FOR THE LOVE OF HORSES pt. 1
The following is a story that I researched and wrote for Sidelines’ February 2011 issue. It was a very challenging story to write, because of the subject matter: unwanted horses in the United States. I love horses, but my work doesn’t have me laughing all the way to the bank. Neigh, I live on a tight budget and if I splurge on anything, it’s on having one pony and one dog. That’s it. They eat before I do. That’s the way it is.
But what about all the unwanted horses? Rescue organizations and shelters are maxed out. People are tightening their belts in general. The issue of unwanted horses provokes extremely emotional reactions. Facebook provides an “open mike” so to speak, and a number of people are very upset about the passing of the bill to reinstate horse slaughter in the US. Some people are saying that it means we will be eating horsemeat: that’s not true! Here, in its entirety, is part one of “For The Love Of Horses” and I really hope that it helps people to understand why we must take responsibility for what happens to the unwanted horses.
FOR THE LOVE OF HORSES
By Lauren R. Giannini
In an ideal world, everything is perfect – no poverty, war, terrorism, famine or disease; no child abuse, domestic violence or rape. In an ideal world there are no neglected, abused or abandoned animals. Unfortunately, this world exists only in our dreams. Unwanted horses, about 100,000 annually in the United States, include every discipline and sport, from backyards and pleasure riders to OTTBs to show hunters and jumpers past their prime to abandoned and/or starvation cases. They pose a huge problem: quite simply, there are not enough adoptive homes to take them all in, and many are in such bad shape they can’t be saved. Too many horses are suffering more hardship and deprivation than horse lovers care to admit.
In 2008 Twiggy was close to death from starvation. Photo Courtesy of Middleburg Humane Foundation
During the best of economies, it can be challenging to meet the maintenance expenses incurred by healthy equids, let alone those with ailments, soundness issues, and special needs. Animal welfare proponents are seriously concerned about the fate of unwanted horse. From a livestock perspective, they become a liability when age, injuries or illness prevent them from fulfilling their job descriptions.
Shortly after Twiggy's arrival at the shelter she went down and stayed down for three days. With the help of local vets (Piedmont Equine & Dr. Andrea Russell) she made it through that rough patch. Photo Courtesy of Middleburg Humane Foundation
The ideal scenario, of course is re-homing, but even that isn’t always in a horse’s best interests. Yes, the responsible choice is euthanasia if a pasture-potato situation can’t be secured. But to an already-struggling horse owner, even calling in a vet to do the deed is expensive. Costs average from $150 to $350, more with a barn call fee. Then you have to do something with the remains. This is complicated by the high dose of concentrated barbiturate in the lethal injection, which can be administered only by a vet. The remains become an environmental hazard if buried or composted near a source of water and can’t be fed safely to carnivores in zoos or in the wild.
The economy has resulted in dire consequences for middle class people who own the majority of the nearly 10 million equines in the US. More find themselves facing difficult decisions about whether to pay the rent or mortgage and feed the kids or the horses. It isn’t ideal; it’s the current reality. Horses are actually livestock, but now that they’re more widely regarded as companion animals, the issue of unwanted horses gets agitated by emotion and anthropomorphized personal beliefs.
Frustrated & Overwhelmed
The recession’s impact on many equine rescues and retirement farms has been devastating. Many haven’t the money or the staff to take care of the animals.
Hilleary Bogley founded the Middleburg Humane Foundation, a farm-based, small and large animal shelter that specializes in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused, neglected and at-risk animals. MHF, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, relies on fundraisers and private donations which are 100% tax deductible. All funds go directly into the animals and programs, which include companion animal adoption, equine rescue, feral cat population control, and low cost spay & neuter assistance. Bogley, a licensed vet tech and court-appointed Humane Investigator for two Virginia counties with 23 years in animal welfare, leads a small core staff and many volunteers.
“We’ve gone from an average of 20 horses a year in our program for adoption to now we have 57 horses,” says Bogley. “For the first 15 years of MHF we never had more than 20 horses, unless we had a large seizure, but we would usually be able to place them pretty quickly. Horse adoptions are way, way down: because of the economy, and the fact that there is no longer much value in horses, people can’t afford to take on more horses. A lot of equine rescue facilities are closing, because they can’t keep up and they’re frustrated and overwhelmed – it’s just never-ending.”
Lifelong Commitment
Horses can live to be 25-40 years old – a big difference compared to the life span of dogs and cats: they live to be 15, give or take a few years. Even in the prime of their life, domesticated animals can’t fend for themselves. They depend on people, especially as they get older and develop ailments and special needs.
“First of all, be aware of your responsibilities in horse ownership before you take on a horse,” advises Bogley. “Don’t take on a horse if you can’t make a lifelong commitment. I ask people: do you know where your first pony is? Most people have no idea. Ponies just get passed and passed and passed. In their golden years, when they need that care, they usually end up in a bad way…”
Bogley knows where her first pony is. Stormy was older when she started out with him, but he stayed in the family and eventually went back to her mother. He was euthanized when he was about 45.
Educating Breeders
“We can start by educating people. If you increase the quality and decrease the quantity of the horses you’re breeding, everyone will benefit,” states Bogley. “That’s not going to happen overnight. They did a study many years ago and learned that it would take four years to see a higher quality, lower quantity. In the Thoroughbred, Arabian and Quarter Horse industries, people pay a lot of money to register a horse. It means nothing in terms of quality. You can register anything and it’s just more filing of paperwork.”
Savvy breeders slowed down on reproduction. They’re still feeding their mares, but they aren’t footing expenses for young stock that might not sell. Like real estate, it’s a buyers’ market out there.
Twiggy turned out to be one of the lucky ones. After that rough patch the light suddenly came back on in her eyes, she started eating, gaining weight and getting healthy. She now lives the life of a spoiled princess on a farm with one of MHF’s wonderful volunteers. Photo Courtesy of Middleburg Humane
Educating The Public About All The Options
“Another solution is to educate the public about the necessity of humane slaughter of horses in the US which we can regulate and which is necessary because of the severe overpopulation problem,” says Bogley.
The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) are not pro-slaughter, per se, but on their website they state: The AVMA opposes the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) because it is, quite simply, a bad bill that ignores the real issue—what do we do with all of these unwanted horses? Eliminating an option for their disposition does nothing to solve the problem, it only adds to it.
“Between Bo Derek and her good looks and low-cut blouses, her television ads, and the kids writing letters to senators and congressmen, everybody was misinformed,” emphasizes Bogley. “The animal rights people were going to take away that option [humane slaughter regulated and monitored within the US], but they had no plan B for what people could do with these horses. The general public also doesn’t understand there is a huge over-population problem in horses, just like in cats and dogs, because there is no regulation of the breeding industry. Up until 4 years ago there was a market for horses – not only in riding horses or horses for sport, but also in horsemeat. Now, we’ve taken that market away, the value of horses has dropped [with the recession], and there is a dreadful overpopulation problem.”
The animal rights people used videos and photos of the rare occurrences of mishandling in slaughterhouses to their advantage in a massive shock campaign to gain support to outlaw horse slaughter. The last three slaughter facilities to close [in 2007 President Bush signed the bill that outlawed horse slaughter in the US] – Illinois and two in Texas – used a penetrating captive bolt, one of three methods of euthanasia recommended by the AVMA. The other two are lethal barbiturate injection and gunshot.
“Over 98% were done humanely with the captive bolt – when you’re slaughtering 300 horses or however many in a day, of course, you have occasionally a horse that doesn’t quite fit into the squeeze chute and throws up its head and the cowboy doesn’t catch him exactly where he’s supposed to,” explains Bogley. “Those are the videos that you see. HSUS, SPCA, all these big animal rights groups – they don’t show you the hundreds of other horses that went through on their videos for six hours, they pull out that one when something went wrong. Something always goes wrong in everything in life, nothing is certain, nothing is guaranteed.”
No Regulation
What is guaranteed now is that there are still 100,000 unwanted horses, far too many to be taken in by already over-stretched rescue outfits. The animal rights people crowed about their victory in reducing animal suffering by the US ban on horse slaughter; however, many experts in animal welfare disagree emphatically. The AVMA’s substantial FAQ about unwanted horses and slaughter (see end of story for link) expresses their concern that following the closure of the American facilities, regulated by the US Dept of Agriculture, horses are suffering far worse fates by being trucked to slaughter in Mexico, where the USDA has no jurisdiction.
“The stabbing and severing of spines is what’s happening in Mexico,” says Bogley. “If it’s not done exactly correct, it is very inhumane. There is no humane slaughter act in Mexico. We cannot regulate anything once the horses leave the US. They’re mass-slaughtering ten times the number of horses they usually did, because of the horses coming in from the US. They did not have that number of horses before [the shutdown of US facilities]. They’ve got horses just flowing into Mexico.”
Changing The Laws
“My thing was humane transport,” explains Bogley. “About 20 years ago, a friend who’s now an attorney in Kentucky and I took a year and we documented and videotaped all of the horrors of the transportation of horses for slaughter and we were able to introduce some new language into the federal transportation laws for horses.”
Their work changed federal laws. No more double-decker transporters, and the visually impaired or blind horses had to be led by hand onto the truck and loaded separately. Good changes were being sought by animal welfare groups in the years leading up to the legislation being passed in 2007 to outlaw horse processing plants within the US, but the plight of these unwanted horses has taken severe turns for the worse.
Realistic Solutions
United Horsemen is a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization with a plan for humane and realistic solutions to the excess horse problem. Two parts of the mission embraced by these dedicated urban and rural horse-lovers is the rescue and rehabilitation of horses with potential for re-training and re-homing. The third element involves recycling: the blunt term is slaughter, but the goal is euthanasia or humane death by captive bolt or bullet at a local, US-regulated facility.
Part of the success of this rescue, rehabilitation and recycle project depends on Dr. Temple Grandin, who was asked to design the horse-handling chute for the proposed Wyoming facility. She is an animal behaviorist and professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, author, and one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2010.
Dr. Grandin, who is autistic with a special connection and empathy for animals, described the fate of horses shipped to Mexico where they are stabbed to sever their spines as her “worst nightmare and an example of well-intentioned but very bad unintended consequences. It’s only going to get worse because there’s no way to close that border. They just wave you through. I pulled some figures off the internet and something like 1200 horses a week are crossing the border from the US. The plant is under the European Union, which is getting very concerned about the drug residue problem.”
In other words, if the EU shuts down or reduces production in that plant, then horses from the US will go into local livestock plants and ‘neighborhood’ butcher shops and that will be even worse for the horses, due to no regulation of Mexican abattoirs.
“It will be an unregulated mess,” emphasized Dr. Grandin, “and nobody can go down there and inspect anything, because it’s too dangerous.”
A Better Solution
The growing horrors in Mexico add more weight to why a change in US laws to allow a humane horse-processing facility in Wyoming would save many thousands of horses from suffering on the road to Mexico and the ultimate indignity of a merciless demise. The horses would benefit from the federal transport laws, the facility would be regulated and managed properly. Most of all, the animals would handled with care. Moreover, the public eye would be watching to make sure that the horses were handled properly and that the humane code would be upheld to the best of everyone’s ability.
“I have the design,” says Dr. Grandin. “Once you have that in place, you want the horses to have quiet and careful handling outside, no distractions, and you have to have management that wants to handle animals right. If you don’t have management dedicated to doing things right, you’re going to have bad stuff going on.”
United Horsemen are committed to alleviating as much suffering as possible if horses must be slaughtered, which is why they contacted Dr. Grandin. Her many years of substantial experience as an animal behaviorist has led her to pioneer humane handling and appropriate facilities for livestock to be slaughtered here in the US and around the world. Animal rights organizations don’t agree, and the general public seem to be turning a very blind eye toward the transport of horses to Mexico – out of sight, out of mind.
Real Alternative
“If people tell me slaughter is terrible, I tell them give me all your ideas for alternatives,” says Dr. Grandin. “I’ve had people tell me what the horse rescue places are doing, some people want to make big sanctuaries. I say, ‘Fine – do it.’ Those rescue places take money. If you have a big sanctuary, they get filled up and if you exceed the capacity of the land you’ve got a real mess. I don’t want to hear should this or should that. Let’s talk about something that someone’s actually going to do.”
There’s an old saying: if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. The great efforts by individuals and small organizations to rescue and rehabilitate neglected and abandoned animals simply aren’t enough. The loss of US horse-processing plants resulted in a cruel blow to the horses themselves.
“I want to talk about doing. Not policy. Not ideology. What can we actually do?” asks Dr. Grandin. “When they contact me with their lovely hate emails, I say give me plans for alternatives that are real services. What service are you going to provide? They never reply.”
We all love our horses. Nobody wants to see any animal suffer or starve or be relegated to cross the rainbow bridge at a slaughterhouse – anywhere. Yet, the realities faced by the growing numbers of unwanted horses demand that we consider all the options. For some horses, there is no escaping the abattoir. Given that fact, we might consider that our ultimate kindness, even if it’s not the most preferable option, would be to monitor the work of a humanely run processing plant here in the US than to allow horses either to starve to death or to suffer that one-way ride to Mexico.
The fact is that many horses still face death somewhere, and that means we must do what we can to make sure it is as gentle and easy as possible. We all have a conscience. If emotion over-rules common sense, however, we must be prepared to pay the consequences: living with the knowledge that we allowed doomed horses to cross the border where humane regulations simply do not exist.
www.united-horsemen.org/
www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/unwanted_horses_faq.asp
END
Sidelines writer/photographer Lauren Giannini keeps readers on course with eventing and other fast-paced equestrian pursuits.
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Well said, Lauren.
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Lauren,
So diappointed in this article. Did you really do your reserch and know what the United Horseman group is really about????
They don’t give one damm about humane horse slaughter. Its all about the cash for them. Do your reserch on Sue Wallis and Dave Duquett, who run this group. Anyone who has been fowllowing them, knows this.
Also having AVMA saying slaugter is humane, is insane. maybe you should read this article.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/vickeryeckhoff/2011/12/06/horse-slaughterhouse-investigation-sounds-food-safety-and-cruelty-alarms/
Here is also another site you can check out:
http://www.respect4horses.com/truth.html
I am sure once you do more research, you find out about who the United Horsemans Group really is.
I am appauled that you mention them like they were the good guys in your article, so more peolple can be fooled by their antics.
Lauren, While I appreciated the style of your writing, as opposed to its content; I whole heartedly agree with Kitster. The bare facts of the hows and whys of this issue & bill are simply a matter of politics unfortunately. Pesident Obama stroked voters by supporting the bill the first time out of the gate, and now he gets his much needed campaign support from cattle barons, mining companies, and foreign owned soil in this country. Criminal. One of the longest threads of the League of Maryland Horsemen these past few weeks debate this issue from many viewpoints. None of them incorporate support for boltgun methodologies. While emotion understandably had its place in the conversation many comments reflected expert testimony that on a regular daily basis (percentage was not a factor to isolate the gore for effect; because it was considered the standard) “horses regain consciousness within 30 seconds and were fully aware they are being eviscerated.” per fomer USDA CHIEF inspector Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM . I would question why a representative of a government agency would make a statement so contrary to what his position stood for, were it not true; and maybe why he was no longer a Chief Inspector after years of sevice.. Since there were over 76 comments to the thread I can only invite you to peruse the page on FB.
Do not follow the paths of others-..go where there is no path and leave a trail… (remniscent of Emerson) One never knows when brilliance may surface to change the world as we know it. We must address it as a challenge to the horse community itself. One gal bought up the idea of euthanasia fees incorporated into breed registry fees. On a mass scale, interest on a mimimum amount may build over the years to accomodate the cost. In the final analysis, the brutality of the current standard of slaughtering is unacceptable and the 2nd link below calls to President Obama to stand by his campaign promises. The culpability lies within the horse community due to indiscriminant breeding and it is up to us to offer Lauren and the rest of the world a solution. The way I see it, a bullet is quicker, they do not see it coming and there is no fear of a giant buzzing arm freaking them out. This is the reality of how it will be. Get rid of the terror factor-there would be more of a meeting of the mind regarding horse slaughter being an acceptable. How? Instead of the chute make it a reasonable stall height, hang a hay bag for god’s sake, lose the boltgun and make sure they’re dead b4 you start carving. Ponder this, talk about it while riding, thought creates thought. Somewhere out there is the answer. It is ridiculous to think in this age of intelligence that a solution does not exist. It just is not being addressed seriously by enough think-tank people.
As far as the solutions you ask for-another topic of discussion. The question of “Where have all the inventers gone” came to light. While some reflected that-
“I don’t have much optimism that a money driven industry will ever search to find a different way unless they are forced to. They will use the most cost effective method. I agree that if the horse never saw or heard it coming it would be more humane. The reality is that sort of plan would take increased space and time to process the horses. Space and time equate to money so it won’t happen unless it’s forced.” J. M. -others responded:
So it falls to those that love the animal to develop its humane demise in a more cost effective manner. As Churchill(?) Roosevelt stated- Time on a horse is never wasted- we have to have some brilliant inventor minds out there in the saddle. So we can someday google the article- So and so of the LOMH paved the way for humane slaughter today by releasing the prototype that is rocking the nation, bringing the slaughter industry to a more comfortable level with horse enthusiasts and has other countries looking to follow suit…
Best Regards,
Horsewoman57
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Frtfitch.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F12%2F01%2Fcall-president-obama-on-promise-to-stop-horse-slaughter%2F&h=pAQH88e1fAQGq5hO6PTwpEEwbrqy5Hrp7O3bpxCFhjyKfcw
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwwws.whitehouse.gov%2Fpetitions%23!%2Fpetition%2Fban-horse-slaughter%2FGnNH1pS&h=cAQH-v28TAQGKPjumpM2AcZmLjo2xcXt-k3KeB_5pBUn5iw
@Kitster: Yes, in all honesty, I did intensive amounts of research – in fact, my research efforts on the current plight of unwanted horses date back a couple of years or more. Also, I have been actively involved with horses since childhood. I love them – they are the heart and soul of my life, my work and my play. I’m also quite aware that Sue Wallis (Republican Representative Wyoming) who helped to found United Horsemen is pro-slaughter. But she is also pro-humane and feels as strongly about the need to process horses right here in the US, regulating it and giving horses yet another chance before their lives are terminated. She feels as strongly about the need for localized, humanely managed and designed facilities as you and many others feel about stopping slaughter completely. But it’s very unrealistic, not to mention inhumane, to turn a blind eye to the 100,000+ horses made to suffer on that long haul to Mexico where they will be dispatched by having their spines severed. That’s a nightmare and why this country needs people like Rep. Wallis who are willing to speak out on this very emotional issue. I’m also aware that Rep. Wallis, like many other proponents of unpopular issues, including Pro Choice on the human abortion issue, will be targeted to discredit them in the public eye. This is part of human nature and a huge piece of the political system here in the US. As for President Obama – I am pretty certain that personally he is very anti-horse processing (kinder sounding word than slaughter which implies massacre and bloodbath), but that he has examined the findings of the GMAO report and sees the need to address the plight and fate of Unwanted Horses within the boundaries of this country. So, yes, I have read the other websites, and just as you are entitled to your opinions and beliefs, so am I. In terms of United Horsemen and all those who are appalled that we are sending our unwanted horses to horrific deaths in Mexico – I stand on my research, my observations and what I personally have experienced in a lifetime with horses. I don’t like the idea of slaughter, but if we can manage and design humane processing facilities right here, give horses another chance by veterinarian evaluation and time and the opportunity to regain their health and have a new life as someone’s riding horse, therapy horse or companion horse, then I say: well done, United Horsemen. They’re committing to an expensive program and, given that one horse costs a minimum of about $3,000 per year for basic maintenance (food, water, turnout, hay or forage, basic hoof care, regular worming, annual vaccinations, dental care and mandatory coggins test for EIA, equine infectious anemia) -and that one little accident can require veterinary care costing from a few hundred to thousands of dollars – well, their programs will be costly, to say the least and I think it’s a bit extreme to accuse them of profiteering at this time, because part of the UH program is to save the ones that can be saved. Right now, the good guys in my book are the people sticking out their necks and volunteering incredible amounts of time as they actively work to stop the exodus of unwanted horses to Mexico, rehab the ones that can be nursed back to health for new jobs as riding or companion horses, and allow the others a humane end to their earth walks.
Well written article, and I could not agree more!!
I think even if you physically shoved the truth in some peoples faces they STILL wouldn’t get the reality. No one is saying send all the horse to slaughter……there STILL will be sanctuaries for them. There will ALWAYS be that CHOICE.
As I have always said, if you do not agree with slaughter and you want to be part of the solution to the problem you more than likely helped create , then take action and put your money where YOUR mouth is, take on at least 1 or 2 of these animals you so passionately advocate for and care for them for the rest of their lives, up until their natural end, if you cannot afford it…then get another job flippin burgers!. LIVE it for real. Because to my mind , there is no discussion without a common frame of reference.
Lauren, Thank you for this article. I believe that everything you say here is correct, as I have researched this subject extensivly myself. I have also asked many people to give me ideas for realistic solutions for the overpopulation problem, only to hear crickets. Thank you again for the very “well spoken” article!
Excellent article. Thanks for having the courage to take a stand on such a controversial subject. Is slaughter the ideal end for horses? No. But for now, it’s the most realistic and humane solution. Thanks again for sharing.
Lauren, I find your article completely refreshing as it actually looks at all issues facing horsemen at this time. As a native of the American West, I grew up with horses. My father trained horses for others and he never allowed us to abuse nor mistreat them in any way. I still hold to that train of thought. I love horses – as a child they were my source of quiet and comfort. And yes…I DO know where my first pony is as she was with our family until her death at the age of 18. But, I am also totally aware of the issues at hand.
The simple fact is that there are unwanted horses that cannot be rehabilitated either due to health issues or emotional/disposition issues. As my father used to say “There are too many good horses out there for me to feed one that kicks or bites”. Most people don’t want to spend their time or money to rehabilitate an unruly horse. One of the things I haven’t heard mentioned is the issues of price and demand of hay. Because of the increase in unwanted horses that are now requiring feed, the price of hay in my area has gone from $80-$125 a ton to $200+ over the past 2 years. Hay is now increasingly hard to come by, especially if you don’t buy it as soon as it’s cut and baled. So, not only is the economy in tough shape, but the price to maintain a horse has gone up considerably. Many of the people in my area have small pastures that can’t support a horse’s dietary needs full time, so they may feed hay year round. That difference in hay price can REALLY add up! People here are giving horses away (if they can) and I’ve heard of some cutting their brands off (so the owners can’t be identified) and then turning them out on the desert to fend for themselves.
One local buyer for the meat market still purchase a few horses that are taken into Canada, where they still slaughter horses. But, he only buys horses that are 1200+ lbs as it’s not worth his time or money to haul anything less. Yet, he says everytime he leaves, he acquires a couple more horses as when he gets home, he finds that someone has just dropped them off at his home and tied them to the fence. People are becoming increasingly desperate as to what to do with those unwanted which is leading to more and more abuse cases. Although I have never seen the horrors of Mexico’s slaughter houses firsthand, I have seen videos and believe me, I would NEVER want one of my horses to be sent there.
As for reopening plants in the U.S., I’m well aware of Dr. Grandin’s work and am quite comfortable with her involvement in the physical aspect of horse slaughter. The fact that she has been brought in to advise on the humane issues of it, and that her ideas and suggestions are being integrated into the slaughter plants definitely shows that there is compassion for those horses that will be coming through these plants.
I do agree there are other issues that need to change that will help alleviate the issue of overpopulation. I do not agree with the use of AI in breeding. This allows a stallion to produce an extremely large number of foals over and above what he might if he was only allowed to breed naturally. Although the Quarter Horse registry does allow a foal to be registered when conceived in this way, it is my understanding that the Thoroughbred registry does not. In the same light, embryo transplants should also be disallowed if a foal is to be registered. This, of course, is simply my opinon.
I get tired of people commenting when it’s obvious that they are doing so out of emotional reactions rather than plain hard facts. Most of the people who are against horse slaughter have never owned a horse, but still see them as a romantic symbol of the American West. I would hope that these people could be educated as to the real issues, but I’m also aware that this is not going to happen. I can only hope that those of us who DO see all sides of the issues can help keep this option open as a viable one.
Thank you for your article. I am amazed at the glut of misinformation out there about this topic. In a society that preaches we should recycle, and reuse everything, there are an alarming number of folks who can’t see the value in slaughter as a way to accomplish that and protect our environment.
They have such anthropomorphized ideals about their horses that they can’t see that they are livestock. Don’t get me wrong, I love my horses, we treat them as good as we can, and appreciate them for their personalities and character. We also have sheep and cattle, and appreciate them for their individual personalites also, but we raise sheep and cattle to feed our family, and make an income for my autistic son. I guess because of that exposure to animals that will eventually become our food, I have a different perspective on the idea of horses being sold for meat.
We form bonds and become partners with our horses, and treat them with kindness and affection. We try very hard to fit horses with owners that will continue to treat our horses well. We want the horse to be an enjoyable addition for the buyer, not a nightmare of bad habits and dangerous behavior. We do send horses to the canner if their quality of life isn’t good, or they are not sound. We could not in good conscience pass an animal along to someone else that was unsound, either in mind or limb, so we do what is the best decision in our opinion, and we send them to the sale, to be sold for slaughter.
We don’t believe euthanization to be the right answer, because the carcass is then unuseable and a biohazard. Dead is dead, and why not have something good come from it? We do have a finacial need to recoup part of our investment in our animals, and that may sound cold, but it is the truth of being in the horse industry.
I don’t ever plan to eat any horse meat, but I am glad the ban on horse slaughter in the US is no more. The value of our riding horses is so diminished that it is hard to stay afloat. We do not raise colts, because we choose not to breed the mares we own right now, as it is financially impossible to make a profit doing that. We buy young horses and turn them into bridle horses. It takes years of commitment and work to accomplish. It is very frustrating that because of the ban, we cannot get even half what our horses were worth before it was in effect.
Lauren, Thank you, thank you and the abused horses say thank you. So many of the people that speak out against you and your statements are having trouble with the reality of this situation and how massive the issue is. I have witnessed firsthand the abuses that the slaughter/processing ban has brought and although it would be wonderful if all the horses could be saved and cared for -it just isn’t possible…just as so many children suffer-it is wrong, but it happens and we can only do so much in a day. Your words are appreciated here. Again Thank you for being the voice.
I also agree with this article. If your not a horseman or horse owner, and are not involved daily in the lives of horses, it seems to me you shouldn’t have a say in this. As your opinion would be based on emotion and/or hearsay. I love horses, but unfortunately this situation has gotten way out of control. Sadly, slaughter is by FAR the best option that we have, and I don’t see any way that could change. For those that have not seen a horse that was starved to death, it is sickening!!! And if you witnessed it, I really believe you would see humane slaughter in a new light. My horses are well fed and cared for, and are an important part of my life. But, at the end of the day, they are still livestock.
Lauren, I completely understand and support your article. The fact of the matter is even if every horse slaughter house worldwide is closed down, horses will die every day of starvation and injuries or other ways of ending horses lives. The fact is death is not pretty, even when it is humane, death is a horrible thing.
I had to recently put down a beautiful 5 yr old horse this year. He had an inoperable ocd and was neurological. He could have been retired but ran the risk of him hurting himself and not knowing it or hurting someone handling him. We do not currently have our own land and at 850 a month in board, retirement in his current situation was not an option. We talked with is breeder, his vet and decided the best thing was to euthanize him and bury him on the farm he was boarded at.
It was the hardest thing I have ever done, I do not know what I thought it was going to be like exactly, but I can tell you I did not think it would be like that. It also cost alot of money!! It was 250 for the shot and farm call and 300 for the hole we had to have dug. The headstone was made by his breeder so we did not incur that cost, not to mention the diagnostics we had done to see if there was any way we could retire him, help him etc.
We had to lead him up the hill to this huge hole that was dug for him. The vet injected him and then we sort of held on to him on leads as he fell to the ground butt first and sort of bounced a bit off the ground bc he was so big.They listened until his heart stopped beating and Then the farm hand took the bobcat out from behind the trees (we hid it so not to stress the horse out) and pushed the dead body into the hole – something you never want to see, and covered it with dirt, put up a beautiful headstone and walked away. (IF I had videoed this the peta people and fanatics out there would have accused me of inhumanely euthanizing him bc he didnt have a memory foam mattress underneath him when he fell. People think horses just lay down and fall asleep and that is bull crap, they can seize, they can stumble and fall all sorts of ways, the body shuts down and what happens next is not predictable.Lets face it, no matter what death is not pretty.
A friend of mine recently decided her horse needed to be put down and she chose a different method. Mind you, she had choices and the means to do what we did, but chose a different route. She had the horse loaded up (who was perfectly pasture sound by the way), taken to hunt kennels, shot in the head with a bullet I am guessing and then cut up into pieces of meat and fed to the hounds. What do you think the peta fanatics would have said about this – and how is this any different than a slaughter house.
I also have a friend who has an outfit of trail horses on the west coast and when he came out and saw one of his older horses tangled in a fence with its leg dangling, he went and got a gun and shot it and burned it in a burn pile bc it is illegal to bury horses in his area and to have it hauled away was going to take a week to pick up and cost too much money.
AND 1 last real life death story. We used to live in wyoming near Cody. I had a friend on my road that had horses. She had some retirees and also rescued horses from meat trucks, blm mustang round ups etc. She had one that had foundered several times and decided she needed to put him down. I asked her what vet she was using and she looked perplexed. We talked about her putting her horse down and she said her husband would just load him up and take him to the kill pit. I gasped and my eyes were like saucers. The kill pit? She said at the landfill down the road there was a pit of animals, sick cows that couldnt be rendered, road kill collected by the local road crew, pets etc.
They would just back up the trailer, lead the horse to the edge, shoot it in the head and it would fall in the kill pit. They had to be sure it fell that way and not on them so they had to have a few people with them to manipulate the way the body fell. Then it would just decompose like all the other animals in the hot wyoming sun in the kill pit. This horse by the way that she rescued from a meat truck.
She rescued it from the meat truck, put weight on it, loved it and rode it. She had him about 5 yrs or so and then it foundered. He spent several months in and out of rehab, stall rest, etc. Finally she just decided it was his time and to the kill pit he went, not much different from a slaughter house.
So here are 4 examples (none of which by the way are starving families that couldnt keep horses )- None of these are pretty or nice to think about, but this is the truth and the truth is ugly, but it is still the truth take it or leave it.
The fact is no matter what we do, people will make choices to do things in different ways than others would like. We are all animal lovers and in a perfect world every animal would be cradled and loved until its last breath.
This will never happen, but what we can do is support slaughter houses. Support making them better, support regulations for shipping, loading processes, how they are slaughtered etc. It is up to us to create the jobs, to open the houses, and to get the appropriate parties involved. The more slaughter houses we have the more jobs for america, the better the economy and the more choices for people and horses that are un loved, or sick or rendered useless for people that use them for business.
IF we have more slaughter houses and better regulations it will take the stress off of the few in operation causing less mistakes because of the overload of horses coming in.
So let’s not attack Lauren, (who by the way is a wonderful person and takes fantastic care of her own animals) or those people that are sending their horses to slaughter.
So I ask you, do you know where your first pony is? And if you don’t which 4 of those true life stories would you want to be the end of your pony’s life? OR would you rather your pony end up in a dirt lot with patches of hair gone and bones sticking out until it just falls down from exhaustion and starvation and succumbs to death. OR would you rather it be loaded on a trailer and shipped down the road and be shot in the head and rendered before it knows the suffering of starvation?
Tough questions? Yes, definately but that is what being an animal owner is about. We have the ability to give animals the gift of a quick death with no pain or suffering.
I think in the end it is better to know where your horse is going to end up then trust that someone is going to make the decision that we did for our Sammy. I think people need to wake up and be realistic and stop floating around on our fairytale clouds of what life should be like.
Instead we need to face reality and try to improve it. And make the best of it we can. Make it good for society, make it better for the horses, make it easier and more accessible for the struggling owner.
I also ask you this. Many people want to rehabilitate and save all the horses out there, and I understand and think that is wonderful. I love rescue horses. But I think you are all being a bit blind in the future of these rescues. Some of these rescues are going to people like lauren who will cradle their pony in its last day and lay it to rest as we did our Sammy.
BUT – many will buy and sell these horses, turn a profit, they will go on to be hunters, field hunters, jumpers, trail horses. They will be sold to first time horse owners whose kids decide playstation is better. Kids will go off to college leaving the parents with the horse (another true story where parents did not feed the horse by the way bc they had 4 kids and they were too busy) and then what is their fairytale ending?
Will they be shot and fed to the hounds, will they be injected and fall to the ground and rolled into a hole, will they be shot and burned? Will they be led to the kill pit at the landfill and left to decompose with the other dead animals, or will they be loaded up, led out on the kill floor and shot in the head with a bolt and be rendered for meat for dog food and other countries?
Only you can decide. Thank you Lauren for all of your research and for recognizing that there is a need for slaughterhouses, even though we may not like the idea of it, because no matter how you look at it, no option when it comes to death and horses is a nice option.
THE COST OF PUTTING DOWN A HORSE…..REALLY!!! You don’t need a vet to kill a horse. A shot or any other drug is not that expensive! Also, you can burn the body! So isn’t that better than stabbing it to death or several shots to the head (like beef or swine). A horses brain is not located the same as other animals so they are not “knocked out” like “processed” animals. This is tragic!
This is a well thought out article. I love my horses and can afford to humanely put my faithful old companions down, but there are so many horses in the country that not every can. There is absolutely a vital need for the slaughter plants. We need to use this opportunity, when plants are opened to make sure we do things right and in the meantime educate people on the neccessity of over breeding. I hope for horses sake we get the plants opened soon.
Great article Lauren!!!
I sure hope that it helps educate many and show those that haven’t a real clue as to the plight horses have been and still continue to take on a daily basis at the hands of their so called “victory” back in 2006.
I am a horse lover and owner of 45 years and the last 4 years of witnessing horses being abandoned and starving is more than I can bear. I pray that humane slaughter for horses does come back so that there can be some sort of humane relief for those that have been affected by the negligence of the ARA’s.
Keep up the good work Lauren!!
Real good article. The only problem is , is that you can’t argue with stupid people.
I just had to have a horse put down by a vet, after spending over $4000.00 trying to get her fixed it cost another $286.00 to have her put down and $328.00 to have her hauled off. There are some places where you can’t just dig a hole and bury them or “BURN THEM”.
I have been involved with horses all my life (50+ years), either showing or just every day riding. It really pisses me off to read posts by these bleeding heart people (STUPID PEOPLE) that don’t even have a clue.
Keep up the good work Lauren and the UNITED HORSEMEN. Somehow, maybe , some of these “Stupid People” can get “EDUCATED” in what happens in the real world.
Well, the first problem I have with this article is the over reliance on Temple Grandin as an authority on what constitutes “humane slaughter.” Because if, as she claims, her autism makes her more in tune or aware of what the animal is thinking, then how could she possibly allow any animal to meet such an ignoble end. My problem with her is she doesn’t ask the right question with her supposed extraordinary ability, and in fact ends up only being a pawn in the slaughterhouse industry, not really helping the animals, but only making the slaughter process easier for the humans doing the slaughter. She can supposedly see all the sights and sounds of what the unfortunate creatures are facing, but misses what certainly many must be thinking before being delivered the coup de grace, which would probably be something like, “Holy crap, that thing is coming at me…..” But hey, I know all you pro-slaughter people like to bring her name up ad nauseum, so hey, if it works for you, why the hell not, because after all, you guys have a long road to hoe towards respectabiliity.
In fact, there is a news report out of Canada that Dr. Grandin was called in to review video of horse slaughter at one of her state-of-the-art slaughterhouses where the horses were not rendered unconscious or revived shortly thereafter and had to be stunned repeatedly because they were not put out. Under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, Sec. 1902, there can only be a “single blow or gunshot” to render an animal unconscious to be shackled, hoisted, and cut.
“At the Summit of the Horse in Las Vegas, Grandin stated that only about 20% of animal slaughter facilities operate within acceptable humane guidelines and the rest ‘slip into bad practices’ with a full 10% intentionally treating animals cruelly.”
I would like to commend the author on how she so calmly and gently eases the reader along to what is truly the sole purpose of her article, which is bringing horse slaughter back to the US. However, I do find it amusing the author’s portrayal of United Horsemen. Have you checked out their facebook page lately? I don’t see too much talk about preventing overbreeding or alternatives to slaughter there. Their only agenda is getting slaughterhouses reopened in the US so they can kill off the undesirables in a “humane” slaughterhouse that Temple Grandin has designed to make that purpose easier to accomplish. And what if Dr. Grandin did design a better way to slaughter horses? Do you think the industry would follow her recommendations if it would end up costing more? Yeah, I don’t think so either.
Why didn’t you mention something about getting the AQHA to take responsibility for their years of encouraging their members to breed their increasingly ill-conformed and genetic disease carrying beasts to help in solving this problem, seeing as how quarter horses are the breed du jour that most likely ends up in a slaughterhouse? The government should step in and for every foal registered, which AQHA LOVES doing, they could be right there and put a heavy tax on every damn one, profits of which could then be used in a few months to euthanize all of their unfortunate culls.
Why doesn’t the government, instead of perhaps funding inspectors for any future slaughterhouses, take that money and fund Sterilization (gelding operations) and Euthanization clinics around the country. There is NEVER anything wrong with euthanizing an animal, also partially funded by some of the big breed registries, the horse racing industry, etc.
Hey, since the government likes to ream the middle class for new and increasing taxes, they could fund searching out the small-time breeders (BYB’S) that like to breed anything with a uterus, and throw a heavy tax on them too, or garnish their welfare. Admittedly, this would probably be more likely to be accomplished on a state or local level.
The point is, “humane slaughter” is an oxymoron, it doesn’t and can never exist, whether it be in Mexico, Timbuktu, or the USA. I can’t see the purpose in opening up slaughterhouses, which are evil incarnate, especially for horses, to do away with the “unwanteds,” only to have a steady supply of young horses end up there. There has to be some repercussions for the irresponsible jerkwads that got us into this mess (hence the taxes) until the horse market evens out, or there is no point, or as a society we become unredeemable to continue this horrible practice of killing horses in slaughterhouses.
If we can GUARANTEE humane transport and humane slaughter, this is the most humane way of dealing with the over abundance of unwanted horses. It beats the slow, agonizing suffering and death they go through by starvation. I have rescued starved horses and most come from the fields of well intentioned but ignorant horse owners. A 19H horse has different needs than a 10H mini! My mother did research and lobbied for humane transport- and the bolt is the same as a bullet- if done correctly. As Temple Grandin stated- if you disagree then come up with a better idea…..
The blind eye of horses going to Mexico does not include Sue Wallis and the Bureau of Land Management, who both know full well when mustangs are auctioned, after taxpayer funding is bled to keep them penned; that the killer trucks are always there. Total hypocrisy. In my opinion Sue Wallis wants to be a filthy bloodsoaked rich distributor offering the finest cuts of Ameican Horse. JMHO.
No one is saying slaughter is not a viable answer. The viable answer is to do it humanely. All these people who talk about the research are ridiculously misinformed. I have presented facts quoted by a USDA Chief Inspector. I and others have offered potential alternatives. Whoever said the bolt is the same as a bullet is moronic. With a bullet they never see it coming. With the bolt -the arm buzzes around their face like an angry horn fly causing them terror and distress. Even a hunter knows there is a correct way to kill an animal. Can’t we afford the same to our horses. Euthanasia fees at the time of registry would create a huge fund for horse owners to draw from for carcass removal. A bullet is humane and in expensive. To see all these comments from people who finalize their posts with- We just can’t seem to make the money we used to-shows just how unwilling breeders are to accept the problem of overpopulation as their own. STOP INDISCRIMINATE breeding. If that’s your livlihood- go find another one or face criminal consequences.
@Horsewoman57 – we are in greater agreement than you realize. I apologize for not replying to your first, very detailed and well-thought out comment, but have been up to ears in deadlines. The bolt – in the right hands with the proper circumstances – is extremely effective. Ditto, a 9mm pistol. I have held two of my beloved horses at their final moments: one, an OTTB turned champion steeplechaser turned field hunter was eating carrots out of my hands. I knew him for many years, but he graced my life for only his final two. The other was my equine dancing partner of 18 years, which wasn’t long enough: he went out on a Guinness high, eating grapes out of my hands. Both were sent across the rainbow bridge by the local huntsman who was extremely tactful and deliberate with his movements as he place the barrel of the pistol on the center of the imaginary X on my horses’ foreheads. The former racehorse went down with barely a neurological twitch. My dearest Conn/TB gelding, a “rescue” via a horse dealing auctioneer, who had made it abundantly clear to me that he was ready to fly home – he was 26 or so, and succombed to a rear end problem that I had micro-managed all those years. My dearling horse went down but exhibited neurological twitching that seemed to last forever, but he was totally gone because I checked his pulse. I related these two personal instances because I know how vital proper handling and management will be. The horses have to be calm, handled calmly without haste. We know how lightning fast their reflexes and reactions are – they’re so totally sensitive, so aware of their surroundings. There is no argument that however they meet their demise, it must be quick, certain and as painless as possible. Is this possible in a processing plant? I think so – but the design will be a critical factor, and so will the people employed. As for your statement “With a bullet they never see it coming. With the bolt -the arm buzzes around their face like an angry horn fly causing them terror and distress.” – where do you suggest the horse be shot? The surest way is the middle of that X on the forehead, be it live bullet or captive PENETRATING bolt which fires a rod into the brain. The non-penetrating captive bolt merely stuns and is not recommended by the AVMA (I just checked) and their information states plainly that lethal injections of pentobarbitol are the most expensive method, can be administered only vets, is a controlled substance, can contaminate the environment including water sources and pose severe risks as a toxic poison to prey species, including birds. Plus, the injection is not always effective and can induce unconsciousness but not death – a dear friend in Australia watched a vet totally botch up her 40 year old horse’s euthanasia – she’s a horselover and a survivor of much, but I doubt she will ever get over that horror. Really truly, I do understand both sides – too well, from personal experiences and from being with friends when they had to bid fond adieu to their horses. I have visited numerous websites, pro & con, read extensively about many of the topics and issues, including BLM management of wild horses. We know that all horses are born either colts or fillies: once mature sexually, which comes early especially for little stud muffins, they breed left to their own devices, and there’s no reasonable method of birth control for feral and/or domesticated horses except for gelding and herd management – i.e. keeping stallions and mares separated. Not very practical with wild herds, and gelding requires round-up and the services of vets for the castration. It’s huge, this whole issue about horses – and yes, I do believe that people can become more educated and aware, that we can find reasonable and humane solutions. But we must face the fact that some horses are going to die no matter what. Rescues and retirement farms are stretched to the max, rescued horses are being seized and that adds to the already burdened system. We must open our minds to the fact that horses are suffering horribly going to Mexico – even as I write this, horses are shipping in and suffering. That’s my mission – to get a system that is as gentle and easy as possible, here in the US, which we can watch like hawks and demand proper handling and respect for these creatures. It will be far kinder and more responsible and will stop the trucks to Mexico – that’s a huge bottom line. I’m sorry – I have to go to the barn and take care of my pony. He’s been recuperating from a sub-solar abscess in his left hind hoof for the past two months or so – once the grass loses its nutritional value, hoof growth slows to a crawl and the abscess site was close to the white line and wall, so that even our brilliant farrier nixed the idea of putting a shoe and pad to protect the sole because of the risk of the nails ripping out the wall at the sub-solar site, which we believe came from a bruise – the ground was really hard during drought, and as much as I would love to protect all horses from all harm, sometimes their fates are up to the horse gods. All we can do for horses, whether they are in our care or among the unwanted, is our best – and all too often, our best just isn’t good enough. But we keep trying – that’s the important thing – we keep trying.
“That’s my mission – to get a system that is as gentle and easy as possible, here in the US, which we can watch like hawks and demand proper handling and respect for these creatures. It will be far kinder and more responsible”… And what exactly is that vision? Or is it one of those things like where you think, “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but it’s going to be good,” with no concrete, realistic way to make it happen.
Will Temple Grandin design it? I hear from pro-slaughter people she is at the cutting edge of state-of-the-art “humane” slaughterhouses. That’s why two weeks after the blunder from the idiots in Washington – and really with all the important issues facing this country, that’s the best thing they could come up with, to pave the way to reopen the slaughterhouses – there is an expose by Vickery Eckhoff of one of Grandin’s slaughterhouses in Canada.
Also your “mission,” to properly kill horses in a “humane” slaughterhouse would be cost prohibitive for the +++hats in the slaughter industry to make a profit, which is what this is all about.
I can’t see building multi-million dollar facilities for slaughter of all the “unwanted, neglected” horses that as Sue Wallis says, could kill upwards of 200,000 a year, because eventually, at that kill rate, the market is going to even out and you’ll take care of the “excess” horses that nobody wants. Oh, but then everybody would have to practice responsible breeding and horse ownership for that to happen, and of course, under the pro-slaughter folks, they don’t promote that, so that will NEVER happen, because AQHA and the big breeders, ranchers, etc., support slaughter and will never change their ways.
Check out these “responsible” examples of people who deeply care about horses in different arenas:
Veterinarians: Veterinarians for Equine Welfare
Thoroughbred Breeding Farms: Three Chimneys Farm, who takes their horses back to live with them or they find new, loving homes for them.
Journalism: Vickery Eckhoff’s piece for Forbes magazine, a good example of you know, responsible, impartial journalism.
“All too often our best just isn’t good enough. But we keep trying – that’s the important thing – we keep trying.”
Well, try a little harder.
Lauren,
I have owned horses my whole life and still do. I have worked at the track for over 10 years. Bemont, Saratoga, Keeneland, Gulstream. and others. I have rescued and re homed several Tbs and other horses over the years. I spend my winters in Wellington Fla, where must people are unaware of horse slaughter and the issues. Maybe because the Warmbloods have more selective breeding and they don’t over breed for a pro-fit , like the AQHA. I know Sidelines is mostly read by Hunter/Jumper, Polo, Dressage and Event people, who are probably must unaware about the AQHA and who the United Horsemans even is.
I have involved the slaughter issue for years and watched “The Summit of the Horse” by live video stream. It was all QH breeders and cattle ranchers looking to make a profit. They shut Dr Grendlin down when she didn’t say what they wanted to hear, and Sue Wallis physically assaulted horse advocate Simone Netherlands. Sue Wallis even said, Horses taste good with butter on them!
I still think you need to do more research on Sue Wallis and United Horseman. They are a Non-profil for the Slaughter of Horses. They put up a front that they are here to protect the treatment of horses, which is the furthest from the truth!! You can’t even get into their full website unless you pay a membership. Have you seen the video on there about the Lies of Canadian Horse Slaughter??? It looks like a 3rd grader put it together. It states that horses are “Livestock” and should be treated as so. The end of life for Livestock is Slaughter, so we need to educated our kids and people this is perfectly acceptable. Well, we also don’t domesticate Cattle and other livestock as we do horses. Horses are trained to trust people!! The livestock we eat is never domesticated. It also states that you cannot compare horses to cats and dogs to horses, because horses cannot sit on your lap!! Really? I personally hold my horses higher then any Cat or Dog I owned. The video is right there for your viewing…..
Also you might want to check out these articles. Sue Wallis though it was funny when a couple slaughtered their own hors e then took pic tures of it with the girl naked inside the carcass, then they ate it. She said “it was all in good fun!” I am sorry but to me that is Satanic!! Very Very sick People!
http://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/fanatical-equine-terrorist-lies-to-public-on-facebook/
http://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/wyomings-slaughterhouse-sue-wallis-condones-slaughtered-horse-desecration/
Also , I see that you are friends with Simone Netherlands on FB. I suggest you give her a call and interview her. She is a wealth of knowledge. Here is a link to her website
http://www.respect4horses.com/
It seems that you love your horses as much as I do and we know a lot of the same people. I know this is a hard subject, but it just gets to me when I see someone like The United Horseman and Sue Wallis getting press like they are here to help, when they are nothing but money grubbing lying politicians with a bad agenda! There is a lot of other groups out there that are good, but this is not one of them. People need to stop over breeding and the AQHA needs to stop promoting it!
Poeple need to stop being a throw away society, and take responsiblity for their actions…..
It sounds like this article was writing willy nilly. no real research done.. Prices pulled out of the air. I admire that she is against Horse slaughter.. I have to agree.. It sounds like She is on the sides of the bad guys as she refers to them like pulling a gun..
This article is filled with all the common scare tactics the pro slaughter side consistently toss out in order to throw people into hysterics and make them think that slaughter is the necessary evil. First of all there is no such thing as the “unwanted horse”, only unlucky horses. The use of the derogatory term “unwanted” makes the fate of these horses more acceptable. A more accurate term is excess horses. You see, the term “excess horses” must be avoided at all costs! This is because if the description is “excess horses”, then it follows that the problem is over breeding and not some individual failing on the part of the horses. The horses, as it turns out, are not worthless; there are just way too many of them. The slaughter defenders cannot allow the problem to be seen to be over breeding because breeders pay the registration fees that support the American Quarter Horse Association, and other pro-slaughter breed registries. And it is these registries that fund the lobbyists, the public relations experts, the publicists and the phony welfare organizations that defend horse slaughter.
The number of horses slaughtered is dependent on the demand for horse meat in Europe and Asia, NOT the supply of unwanted horses from America. Kill buyers acquire horses to meet slaughterhouses’ demand, not as a service to remove the unwanted. Horse slaughter is a convenient way for the horse industry to remove stock it doesn’t want, without taking the time and cost to find other markets that would happily take the horse for a new purpose. And isn’t it amazing that through some magic of the laws of supply and demand, the total number of “Unwanted Horses” seems to be almost the same as the number of horses being sent to slaughter each year? The pro-slaughter folks want you to believe that the countryside is teaming with masses of skinny, starving horses all tromping through State and National Parks. The pro-slaughter people need to convince you that 1) closing the US slaughterhouses was the sole cause of the destruction of the equine market, 2) that this country needs to get back those wonderful facilities on our own soil, 3) that people are dumping thousands of horses in every roadside park in the nation and 4) the only reason for horse slaughter is to help us have a safe and happy way to dispose of our excess horses. Now here is the kicker people…slaughter never ceased to be an option. Yep that’s right folks the only thing that changed was the location. The option to send your horse to slaughter has never been banned. So really this is not about horse welfare to the pros but about $$$. Here’s an idea…Start charging people to dispose of horses through slaughter with the money going to horse rescues and euth and gelding clinics. Then we’d see how many really are pro slaughter.
http://habitatforhorses.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/lessons-in-deceit-horse-slaughter/
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/features/theunwantedhorse-179.shtml
There is so much totally unsubstantiated pro-slaughter propaganda in this article, it’s tough to take seriously.
After Ms. Bogley introduced new language into the federal transportation laws for horses, did she just pat herself on the back and go home? Did she think to perhaps took at the reams of investigations done since then showing a) unacceptable rates of significant injury and b) every single undercover investigation showing blatant disregard for humane transport regs by kill buyers? We don’t have the money for appropriate oversight, and evidence has shown, without a shadow of a doubt, that transport within the U.S. causes terrible suffering to equines.
Most of the people above have dealt with the misinformation, but one pro-slaughter tactic you’ve employed here that I find completely irresponsible is posting the pictures of neglected horses suggesting that slaughter in some way is a solution to neglect.
Here are some fundamental facts that disprove that:
#1 Kill buyers are not interested in skinny horses. Once a horse starts to drop weight / experience neglect, it ceases to be a slaughter candidate.
#2 Owners who neglect their horses have made a choice NOT to send that horse to slaughter. Let me repeat – They’ve chosen not to send their horse into the slaughter pipeline. Often they choose to keep the horse because they specifically want to prevent the horse from ending up there, so availability of slaughter could actually be increasing equine neglect.
And #3 Slaughter has been widely available as an option to American horse owners for years, and yet we have increasing rates of equine neglect. How much more evidence do you need that it has FAILED to impact neglect?
If you – and Sidelines – is genuine about addressing equine neglect, it’s imperative to really understand the true causes, in order to create effective solutions. The most cited reasons for neglect are hoarding issues (often related to fear of slaughter or other perceived negative consequences of giving up horses), owner ignorance, owner apathy, or major financial hardship. The rescues I work with understand and acknowledge the true causes of neglect, and are working hard to address them directly.
Here’s kind of a neat idea: From “Karen Nelson, What to do with the Unwanted Horse, 2008″:
“Part 1: Horses with Savings Accounts.
“When a horse is born, the breeder would have to put credit into their account to pay for their basic training. This would help reduce the number of horses that are untrained and therefore unwanted. It would also make breeders invest more in their foals and help make them think more about WHY they are breeding, and what the horse’s market will be.
“If a colt is born, then the breeder also has to put money into a fund to pay for it to be gelded. If the owner decides not to geld, then a ‘stallion’ fee will have to be paid into the sanctuary fund every year until the stallion proves that he is worthy of being stallion with having marketable foals. Hopefully this will make people think harder before keeping their horse a stallion. It will no longer be the cheaper option to gelding. The built up sanctuary fund can offer subsidies to geld cryptorchid stallions, as people currently will keep these horses ungelded, rather than accept the additional cost
of gelding them.
“Throughout the horse’s life, then its owners will have to put money into its savings account for every ribbon it wins, every race it places in, for every trail ride or ride it gives. Lesson horses and horses for hire will get money into their account for each ride they give. Broodmares and stallions will get a percentage of the money each of their foals is sold for. Horses that work hard and bring joy to their people will earn their retirement. Lesson students will feel better knowing that their favourite lesson horses will be looked after in their old age.
“Suddenly there will be more incentive for people to own older horses as these horses will have built up a retirement fund to support them in their old age. Novice horse owners might actually start buying horses suited to their skills rather than getting something young just because it is cheap. People will actually have to start paying their fair share for ensuring that each horse gets cared for, from start to finish.”
Something to think about; I don’t know how or who would enforce some of the ideas, but it would be nice!!!!