Rep. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming is attempting to again get the language forbidding the inspection of horse slaughter plants in the US removed. This apparently goes to vote on WEDNESDAY! Tomorrow!
US should get out of the horse meat business
The Compassion Index is working again!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 and other things
Three bloggers here and none of us posting, but a lot of horse stuff going on. One is picking up a lot of business teaching relationship focused horsemanship, another is mostly offline. I'm mostly just overwhelmed.
I was going to post about the Equine Herpes outbreak when it hit, but realize that anyone reading this, with horses, in effected areas is likely even more on top if the news than I am.
Horse advocates in my State of New Hampshire had a bit of a surprise when we found out that a bill, HB 0339, that already had gone through the NH legislation to allow the state vet to inspect locally raised and slaughtered meat, allowing local farmers to better sell and something I support as a localvore activist as well, included equines as well, despite the legal issues of slaughtering horses for food in our country.
In one section it was clear that it was ADDED to the text "This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats"
NH activists went to work to try to get this vetoed and several met with the bill sponsor Representative Laurie Harding, who had not realized this had even been added. She and the other sponsors are determined to have the horse and other equine references removed from the bill as of next January. Our Governor, one to give a shit about what his constituents want, signed it in on June 6. Frankly, while I think this is a great bill other than including horses, I do think they should have had to reintroduce the ORIGINAL text and the watched it carefully. How the fuck did someone "sneak" this in and it not get noticed? (and I want to know WHO put it in and make sure s/he never gets elected again! to anything) So we'll breath our sighs of relief in January, until then, we're going to feel a bit anxious.
And, yet, there may be hope.....even with Slaughterhouse Sue Wallis and the United Anti-Horsemen continuing to try to make horse slaughter legal here. No, I won't post links to their crap, you can find it, you're probably reading blogs which do post the links and discuss it more.
What I want to note here is that Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have just introduced S. 1176, the "American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011" and it's time to start making sure that our Senators and Representatives know that we want this to pass this time! Now!
This bill will shut down Slaughterhouse Sue, will stop bullshit like we in NH have had to deal with, will stop transport of horses to other countries for exceptionally cruel slaughter:
I was going to post about the Equine Herpes outbreak when it hit, but realize that anyone reading this, with horses, in effected areas is likely even more on top if the news than I am.
Horse advocates in my State of New Hampshire had a bit of a surprise when we found out that a bill, HB 0339, that already had gone through the NH legislation to allow the state vet to inspect locally raised and slaughtered meat, allowing local farmers to better sell and something I support as a localvore activist as well, included equines as well, despite the legal issues of slaughtering horses for food in our country.
In one section it was clear that it was ADDED to the text "This term as applied to food products of equines shall have a meaning comparable to that provided in this paragraph with respect to cattle, sheep, swine, and goats"
NH activists went to work to try to get this vetoed and several met with the bill sponsor Representative Laurie Harding, who had not realized this had even been added. She and the other sponsors are determined to have the horse and other equine references removed from the bill as of next January. Our Governor, one to give a shit about what his constituents want, signed it in on June 6. Frankly, while I think this is a great bill other than including horses, I do think they should have had to reintroduce the ORIGINAL text and the watched it carefully. How the fuck did someone "sneak" this in and it not get noticed? (and I want to know WHO put it in and make sure s/he never gets elected again! to anything) So we'll breath our sighs of relief in January, until then, we're going to feel a bit anxious.
And, yet, there may be hope.....even with Slaughterhouse Sue Wallis and the United Anti-Horsemen continuing to try to make horse slaughter legal here. No, I won't post links to their crap, you can find it, you're probably reading blogs which do post the links and discuss it more.
What I want to note here is that Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have just introduced S. 1176, the "American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011" and it's time to start making sure that our Senators and Representatives know that we want this to pass this time! Now!
This bill will shut down Slaughterhouse Sue, will stop bullshit like we in NH have had to deal with, will stop transport of horses to other countries for exceptionally cruel slaughter:
"The slaughter of horses is not a substitute for humane euthanasia though it is often mischaracterized as such by opponents who are more concerned with wringing a few bucks from a suffering animal than doing what is right," said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute. "AWI commends Senator Landrieu and Senator Graham for their continued leadership and for reintroducing this very important measure."If you aren't using this already and don't have your legislators on speed dial, you can start at The Compassion Index at AWI (This link had not been working but IS NOW).
Friday, April 29, 2011
10 years ago....
....just about now, my father and I went to talk to a man about a horse. We had found him the day before, driving to places where my Dad knew horses were for sale and there had been several at this pasture, now there were three. Two were neglected looking but in good condition, the third was a walking skeleton. I left knowing I had to try to save that horse and, as the pasture was not located where the man lived, we went home and called him.
My father was encouraging about buying the starving gelding, I was quite sick at the time and I think he felt that saving this horse would be healing for me. When he got a closer look at the horse the next day, I know he started to have second thoughts. We had, of course, called the vet and a farrier (all three horses had horribly neglected feet...we were going to make sure all three were dealt with for that). No one said anything to me, but it was clear all three of these men realized this was a walking dead horse, there was no way to bring his weight up before he'd die without that itself killing him. Especially since he also had a heart murmer. The owner, however, was in complete denial, "he'll come right up once the grass comes in better..." The vet explained things to him, looked at me and asked again if I was going to buy this horse, I confirmed that I would, and he told the man I was keeping him out of jail. I had mixed feelings about that, really, this man should have been jailed for this, stupid is no excuse, but I also knew that if the horse was seized he'd be put down as too far gone. I needed to try.
And was saved.
We healed together, going out on slow walks around the pond, letting him stop to eat while I rested my wea
k body. We both built strength. Our timing was neatly synchronized it seems as I look back. We both started too weak to really walk far or fast and we progressed. We later learned to "dance" together, as we did Natural Horsemanship ground work to build trust. And eventually we were able to explore together, when he was secure enough as well as strong enough to accept me as a rider, I was also able to trust my body's ability to handle riding.
Which is, again, why I'm against horse slaughter. Because we have this connection, they've been with us for millennium, we as a species owe so much to horses. They were both partner and tool to different people; sadly, it's often the tool that people see. They no longer are needed for work, for the most part, and so they mostly are seen as sporting equipment. And like tools and sporting equipment, horses are discarded when "useless," when they get too old to preform, when a new style comes along. Wild horses are seen as pests to be rid of, foals as nothing but money makers with profits coming from quantity over quality and those not bringing the big bucks as sporting equipment making at least something for their greedy breeders as meat.
There are those who look at horses that end up like Saoradh did before I found him and proclaim that this is a reason we should have horse slaughter. But old, sick horses are not what the slaughter industry wants. No, it wants young stock, fat and healthy, like the PMU filly (on the let here) I adopted and stopped from being sent to the feedlots. They'll sometimes take fat and healthy middle age horses like Midnight and Trouble, but it's not the most desired and easy to sell. And the truth is, I have very good reason to believe that the person who sold Saoradh at the auction where the guy whose pasture I found him in owned his registration, and therefore it wasn't the freeze brand that kept the kill buyers from buying him but instead that he was too old. Because that probably, and I have good reason to believe this, that was probably the intent.
And what if he had been slaughtered? After a lifetime of abuse, of fear, of distrust, I suppose the terror and torture of the slaughterhouse would have been along the lines of how he ex
pected it to end. Instead, he got another chance. He got a chance to learn that not all humans wanted to hurt him, he got a chance to trust, he got a chance to feel safe and comfortable. To be rewarded for all he and his ancestors have done for us. And it's the least he deserved. It's the least any of them deserve.
I thank Saoradh for his time with me, for healing me, for sending Saorsa to me (for I feel he did in some way). I miss my old boy.
My father was encouraging about buying the starving gelding, I was quite sick at the time and I think he felt that saving this horse would be healing for me. When he got a closer look at the horse the next day, I know he started to have second thoughts. We had, of course, called the vet and a farrier (all three horses had horribly neglected feet...we were going to make sure all three were dealt with for that). No one said anything to me, but it was clear all three of these men realized this was a walking dead horse, there was no way to bring his weight up before he'd die without that itself killing him. Especially since he also had a heart murmer. The owner, however, was in complete denial, "he'll come right up once the grass comes in better..." The vet explained things to him, looked at me and asked again if I was going to buy this horse, I confirmed that I would, and he told the man I was keeping him out of jail. I had mixed feelings about that, really, this man should have been jailed for this, stupid is no excuse, but I also knew that if the horse was seized he'd be put down as too far gone. I needed to try.
And I did. Until his Coggins test came through and he could cross the border from VT to NH, I went several times a day to the pasture to feed him softened senior feed. His starvation was caused by horribly neglected teeth, which nothing could yet be done as he had enough strength to fight the attempt to float them and he needed more than that. And he would not survive being sedated. I'd walk him after he ate, to help him digest. He came home to us, amazingly he survived for nea
rly 6 years.... I won't tell more the details of his story as I already have here. In short, it was clear he was abused long before he suffered the neglect we found him in. It took some time to gain his trust, for him to feel safe. But he got there. Perhaps for the first time, he trusted a human and he found some peace.
rly 6 years.... I won't tell more the details of his story as I already have here. In short, it was clear he was abused long before he suffered the neglect we found him in. It took some time to gain his trust, for him to feel safe. But he got there. Perhaps for the first time, he trusted a human and he found some peace. What I will note here that I named him Saoradh, which means "freedom" of a redemptive sort. When I named him I didn't even realize how long things had been bad, how much redemption he needed. I didn't know that on the day I bought him and started feeding him, it was his 27th birthday. I didn't know he was the Arabian gelding a classmate had talked about having, which her parents boarded at a "trainer" we knew was incompetent at best, and possibly far, far worse. I didn't know how many hands he went through, or the kind of people they were. But I did find that out, as he was freeze marked and his registry developed an online program to look such stuff up.
I just knew he hurt, that he was suffering. And so was I. I was ill, had spent some time housebound. I hurt emotionally from the loss of Midnight and Trouble not a decade before. A loss that kept me away from horses until shortly before we moved back here about 6 months before finding Saoradh. I knew if I was going to be around horses, I had to save them, because I couldn't save those two. I had volunteered for awhile, before my health got as bad as it did, at a horse rescue. When we came here, I was looking for a horse to save. I found one.
And was saved.
We healed together, going out on slow walks around the pond, letting him stop to eat while I rested my wea
k body. We both built strength. Our timing was neatly synchronized it seems as I look back. We both started too weak to really walk far or fast and we progressed. We later learned to "dance" together, as we did Natural Horsemanship ground work to build trust. And eventually we were able to explore together, when he was secure enough as well as strong enough to accept me as a rider, I was also able to trust my body's ability to handle riding.And I know so many stories like this, of people who saved horses only to find themselves healed too. Whether emotionally, physically or both. There is something about a horse that can touch people so deeply, to pull us out of ourselves, to give us strength. Dogs have this too, for some other animals as well, but these two creatures, I believe, horses and dogs, we have a primal, instinctual connection with.
Which is, again, why I'm against horse slaughter. Because we have this connection, they've been with us for millennium, we as a species owe so much to horses. They were both partner and tool to different people; sadly, it's often the tool that people see. They no longer are needed for work, for the most part, and so they mostly are seen as sporting equipment. And like tools and sporting equipment, horses are discarded when "useless," when they get too old to preform, when a new style comes along. Wild horses are seen as pests to be rid of, foals as nothing but money makers with profits coming from quantity over quality and those not bringing the big bucks as sporting equipment making at least something for their greedy breeders as meat.
There are those who look at horses that end up like Saoradh did before I found him and proclaim that this is a reason we should have horse slaughter. But old, sick horses are not what the slaughter industry wants. No, it wants young stock, fat and healthy, like the PMU filly (on the let here) I adopted and stopped from being sent to the feedlots. They'll sometimes take fat and healthy middle age horses like Midnight and Trouble, but it's not the most desired and easy to sell. And the truth is, I have very good reason to believe that the person who sold Saoradh at the auction where the guy whose pasture I found him in owned his registration, and therefore it wasn't the freeze brand that kept the kill buyers from buying him but instead that he was too old. Because that probably, and I have good reason to believe this, that was probably the intent.And what if he had been slaughtered? After a lifetime of abuse, of fear, of distrust, I suppose the terror and torture of the slaughterhouse would have been along the lines of how he ex
pected it to end. Instead, he got another chance. He got a chance to learn that not all humans wanted to hurt him, he got a chance to trust, he got a chance to feel safe and comfortable. To be rewarded for all he and his ancestors have done for us. And it's the least he deserved. It's the least any of them deserve.I thank Saoradh for his time with me, for healing me, for sending Saorsa to me (for I feel he did in some way). I miss my old boy.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
When Horse Slaughter Comes to Town
"The flesh of 'unwanted horses' is acknowledged to be
toxic when consumed by humans. And who among the
politicians, equine practitioners, and veterinarians
lobbying to prevent a ban on the slaughter of American
horses - in the name of equine welfare - would wish to
be responsible for the deleterious impact for human
welfare associated with promoting the slaughter of
toxic horses?"
~ Caroline M Betts ~
Table of Contents
1. Environmental Impact
2. Economic Growth and Community Welfare
3. Legal Implications
4. Opposition to Horse Slaughter
5. Alternatives and Solutions to Horse Slaughter
This is a 24 page report looking into the real issues of horse slaughter and the real solutions to the "unwanted horse problem." It is a valuable tool when lobbying to get the ban on slaughter and on transportation to slaughter finally in place!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Horse Summit back fires!
Due to our internet connection still not being the greatest, I've not seen all the news coverage, but reports from horse advocates such as the link below (which links to some of the coverage) report that not even 200 people showed up to Slaughterhouse Sue's event and speakers did not "stay on script for them." Abbey of the BLM denounced the idea of building slaughterhouses (although this can hardly excuse the BLM's on going actions). With the press coverage and the outrage, this may actually have been just what the PRO-horse movement needed! Check out Fitch's report here, and go on to other pages of his blog for more:
Press and Guests Turn On Slaughterfest Organizers
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
From Simone Netherlands: How to make sense of the pro- slaughter fabrications
(Yes, the following is another repost, this one from Simone Netherlands of Respect4horses this time the complete thing as she gives permission. DO mind the permission given requires the inclusion of the copyright notices, so if you pass it along DO include them)
This is for those who are still confused as to what to say to some of the pro slaughter claims and fabrications: Feel free to share and use as long as copyright stays on the bottom.
The Pro-slaughter claims are, that the slaughter of horses for human consumption is “humane” and “necessary” because of a huge overpopulation or unwanted horse problem. This may sound like a reasonable argument to some, but the reason for this widespread deception of the American public, is easily deciphered:
The business of Horse slaughter is obviously not a service business designed to help us dispose of unwanted horses, it is a FOR-profit, demand-driven business, like any other business. The amount of horses slaughtered, is determined by the demand of horse meat abroad and by the contracts that the kill buyers have to fulfill, NOT by the amount of unwanted horses
While we are certainly going through harsh economic times, and nobody denies that we have an overpopulation problem, when you stop to consider the facts more realistically, it becomes very clear that horse slaughter is the anti-solution to the problem.
The truth is that the abandoned and starving horses are not the ones that end up in the slaughter plants at all, for the simple fact that their owners chose to abandon them rather than send them to slaughter.
The demand of the horse slaughter plants is for healthy, young flesh as this is the tenderest and fetches the highest price per pound. Therefore the killer buyers are in search of the young fat and healthy and leave the skinny, old and sick for society to take care of. Killer buyers bid against good homes and horse rescues at every auction all over the country, because they have contracts with the slaughter plants to fulfill.
In addition to the obvious motives of the slaughter industry, the option of horse slaughter in itself in fact has created, is creating and will continue to create an overpopulation problem, by enabling over breeding (lottery breeding) and encouraging a quick turn around and dumping of horses.
As a convenient and lucrative means of disposal, horse slaughter allows the large breeding industries to dispose of horses that do not have the perfect conformation or speed or strength necessary for their discipline. The larger the quantities they breed, the larger their chances of a winner. The youngster that disappoints simply gets cashed into the killer buyer.
The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) celebrated their 7 millionth foal, and reported over 140,000 foals in 2009. This is approximately the same number as the number of U.S. horses slaughtered. Could it be possible that their motives be related to the fact that they need that same amount of horses to go to slaughter in order to make way for their new stock and keep prices falsely inflated? In any case, they seem morbidly afraid of a bill that will stand in their way of making their fortunes.
So while they cleverly make it seem as if they are protecting the individual horseman and as if they actually care about the welfare of horses, it is about pure and simple greed of the big industries, like it always is.
The most creative part of this well funded scam on Americans is that the very businesses creating the overpopulation problem turn around and use this problem to convince good hearted people to side with their cause. They are organizing this summit plus other events all over the country to promote horse slaughter as a necessary evil, so that these businesses may continue to produce “unwanted” horses and keep selling them pound for pound.
Some people might be surprised to learn these breeding industries receive both huge breeding incentives from their perspective breeding associations as well as huge tax advantages and write-offs from the IRS. This further encourages breeding strategies that are not consistent with demand. When you throw in the current state of the economy on top of the overpopulation problem and the breeding incentives for coming years, the future seems rather bleak for American horses.
According to very simple economic principals when supply is overabundant, demand goes down and values decrease. The housing industry understands this principal and builders have stopped building. How come breeders cannot do the same? To point to the closing of the American slaughter houses for the decrease of horse values is a cowardly deflection to avoid blame, and a clever rouse for people who don't take the time to investigate any further. Very much like the banking industry the breeding industry is self destructing by not paying attention to the market, horse slaughter is their bail out.
Change is needed, certain questions need to be asked. What if we take a part of the same taxes from the horse races that are currently used as breed incentives, and instead we make humane euthanasia funds and gelding funds and hay funds for horse rescues? If these breed associations care about the welfare of the horse like they say they do, they would have done this a long time ago. The only comon goal we may have is that we all want to see horse prices rise again, but the only way to do this is to slow down the overabundant supply.
We have almost 10 million domestic horses in America. The approximate amount of 100,000 horses ending up in foreign slaughter plants are in all reality only 1% of the horse population. Not an insurmountable amount to be absorbed back into society as the pro slaughter summit organizers would like us to believe. It would take only a slight adjustment of the breeding industry.
It should be noted that without the horse, human civilization would not be where it is today. The greatest conquests in history have been won because of the endurance, bravery and loyalty of the horse. The horse spends its entire life in service to ours.
It is the want and need for human attention and praise that gives the horse its incredible versatility. It is these same qualities that are a major factor in the assessment of the amount of mental and physical suffering involved with horse slaughter. The myth that horse slaughter is in any way quick or humane, is a wishful, far fetched stretch of the truth to say the very least.
We gain nothing by it. Every argument for preserving the barbaric practice of horse slaughter, is greed motivated, un-factual and clearly deceptive. Horse slaughter is unacceptable and beyond un-necessary. It is time to find solutions to the problems we create without compromising our humanity.
For more information see www.respect4horses.com
All rights reserved 2010 Respect4horses.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Support the effort to have Slaughterhouse Sue investigated
Call on WY authorities to investigate ethics and fraud allegations against Rep. Sue Wallis
"Wyoming resident, Patricia Fazio, Ph.D. has filed a complaint with state officials, requesting an investigation of alleged violations of ethics laws and securities fraud by Wyoming State Rep. Sue Wallis (R-Campbell). Wallis is an avid proponent of horse slaughter and is alleged to have used her position as state legislator to promote and misrepresent horse slaughter for her personal financial gain. Wallis is also accused of duping and misleading potential investors in her alleged horse slaughter facility."Read the rest and please sign!
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