Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Horse Slaughter Promotes Abuse

Yesterday, this video was posted on MetaCafe: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/448941/take_me_away/


Take Me Away - The best video clips are here

Besides the fact that these horses were about to meet a cruel and horrific death, they stood in a crowded pen where they could not move or lie down, standing on concrete with very little food and water for 12 days.

My questions are: Where were the animal patrol officers? Where was the SPCA? Where was the USDA who is supposed to be overseeing the care of our horses. Why does no one care? Why aren't they doing their jobs? Do we allow this type of cruelty and abuse in the United States?

I thought the United States was above this type of behavior, but evidently not. What makes this worse is, where are all the TV News crews? I have not seen one thing about this abhorrent behavior on any news station. I've written to Keith Olbermann and others, but not one word nor one response.

Can't anyone hear the anguished screams of these horses? Has America become numb and uncaring? I don't think the latter is true, but I do know that our TV stations should be talking about this and they are not. I wonder why.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Horse Slaughter is Unethical

A horse in obvious distress, being hauled to his death

There are three horse slaughter plants in the United States, two in Texas and one in Illinois. Presently, the two in Texas are closed to slaughtering for human consumption, due to a 1949 law that the Texas court decided was in effect, as of January 19, 2007. At least one of these plants is still in operation, slaughtering at a reduced level for zoos.

In addition, Kentucky, Illinois and New York all have pending State legislation to ban horse slaughter for human consumption. If you live in any of these states, please contact your State Representatives and Senators and ask them to vote in favor of these bills.

Our horses are sent to slaughter traveling for days without food or water, crammed together in trailers designed for cattle to be served as a delicacy to Europeans and Asians. Some do not even survive this horrific journey to the slaughter house.

The horses are slaughtered inhumanely with a captive bolt gun to their head designed for cattle. More often than not, because horses are flight animals the killer misses its mark, the brain of the horse. Instead, the bolt is shot into the horses eye, face, ear, or neck. Since this is a mass kill (hence the word “slaughter”) they don’t wait to see if the horse has been rendered unconscious. This conscious horse is then hoisted by his rear leg and his throat is slit, thereby suffering a slow death by being bled out.

You can see this process here (very graphic videos): http://www.saplonline.org/slaughtervhumaneeuth.htm or here in Mexico where they believe that torturing the horse makes its meat more tender (some of our horses are sent to Mexico to be slaughtered): http://www.hsus.org/video_clips/horse_slaughter_cruelty.html

The horses slaughtered are not old, nor are they sick. Foals, yearlings, pregnant mares and sound horses of all ages and breeds are slaughtered. Would you want to eat an old sick horse? In addition, two Kentucky Derby winners were slaughtered, Ferdinand and Exceler. Ferdinand was slaughtered in Japan and the sign in the restaurant read, “Come dine on a champion”.

Dogs in America are used with our police forces, our military, and with the general public as seeing eye dogs, for the hearing impaired and for therapy. We do not slaughter dogs.

There are police horses, military horses, seeing eye horses and therapy horses. Many thousands of Americans have benefited, both physically and emotionally, through equine therapy. Yet, we still slaughter horses. We teach our horses to trust us and then without thought send them to slaughter when we have no wish to behave responsibly. Those who would prefer to receive $200 rather than pay that to humanely euthanize their animals can be called nothing less than, Judas. Their 30 pieces of silver snug in their pocket, while the poor horse that worked for them is dropped off at a slaughter auction to begin the nightmare journey leading to unimaginable cruelty and death. It is simply put, unethical. It is immoral. It is wrong.

Laws were introduced last year to the Senate and House. H.R. 503 passed the house in 2006, by 263 to 146, but when it was time to bring S. 2915 to the floor, Conrad Burns, former Senator of Montana, put a secret hold on it. I'd also like to mention that Conrad Burns was the person who slipped in a bill to the Appropriations Bill in 2005, which made it possible to also send our wild horses to slaughter. This favors the ranchers who are using the land that we, as taxpayers, maintain for these horses. But, Conrad Burns had other interests, i.e., the ranchers who are able to lease the public land for very little money so that their cattle can graze, instead of our treasured wild horses. You and I pay for our wild horses to be safe on federal land, but the ranchers who raise cattle for food are benefitting from our tax dollars, rather than the wild horses for which the money is intended. Conrad Burns was defeated in the last election and is no longer a Senator.

I’d also like to mention that these slaughter houses make millions of dollars, but because they show a loss in the United States and take their profit in Europe where they spend their money, they pay the U.S. /no/ taxes. American tax payers, until recently, paid millions for USDA inspectors to serve the foreign owned horse slaughter houses.

American’s do not eat horse meat and for a very good reason: Horses are our companions! Isn’t it time we stopped this atrocity?

If you are outraged by this, please call your representatives and senators to end this atrocity, ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 503 and S. 311. You can also download a flyer at: http://horses.generitek.com to help educate people about horse slaughter and sign a petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/631181096

For a list of the organizations and individuals who support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, please go to: http://www.horse-protection.org/info.php?id=37

A man of kindness, to his beast is kind.
But, brutal actions, show a brutal mind:
Remember, He who made thee, made the brute,
Who gave thee speach and reason, formed him mute;
He can't complain, but God's omnicient eye
Beholds thy cruelty - He hears his cry!
He was designed thy servant; not thy drudge,
But know - That his Creator is thy judge.

Unknown author from The Ladies' Equestrian Guide, 1857.