OMG !! This makes me sick

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minimom1

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I was reading an auction list that was posted on another forum from an auction here in Alberta, Canada.

There was 2 weanling mini's purchased by the kill buyer
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This made me cry, I have a little one this year and I can not comprehend what these poor babies are going through right now. They apparently are headed for slaughter on Monday.

I had NO idea that weanling mini's would go for slaughter until tonight. Is this common ?

I really wish I knew who the kill buyer was as I would be on my way with my trailer to buy them from him even though it is like a 5 hr drive from me.
 
Just a THOUGHT now...
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Meat dealers are there for the $$, and seriously, a weanling mini isn't going to bring in much revenue as a meat horse...so I would assume the dealer has a sale wsith a buyer for the minis. Many times the dealers will get super deals on good "reuseable" horses, and resell them later. So...let's hope.
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the real, and TRUE bad-guy here, isn't the dealer...he hs a job to do, alibet one that we generally find extremely distastful...the REAL honest and true monster...is the SOB who took those horses there with no seserve, and allowed them to be sold to the meat dealer to begin with.
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That is the one that makes ME
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I would say there is a very good chance that the kill buyer will in this case be selling those foals on to someone else, that he didn't buy them for slaughter. The one buyer here will do that with horses--maybe not buy them specifically for something other than slaughter, but when he gets them home to his feed lot he looks them over & if there are a couple that look like they might be good saddle prospects he will set them aside for possible resale. How long he will keep those horses for resale I don't know--perhaps only until they are in the right condition to be sent on to the slaughterhouse--but I do know people that have gone there & picked up a saddle horse. Mini weanlings....no profit in sending them onto the slaughterhouse. They are likely to be headed for a home with someone.
 
Oh I sure hope so and your right I was not blaming the kill buyer for purchasing them it is of course the fault of the scumbag that took the poor little guys there. I was just really suprised to read the meat man purchased mini weanlings.
 
Don't kid yourself. Minis in any size or age are used for live bait at many game farms that raise lions and tigers for the wanna be hunters. Usually they go via Mexico but there are others places. Appauling as it seems, this is what the human race has been reduced to in many places.
 
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I don't even know what to say about that one Marty!

I am off to hug my babies and tell them what a good life they have.
 
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Hi, I am from alberta too and live in the same town as the horse plant, just wondering if I could get information on the 2 minis as to what sale they went through, date and somewhat of a description, maybe I can help.
 
Folks, realize that killer buyers are not just killer buyers, they are horse traders also and as one of the other posters stated. he more than likely had a buyer in mind when he bought them.

From time to time you here about people thinking that mini's are going to a processing plant, knowing a number of killers in our area of eastern Texas, where race tracks from Texas and Louisiana routinely sell their broke down or undesirable horses into the killer markets. I have ask the question" can you pack mini's" of several of them and the response is always, "we cannot come out buying mini's or small equine for our market". This response if you think about it makes a lot of practical sense. It cost the same to transport a mini in a pot (the trailers used for this type of transport)as it does a big horse. Additionally the minis would have to be segregated to make sure they made the trip. Couple that with the fact that the low yield of a mini in comparison to a big horse as far as final meat on the rack and it just does not work.

I know in this country we have an aversion to regarding horses as food animals, but in other parts of the world they eat them like we eat cattle, chickens and hogs. Personally I want no part of eating horse meat, but I am not going to call out people for doing so. To me that would be very hypocritical of me, while I enjoy my rib eye or Mcdonalds hamburger to say the least.

All animals in my eyes are deserving of dignity and respect up and until the time they are used by humans for whatever end purpose. Be that showing, pets, breeding or food consumption.

We made a huge mistake closing the killer plants in this country, where we had at least some control over the way the horses were transported, handled, processed and cared for until they were processed. Now we have them being transported long distances into countries such as Mexico where they is no control and we have no say over what and how they are handled. But that is another thread, I guess.
 
Frostedpineminis:

It was the Toefield Auction on Aug 28

These three were all purchased by a meat man (sorry don't know which one but possibly the auction mart can tell you)

Mini mare exposed to 29" stallion for 2011 sold for meat $190

Mini filly weanling sold for meat $140

Mini colt weanling sold for meat $90
 
I competely agree with you JWC sr. There are many horses out in the world and people have to come to the comclusion that there are worse things than death in this world, like abandonment to starve or living with a horrible condition or worse yet as you stated being shipped to mexico were they kill them just like they would here but without any cruelty laws. On the other hand they do at the plant here kill minis and I know people that work there and they say it is quite sad to see them in there, so it does happen. I dont get mad about the fact that they kill horses, its just that if there is any chance to save a YEARLING mini, and find it a better home, then I am going to try because there is a lot of horses out there that need to go there before a couple of yearling miniature horses, not to say that the buyer didnt have someone in mind and if so then that is great I have a friend with 3 mini donkeys that all came from the meat buyer and I am glad that most people know that most of the miniature stock bought at market goes to a good home and a couple of my friends have mini donkeys to prove it.
 
ok thanks minimom1, I will talk to the people that I know and see if maybe I can find out were they went, anything bought in alberta, bc and sask should come to town here. thanks for the update.
 
Folks, realize that killer buyers are not just killer buyers, they are horse traders also and as one of the other posters stated. he more than likely had a buyer in mind when he bought them.

All animals in my eyes are deserving of dignity and respect up and until the time they are used by humans for whatever end purpose. Be that showing, pets, breeding or food consumption.

We made a huge mistake closing the killer plants in this country, where we had at least some control over the way the horses were transported, handled, processed and cared for until they were processed. Now we have them being transported long distances into countries such as Mexico where they is no control and we have no say over what and how they are handled. But that is another thread, I guess.
Good points........ Well said.
 
Frosted,

I completely understand and hope you are successful at finding them great homes. Hpefully we all can find life jobs for every mini we come in contact with.
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I hope I did not come across as being negative about your post as it was not meant that way at all.
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This is though one of my pet peeves and so posted the comments I made. I hate seeing cruelty is any form when it comes to animals and so many times we see folks mistreating them like the idiots down in the center of Texas were doing with the 100+ minis they were not feeding or caring for. Those folks are the real villains in my way of thinking and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law Barr none.
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The death some of those little horses met were indeed pitiful and I would have much preferred to have them processed and not allowed to starve or be mistreated the way they were.
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Good Luck in your quest!!
 
John, I agree with you fully. Here in southeast Oklahoma, we are rather remote. Thirty miles away from here is a lot of forest land, very hilly and rocky. Little to no grass. Although I have not seen it personally, I have heard of several big horses being taken up there and dumped out because people cannot afford to feed them and cannot sell them. They WILL starve. Maybe not this year, but most likely next. Meanwhile, some of them will have foals. Many of those will be eaten by coyotes. There are also some mountain lions (locally usually referred to as panthers) in the area and they LOVE horse meat.

THIS is what happens when slaughter is not allowed.
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Dear JWC Sr. Thanks for the post, I under NO circumstances thought of your post as negative!! I completely understand where you are coming from.
 
I am a HUGE anti-slaughter advocate. I USED to be a huge SUPPORTER for slaughter. Until I became educated. Please keep in mind, i am not some blind, bleeding heart. I have spent the last year doing alot of research into this issue.

I follow a large number of rescues, mostly back east. Some may recall when I posted about a Shetland pony, out of hall of fame bloodlines and in top condition with outstanding confirmation that was listed to go to slaughter. Luckily we were able to save him. Minis are a weekly occurrence, as are ponies. Mind you these aren't horses in poor condition. They aren't of poor stock or bad confirmation. These are well trained, well loved minis used for driving, riding etc etc. On an average I see at least 3 and usually more go through each week.

People think these horses are safe because they are minis. The fact is, they are often sold as food for other animals, such as for zoos or large game preserves. And, believe it or not, they DO ship to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. Its not often, but it does happen, esp with the larger minis and ponies. The Kill Buyer (KB) sees a profit to be made, period.

This is an extremely sensitive issue. Everyone has an opinion on it, but in the end, the facts cannot be denied. And it effects every single facet of the horse industry, from mini horses to large drafts, mules, donkeys and everything in between. Alot of people say that it is more humane for the animals to go to slaughter than it is for them to be turned out into the wild and abandoned. The fact is, while that does happen, it is not as high an occurrence as one may think. I'll get into some statistics in a moment. A large number of organizations, both anti and pro slaughter have agreed that the unwanted horse issue has not increased due to slaughter house shut downs in the US. IN fact, the same number of animals are being shipped to slaughter as they were before, the only difference is that they are going out of the country now. neglect and Abuse cases never increased with the plant shutdowns in the US.

First, lets look at where these horses are coming from. naturally there are the animals that are sick, incurably lame, or dangerous. Then there are the 'other' horses, which make up 80% or more of the horses slipped to slaughter. These are PMU foals and mares, These are Nurse Foals, these are the grand kids pony that we don't want any more, these are excess thoroughbreds, saddlebreds, pacers; these are the AQHA and APHA horses that are born the wrong color (im not kidding!), these are the excess Amish driving horses, carriage horses from new york, unwanted mustangs from the range,draft horses that don't have a job any more.... the list goes on and on and on. (Please note, while it is illegal to slaughter a horse under the age of 6 months, many PMU and Nurse mare foals are either clubbed at birth or skinned for leather products)

The AQHA is one registry that is continually under the gun, and in many ways represents whats happening all over. The AQHA registers, yearly, an average of 135,000 foals. By oct 2009, roughly 115,000 horses had been shipped to slaughter. In 2007, 122,000 horses were slaughtered. And still they promote breeding. This is where i really commend registries such as PtHA and AHA that have gelding incentive funds as well as programs that award points for doing something other than showing and breeding. Before i move on, I want to say here that I personally am caught. I would love to breed minis, I have an ideal in confirmation and temperament I want to reach. and someday I would like to venture into breeding Gypsy vanners and knabstruppers to help preserve these rare breeds. But I see the number of horses slaughtered each week and I have to ask myself, is that the right thing to do?

I want to pause a moment and talk about an article I read recently about a breeder in canada. She's upset because of all the american horses coming into canada for slaughter, because its driving the price down on her own horses. She breeds over 50 AQHA mares a year, and recently had to ship 25 yearlings to slaughter. She got an average of 125 dollars a head. She states she has to breed 100 horses to get 2 horses of quality. (for pleasure, barrel racing and show). She faults the rescues for inteferring with slaughter, because slaughtering the poor quality horses removes them from the gene pool. And she faults consumers for wanting to pay 200 dollars for a rescue horse, instead of 2000 dollars for an untried yearling. Any good rescue always puts in a do not breed clause in thier adoptions, and some go so far as to sterilize the animals. Sadly, her sentiments are shared by many others who breed indiscriminately. Let me state here that I have a HUGE amount of respect for MANY breeders, here in the mini horse world and in others. A good breeder will always know where their animals go, be willing to take them back and will only breed what they know they can home or care for!

There are just no two ways about it. Over breeding in the horse industry is a huge component of the over abundance of horses that are slaughtered yearly.

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS GRAPHIC IN NATURE**

So, is slaughter more humane that going unwanted? Well, one must consider how the horses are treated. When abandoned, they are often, very sadly, left to a fate such as starvation, being attacked by dogs, hit by a car or something such as that. Cases of abuse and neglect are disgusting, and very sad. But slaughter is no better. The animals are loaded into double decker semi trailers and hauled across country, without food or water, in cramped conditions. Often they will fall in the trailers and be trampled on the way. When they arrive at the plants, a large number of the animals are already dead, most are dehydrated and in such poor conditions that they are drug out of the trucks because they are unable to walk on thier own. Mares drop aborted foals on the concrete, and if a foal is born alive, they are also left behind and die shortly after from dehydration, exposure and trauma. IN canada captive bolts are used to stun the horse before it has its throat slit. Most of the time the captive bolt misses, maiming the animal and leaving it screaming in pain while workers struggle to end its life. In Mexico, a sharp knife is used to severe the spinal cord just behind the poll. Again, they often miss thier targets because we all know how sensitive horses are to having their heads and ears messed with. So, please tell me how those last 4 days of a horses life going to slaughter is more humane. The fact is, whats humane is euthanasia from a qualified official.

There is one more aspect of the slaughter issue that people seem to be blind too. The very simple fact that American horse meat is NOT fit for human consumption! Have you ever taken a peek at the products you give your horses? Bute, wormers, supplements, other pain killers, vaccines, antibiotics.... Its not like the horses going to slaughter are being raised for meat like cattle. The horses going to slaughter are your backyard pets, your performance horses, animals that have had something given to them. If for no other reason at all, that should be enough to ban american horses exports for slaughter. We are in effect poisoning the countries that eat our equine. Canada just recently put in a new law that demands each animal is identified before it can be slaughtered. KB's are of course angry about this, because it increases thier amount of paper work, but at least now there will be a solid record of where exactly that animal came from and if it has had any chemicals of any kind in its body.

Anyone remember the racehorse Ferdinand? He was slaughtered in Japan after failing as a sire.

I could write for days about this. As responsible horse owners, breeders and lovers, it is up to us to take care of our fellow equine. I would LOVE to see more registries put forth more incentive funds to promote gelding, older horse ownership and less breeding. I would also like to see these registries take responsibility for the animals they advocate.

I have a number of sources I can provide for the above information, but I didn't post any because Im not clear on the link rules here on the forum. If you would like to see them, please send me a PM and I would be more than happy to forward them to you.

I wanted to add a response to:

We made a huge mistake closing the killer plants in this country, where we had at least some control over the way the horses were transported, handled, processed and cared for until they were processed. Now we have them being transported long distances into countries such as Mexico where they is no control and we have no say over what and how they are handled. But that is another thread, I guess.
The sad fact is, our own US slaughter house conditions were just as bad as those outside of the country. They still used the captive bolt which is NOT acceptable for a horse as it is for a cow or sheep. Even Temple Grandin, who is nothing short of a genius and has worked extensively to improve the conditions of slaughter plants for ALL animals has stated "Every time she comes back to inspect she has to fix everything she sees"
 
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Killers buy by the pound... and there is not much worth bothering with on a Mini weanling. He may have purchased them to resell or for his kids or... There was a killer buyer here who used to try to go through all the horses he picked up, and if they were good for riding or breeding or kids pets or whatever, he would keep those back and sell them to good homes. He was just as happy to save as many as he could.

Not all meat buyers are horrible ogres who just want to slaughter everything.
 
As others have pointed out, the dealers are just that. Dealers. Horse traders. Every horse they get at a sale is not necessarily going for meat - far from it. The horse plant that was near us in Alberta many years ago had large pens for riding horses... seperate ones for mares and foals, stallions, ponies etc. We went there many times to buy horses out of the pens (and I toured the plant as well - so I have FIRST HAND experience with what went on) - the guys there were ALWAYS glad to help. Mini weanlings are not going up the chute in the plant. Not a chance of that. A) they are too small for any/all of the equipment and set up and B) they are not worth it $$$-wise. That guy likely held them at the side for resale. The same holds true for foals, by the way.

And I think the anger is misdirected. The KB is just doing his job. Who brought those minis to the Tofield auction mart and dumped them - without caring where they wound up or what happened to them? THAT is where the anger should be directed.

Most of the time the captive bolt misses, maiming the animal and leaving it screaming in pain while workers struggle to end its life.
That is a gross generalization. I NEVER saw that happen - and at least I actually was there using my own eyes and ears. If "most of the time" was even remotely true, you think I would have seen it at least once. Or that my friend who worked there would have seen that happen many times a day. He never did.

WIth the pneumatic (?) "gun" (better than a regular captive bolt) I saw used, there was never a horse alive and screaming in pain on the floor or on the hoist. If the worker even thought for a nano-second that the first shot was not good enough, he did it again IMMEDIATELY to make sure that the horse was done. NO writhing and screaming. Just done. Think about it. It is just plain common sense. No worker wants a 1000 pound horse flailing around over their heads. Far too dangerous.

I wish people could try and avoid sensationalism and stick to facts. And not assume that everything is done the same way everywhere. But I have found that even though I have seen and experienced things first hand (the slaughterhouse, vet visits to PMU barns etc.) that I am usually told I am lying or making things up - as what I saw over the years did not match up with what we are told is "normal" and the "truth". Or, what happens "most of the time"... "always" .. "everywhere"... etc.

Sorry - I just get a bit frustrated about this topic...
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I don't think smaller horses are immune to slaughter. I was at a local auction about ten years ago... I made the mistake of staying later in the auction (horse quality runs through there from best to worst...)

There were two (fairly unattractive, but young and friendly) miniature mules that ran through about halfway. The family next to me bid on them to barbecue... they went for $30 and $40.

I didn't have a bidder number, and although I don't know what the heck I would have done with them... it made me sick.

At any rate... it happens no matter how much you hope they will be resold or kept for kids. It's just like the people who dump their old, unwanted pet at the animal shelter and ignorantly hope someone else will adopt them, versus getting euthanized.

I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think closing the slaughter houses here was the best one.

Andrea
 

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