Do you agree with my viewpoint on horse slaughter?

Growing up there was a slaughter house that opened up about 20 miles from our house, (this was the 90s) and we were not opposed to the slaughtering itself but of the problems it caused all of us who had horses in the area. Horse Carcasses at the time, were worth a fair amount of money, and hundreds of horses went missing from fields, barns, and any place they were not under 24 hour surveillance. People were stealing our show and pleasure horses and because the slaughter house was not asking for any proof of ownership, our good horses were dying.

In my opinion one of the biggest reasons people are so against horse slaughter is because they view these animals as pets. Just because we use them for a purpose, they live in our barns and fields, we care for them and people develop emotional attachment to them as they would a dog or cat. However, if we look at the cattle industry or the mutton market, you will see lots of similarities. For instance, every year I bought 2 young steers, and raised them for the fair. I halter broke them, bathed them regularly, took care of them in my horse barn, ran the hose over them in the hot summer days, and developed relationships with them, and at the end of the season, I showed them, sold them, and ate them. This is not much different than you would do with a young horse, but if we sent that horse to slaughter we would be looked at poorly. I am not a callous person, I love my animals very deeply, but I also understand that they are animals, and their purpose in life is for human consumption. Look at all the calves that are used for the cutting industry or the roping industry until they are to big, then sent back to market. They were animals that were often bred just for that purpose and when they were done fulfilling that purpose we sent them to market. In my opinion horses are not that different.

Before you start thinking me a horrible person, please understand that my horses who have earned there spot in our retirement pasture stay there, and we love every horse we own enormously, we breed every 3-4 years about 4 foals, and when they have grown up and we have trained or sold them all, we determine when the next breeding year is, and we are very responsible with our horses. For horses, ones that we can't sell, that can't be ridden with a purpose, who use up valuable resources, that cost us hundreds of dollars to put to sleep, it would be nice to be able to send them to a place that would at least not cost us any money and that someone would then have a purpose for them, just as they would if they were a fatted calf.

It is difficult to take care of horses and they completely depend on their owners. Most horses are bred into captivity, and have no idea what to do if turned out on the range to care for themselves, yet the wild herds are getting larger, and not because they are producing so fast, but because it is easier to turn a horse out, (most believing that they will be able to fend for themselves) than to call the vet and put an old, or injured, or dangerous horse to sleep, and much cheaper. I've been out in Wyoming and Idaho and have seen herds of wild horses, that looked emaciated, and were clearly not horses that had been bred on the range. The open range land where most of these horses are found, are not made for sustaining large herds of wild horses, and especially in the last few recent drought years they are dying off, after they have suffered into starvation. You tell me which is more humane, letting a horse starve to death or sending it to a place where they are killed. At least if you send them to a slaughtering house, the torture last a few minutes versus starving to death which may take weeks and months of feeling tortured.

It's no different from saying that we will never get all the guns from people who are already dishonest. Getting people to stop breeding their horses is not going to happen. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the only people breeding horses were the ones that had horses that could be easily sold. The problem is that every person with a mare in their backyard wants to raise a baby, and then doesn't know how to handle the foal when it's young, or turns it into a pet without rules and makes it almost impossible to train. Lots of horses get injured and are never able to be used again, and have owners who don't have actual emotional attachment, then these horses end up in rescues, because they weren't being cared for....... Rescues are not all they are cut out to be as you mentioned in your article, and they are quickly running out of resources, funding, and there are still thousands of horses in need of homes.

Believe about this LOGICALLY! The horse slaughter used to be stopped! And what did it do?! It despatched the horse market into and downward spiral! . Without it their is nothing to base the market off of witch approach horses are mainly nugatory within the eyes of the market. It also left alot of horses to be grew to become lose into the wild or left to starve to loss of life in muddy plenty is that particularly a greater fate them? Their arnt enough rescue organizations on the planet to take all the horses in. In a excellent world things you find distasteful wouldn't occur but face the info this isn't a ideal world we are living in! And NO byb will not be all responsible well bred horses from professional breeders additionally grow to be on the slaughter vehicles. If you wish to stop horse slaughter you all breeding have got to discontinue so their will be no horses in any respect!

First of all, I will start by saying that I cannot access your blog because this computer I am on won't permit me to do that. With that said, I want to point out a few things for the benefit of everyone on here who has said that slaughter should be brought back, as well as for those opposed to it.

1. On Friday, November 18, 2011, President Obama signed an Agricultural Appropriations bill into law at the Oval Office. This new law contains language which, among other things, reauthorizes federal funding for inspections at slaughterhouses that handle and process horse meat. This marked the first time that federal insepctions of horse slaughterhouses had been funded since 2005. The reasons the president and various members of Congress gave for their actions were "concern about horse abuse and abandonment" and "legalizing horse slaughter will solve the problem of equine over population", among others. Another reason that a lot of elected officials gave for this was that " it will create jobs for Americans, and provide a source of needed revenue for the economy."

2. As a result of the new law, there are now at least 6 ( that's right, half a dozen) new slaughter plants which are either in the planning stages or are under construction. These new plants are scattered around in various locations, and the one that is closest to opening is located in Missouri, near St.Louis. ALL of these plants are foreign owned and will be foreign operated. In addition, the 3 original plants in Texas and Illinois are in the process of revamping their operations so that they can reopen. Carvel International, which is based in Brussels, Belgium, is the owner of the 3 original plants. They also own at least two of the new ones.

3. The expected cost to the taxpayers for the inspections at the new slaughter plants will exceed 50 million dollars per year, and this is money that ALL Americans will pay in one way or another. The plant operators, meanwhile, will be making profits of 5 to 10 times that amount, and will be able to send them back to Europe virtually tax free. Never mind the fact that Americans don't raise horses as food animals ( despite their being legally classified as LIVESTOCK, not PETS, in all 50 states) and the meat from American horses is likely to be contaminated with toxic drug residues. Companies like Carvel and Silvercrest don't care. All they're interested in is the bottom line and making a profit.

4. This last point is the real heartbreaker: Slaughter WON'T SOLVE the problems of horse abuse or abandonment. It also will NOT reduce the overall horse population, at least not by much. Because these problems are so complex, a multi faceted approach must be used in solving them. There are multiple ways to solve the equine overpopulation problem without resorting to slaughter, just as there are multiple ways of preventing horse abuse and abandonment. I can't list everything here, though, because there isn't space enough to do so. I can say, however, that I forgive the president for his ignorance about this issue. He's not a horse person, has probably never been near one in his life, and as such, he has no understanding of the issues that horse people face. Ignorance is forgivable and understandable- we all start out as novices. But it is NOT AN EXCUSE for STUPIDITY-and signing that bill into law was pretty damm stupid, if you ask me.

These are my thoughts on this.

After 2007 when slaughter houses closed in the US, our horse overpopulation problems did not get better. The horse market has been on the decline. Rescues are over flowing and in many cases horses are needing to be rescued from the rescues. People are dumping horses in other peoples fields. I never used to hear about that and now I've known of a few people who've had this happen to them. People didn't end up having their vets humanely euthanize like what was supposed to happen, they just let them suffer until they die on their own. Not to mention, having a vet euthanize a horse doesn't make the process of death any better than being slaughtered. Not every euthanization goes like it should. I saw one of our boarder's yearling colts get put down and that was the worst. It did not go well and was performed by one of the top horse vets in our area. There needs to be a change to how the overpopulation is handled but I think removing US slaughter plants was a horrible idea. It didn't stop slaughter, all it did was make it even rougher on the horses that did go to slaughter. Hauling to Canada or Mexico with subpar regulations and conditions and then pretending everything is okay because the US plants are closed is a joke and totally unfair to do to horses. I think the US plants need to operate again with stricter regulations and thought needs to be given to these horses. I haven't been following this but I thought a bill was passed that allowed the opening of US plants at the beginning of 2012?

It is awful to think that horse slaughter is now a necessary evil. I don't have a problem with horse slaughter as long as it is done humanely. Sadly slaughter is a better alternative to the way some of these poor animals end up - I was totally against it until I started doing work experience at a charity and seen the condition some of these so called ''beloved pets'' ended up in when their owners ran out of money. However I will say far more legislation & monitoring needs to be put in place in slaughter houses & the lots where they are kept & the way they are transported !

I understand where you're coming from and all, but I don't think horse slaughter, or any kind of slaughter really, can ever be okay. Sure, it may be the only option for some, and some horses are better off being slaughtered than living in the conditions some live in, but I'm a horse owner. I love horses. Most people in this section do. No one here is going to be completely okay with the slaughter of the animals we all own and love.

If horse slaughter was more human, like if the horses were euthanized and living in good conditions before being put to death, I understand the need for this. There are more horses than there are people who want horses and I would rather a horse be humanely euthanized than horribly neglected or mistreated, but if a horse is in fine health and there's simply no reason to put it down, then I'm against it.

But, like I said, I love horses. I have three of my own, and the idea of them being anywhere near a slaughterhouse is just terrible for me. But there's a lot of people who couldn't care less about horses. One of my best friends is completely terrified of horses and while she would never want to kill one herself, she would probably have no problem with the idea of them being slaughtered.

So here, I think a lot of people are going to be opposed because for a lot of us, horses are a huge part of our lives. They are for me. I love my horses like they're my children and I would never want them to be hurt in any way. I'm with them almost every day and I've created a very strong bond with all three of them. So no, I don't agree with horse slaughter, even if it is necessary, because horses mean too much to me and make me too happy for me to be ok with them being slaughtered.

I would rather see a horse put down humanely than to suffer and die a painful death. There have been a 60% more increase in abandoned and neglected and suffering animals than before the ban on slaughter houses in the US.

I would like to see SHouses opened to butcher and use only FDA approved horses for human consumption.

The sifting of sick or bad animals is only as good as the livestock inspector. I know from experience that there must be some pay off for sick animals to pass inspection. I worked at a slaughter house and there were sheep butchered that were barely standing with snot dripping out of their noses and looked very sick.

There was a Rabi there that would cut the throats. The throat area was shaved with clippers and they were hung and he the R. would cut their throats with a very long decorative knife. He would go down the sharp part of the blade with the blade between his finger nails to make sure he had not nicked the blade.

Give me all the thumbs down you want, I am against horse slaughter period.

1.) Breeding. Number one problem that is contributing to us having to look at slaughter houses like they are doing doing us a favor in helping horses. This needs to be regulated especially with any animal. If animals can be neutered, spayed, gelded, etc. . . We would not have this problem. Yes baby animals are cute, but time and time again there are many questions that pop up in this section about people wanting to breed their animals and they have NO CLUE what they need to know before getting into such things. People think they are internet trolls, but some are probably more serious than we realize.

There was a show on Animal Planet about "That's my baby." Can't remember the name because it was on a long time ago. The thing that popped up out of the owners mouth when they breed their animals is they want to share the experience and look after a baby animal because they were so cute. Now there are shows on animal planet called, "Too Cute" Again with showing baby animals being born and then people get in their mind to start breeding animals. They set up plans, but then often not forget that there have been times that plans backfire.

Cannot begin to tell you that I am finding more and more people standing in the front of grocery stores, Wal-Mart, theaters, etc. . . Public places giving away FREE puppies, kittens, cats, dogs, birds, mice, rats, etc. . . I have reached the point that I really would not be surprised if people are not standing in front of tack shops, or any other public place offering free foals, horses, goats, donkeys, or any other livestock animal for free.

Again if there were stricter regulations about breeding animals, it would not have gotten this bad.

2.) Irresponsible Owners. This goes along with point one. People that think they can breed animals for money. A horrible economy is going to be hard to find homes for this poor unwanted puppies, kittens, foals, etc. . Owners that give up on a horse when they don't preform well to a certain sport that is already chosen for them before they are born. Some people go switch out animals like tissue paper without a second thought. Some people are only in for the money and don't realize that they really are not going to make that much money. Which brings me up to my next point.

3.)Economy. We are going through a second depression. People cannot afford to take care of their pets. There are stories about people releasing their animals into the wild when they get too big or they cannot afford to take care of them and release them. People in 2007 released their horses into the wild, because the economy started to go down the toilet and the only people buying horses were pro slaughter people that showed up at auctions, horse markets being the only people willing to buy and people did not wanted their beloved horses to go to slaughter so they let them go. Happened around Kentucky. Sorry do not have the article I read a while back and saved it.

Equestrienne1979 brought some very strong arguments and I agree with their point very much. Any slaughter of animals is horrible and inhumane. If they weren't tortured, forced to endure very long trips to slaughter and then forced to die horrific deaths, I might have a different opinion and be more open.

Still against it and things need to be changed in all slaughter houses for the animals and be more humane.

I read the above and I must say your really summed it up totally. Nobody wants to see a horse slaughter, but the indiscriminate breeding, etc. has fueled the need for tha slaughter industry.

Do I dislike slaughter? yes.

Do I think it should be banned in the U.S. ?

absolutely not.

Here in the United States, it can be regulated to determine it is being done humanely. Outside our borders we cannot.

Well worded article, Cowgirl !

your blog is too long, here's my thoughts:

*shipping them off to canada is inhumane

*They should bring horse slaughter back to the US, with strict rules

*strict rules as in making sure they are humanely killed

*strict rules as in the conditions the horses are kept in

*also good idea if they have a way of picking out potentially good horses that just ended up in a bad place. Like I know a well trained barrel racer that was saved from slaughter, sold for 3 grand.

Not a huge fan of slaughter but often it is a necessary evil unfortunately. It's not half as sad/bad as seeing neglectful and abusive horse owners. We shouldn't be blaming the slaughterhouses since it is not always their choices or actions that put the horses in the situation of being there. We should really be blaming the neglectful and bad horse owners who put their horses in the situation of being in a slaughterhouse from no fault of the horse's.