Discuss: Dark Horse

Ms. Coutourier:

  This is obviously a well researched and documented effort. I don’t doubt that you have a deep abiding respect for horses and that you don’t ever want to see one wantonly abused…a perspective that I can appreciate and endorse. Part of me though is forced to examine your implicit premise: That using a horse for food is just plain wrong. All of the comments so far also seem to take that as a non-negotiable point of departure.

  If this stance comes from a vegetarian’s point of view…then, well, I have to give that deference. If it doesn’t, I think there is some moral selectivity in your piece that just doesn’t scour with me.

  As Americans, we view the slaughter and consumption of horses as barbaric, even bordering on the criminal. I can hazard some guesses as to why that is (more historic and practical than moral) but you have acknowledged in your piece that large numbers of others outside of our country don’t share this view. In fact, we might even be in the minority on this point. The obvious question then is: Why is the horse entitled to different treatment from all of our other traditional livestock animals?

  As a horse lover, you no doubt would say that horses are different, but that merely reinforces your own conclusion. Wouldn’t a lover of pigs say the same?

  If what you are saying is that no animal should be consumed for food, I would think that you’d want to just come out and say that and be done. As I said, I would have no grounds to quibble with you about that. If not, I think your lack of objectivity on this point gets in your way of maybe addressing a much larger issue.

Do I misunderstand you, or is there some validity to the point I raise?

Thank you for a very thought provoking article.

Wade

P.S. When I ask about “different treatment” for horses, please believe me, the slaughter house scenes you describe are tough to bear. There’s LOTS of different treatment due to most of the food on our table.

Thank you for this well thought out and researched expose, Ms. Coutourier.

It is difficult to read, but necessary.  The only thing I find more difficult is reading ignorant and just plain stupid comments from some posting here and on many other internet sources that allow comments.

First off, the slaughter for profit process is deceptive to the public and cruel, inhumane to the equines. This isn’t about being a vegan…so DON’T bring that red herring up. It also hides the true cause of get paid to dispose…overbreeding and irresponsible ownership.

Equines are service animals in our culture, NOT food animals. They are not raised or tracked as food animals.

In addition, horse slaughter is NOT illegal in the US at the Fed level and in several states.  It is in a few, but rarely enforced. The plants that used to operate (all slimey 3) were foreign owned, paid almost nothing (think one paid $1) in taxes, employ predominately illegal immigrants, pollute the local areas and were shut down because Congress refused to fund federal inspectors; some were shut down by state statutes.

So quibble, switch debate topics, ignore facts like food purity and slaughter proceedure all you want. It will never validate or excuse this kind of human behavior and it certainly will NOT solve this problem.

But maybe that’s your point slaughter trolls…you like it this way.

Plowboy Wade,
The author went to great lengths to explain the unique place horses have in our society and the cruel and inhumane ends that await so many of them, due to the almighty dollar. For you to deduce that the article boils down to “using a horse for food is wrong” is . . . wrong. I am not here to reiterate the entire article to you, but you may want to take a second read.

I wish that all horse owners would read this article. It covers so many facets of the unwanted horse. Someone earlier had commented that people just “don’t want to know” its so true. I have come across so many unwanted horses and have been to these horse auctions and discovered the killbuyers. I have never bred any horses, but in college worked at Thoroughbred horse farms, so many horses are brought into this world in that industry and others as well. And reality hit me all too hard, when I went to my first horse auction in Kentucky, the Richmond Kentucky auction and there stood Touch Not a 20 something year old Thoroughbred broodmare that almost ended up in the hands of kill buyers. I was able to save her for $150. She was skin and bones, hair falling out, she still had her engraved halter on when she was at the sale, of course the dealer took it. I tried contacting the farm that had her last, to let them know she ended up in the wrong hands and she was safe now, but they never contacted me back. You could see in her produce report where the year earlier she had her last baby, and then in 2002 ended up at the last auction. Instead of breeding every horse and discarding them when they can’t produce, there has to be a better system, but it will take longer and longer, the longer we keep our eyes shut. I’m not trying to pick on just breeders, not all of them are like that, and unwanted horses are out there due to financial reasons, ex-racers, etc, but we need to be responsible for horses that we have or have brought into this world. I have personally made an effort to try and keep an eye out for any horses I used to know/knew of from racetracks etc, or friend’s horses, that I find in need of help and to focus on these horses that I know, since their “responsible” person may have led them to be in danger of slaughter or in bad hands.  I agree with what someone posted earlier about humane euthanasia. If people really knew what happened inside these slaughterhouses, if they really loved their horse they would choose that. Would that same person drive their horse to the slaughterhouse? Probably not, they don’t have to think about it, they can just send their horse to the auction and hope that it gets a good home. We HAVE to open our eyes and protect our horses. I know their isn’t an easy solution, but its 2010 and our American horses are on foreign dinner plates as we speak, come on everyone, we have to work together, contact your local representative, I did, I contacted John Boehner in Ohio last week, and was very suprised to find that he was hesitant to support 503, and he said that some cultures find horsemeat a wholesome protein source, I was shocked and upset and now I want to change things even more. I used to be the person who sat back and thought surely the humane thing will happen with all the slaughterhouses gone in the U.S. and our horses will no longer be slaughtered. No, this is why we have to step foward and do this ourselves, horselovers for the horses.

Hey, BP, who do your work for? “Outlawing” slaughter in the US hasn’t made one iota of difference. We have always sent horses to Canada and Mexico and we still do. We are sending as many horses across our borders as the market will bear - even if there were slaughter houses here, you can only slaughter as many as you can sell just like any other business.

Not only that, while this story didn’t make much out out of the new traceability rules from the EU, it IS a big deal - a very Big Deal. Here is a link to a PDF describing the new rules and how Canada plans to comply: http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BwxnQ91Hgo-LOWVhMjU1ZmEtNmE0OS00NzIxLWI3ZjAtNWYyYTM1YzMxODUy&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Canada currently has a bill up to ban the slaughter of horses completely in Canada because - according to Canadian records - 90% of horses slaughtered in Canada come from the US, and we have absolutely NO tracking system for drugs a given horse may have been exposed to during his/her entire life and do not plan to implement one. Since virtually NONE of our horses can meet the EU standards, Canada feels that they cannot guarantee the meat is safe and therefore can’t take the responsibility. They feel ending horse slaughter there is the only safe and responsible thing to do. Something OUR lawmakers haven’t yet found the guts to do.

So, you see, this IS a Big Deal for us and for Canada and Mexico, for Mexico too must comply if they want to export to the EU.

Since the overwhelming reason we have too many horses is GROSS over breeding by the big breeders, mostly the AQHA and the Jockey Club. Neither have reduced the number of horses bred in the face of the bad economy. They breed literally thousands of horses more than they could possibly sell. They pick the ones they want and dump the rest off to slaughter - foals, pregnant mares and all.

You are right that we should respect these sensitive, intelligent, sentient creatures. The ONLY way to do that is to provide euthanasia by a veterinarian. That is an inescapable responsibility for those of us who have chosen to own horses. Slaughter is NOT euthanasia and is totally unacceptable as a humane end to a horse’s life.

Do you own horses? Do you know anything first hand about the slaughter process? I do - on both counts - and I tell you, there is NOTHING worse than slaughter.

Plowboy ~ There is no validity in the points you raise because horses ARE different - they are not cattle, pigs or any of the other food animals.

Besides the fact that our horses are contaminated with substances that are banned in food animals and therefore NOT safe to eat, there are other problems.

Horses bound for slaughter are transported in double decked trailers designed for cattle, but are totally unacceptable for horses - unlike cattle and pigs, horses have long necks and they must be able to raise their heads to maintain their balance. Besides that they are crammed in so tightly that when one goes down, they can’t help but be trampled by others. They ride for HOURS like this, with no rest, food or water. Many don’t make it to the plant alive.

The slaughter techniques used were also designed for cattle. Everything from the size of the kill box to the captive bolt itself are absolutely unworkable for horses. Horses are incredibly sensitive creatures, unlike cattle that have been bred for docility for centuries. Horses are acutely aware of whats going on around them. They panic and fight, making a clean shot with a captive bolt pistol impossible. Many are shot three and four times and are STILL not sufficiently stunned. Many regain consciousness while hanging by one hind leg on a meat hook as the worker slashes their jugular and they hang there and bleed out. Since horses have about 50% - pound for pound - more blood than cattle, many drown in their own blood. These are just a sampling of the reasons why slaughtering horses is such a nasty, inhumane business.

You see, horses ARE different.

Just a reminder to the readers here:

Horse slaughter for human consumption (HSHC) is not against the law in the United States.  The Federal inspectors have not been funded by the Congress; no inspections, can’t sell the meat to humans to eat.  That is why there are bills pending in Congress. Yes some states make it illegal and others have made it legal but can’t get the Fed Inspectors. And as has been mentioned, the equines go over the borders like they did before and during closure of the last three plants.

And as also mentioned, there is a serious drug issue and lack of production history regarding equine meds and meat produced for humans.  HSHC also encourages horse theft. That, slaughter supporters is definitely not an unwanted equine by virute of the act of theft and the angst and loss experienced by the victimized owner.

Ms. Couturier…I apologize for the name misspell. I should have known better than to trust good old “Plowboy’s” spelling.  God knows the logic and points on debate were questionable in the first place. If one can’t get the little things right like spelling the author’s name correctly, how can one expect to get the bigger ones like morality and ethics?

Death is an inevitability for all living things; it’s just when and how. HSHC is inhumane and provides a dangerous product for humans to eat.