people how to take care of their animals, not accept responsibility for said animals - that would actually be work, and cost them money. Are you just figuring this out? :o :lol:

 

[Carlos D.]

We still got a couple slaughter plants in canada--going pretty strong to --but horses only get about 46 cents a pound

carl