Stop Horse Slaughter

[Buckskin gal]

I hope for all you people who believe that slaughterhouses are the answer to a problem of too many unwanted horses are happy that Montana will probably soon be building them. It is right now being decided because one man in particular wants the slaughter houses so badly for he has been losing some money for the lack of sales of unwanted horses. [my opinion]I truly believe, from doing some research that all this slaughhter issue is not about "what is best for the horses" but about money. It seems that even though the horses have been a friend to many people and worked for that person, carried that person on it's back, gave enjoyment etc. these same people think that horses should be sent to auction yards, loaded on unsafe trucks, abused while the stronger horses trample the less strong horses while on the trucks, along with other abuse....they still want to see these animals brought to death at a slaughter house. There is money to be made in selling horses for slaughter and greed dictates the desire to always make that dollar rather than see that the horses are put to death in a humane way. The problem here is too many horses being brought into this world and too many people thinking horses should fill the pockets of people those who can't resist. Someone asked....what do we do with the horses if there are no slaughtetr houses? There are alternatives and each person who has horses should know of them and be doing research to find those ways since they may have a horse that they may have to put down. One solution would be for horses to be put down on their home grounds and then disposed of. We have places for dead horses to be buried right here in our town....may not be well known but it is there. another option people have here is for the dead horse to be picked up by a business that processes the animal for purposes that may be worthwhile. I beg you people who think that slaughter is the answer to many problems that horse people bring on themselves to look into alternatives for your horses for they are there. But most of all, for you people who believe horses are not considered good enough to have a humane and safe ending , please do not raise any more horses and advocate for better solutions to the death of what I consider "our friends". I know some of you people will call me a "tree hugger" or something like that because you don't believe in what is best for the animal and only the best and easiest for yourselves. As for horses being turned loose because the owner no longer wants them, I say, find a way for each person to be responsible for what they have even if it means mandatory tatooing the animal and then registered so any body can be found to account for what is theirs. I bet there would be far fewer horses bred if every person had to be totally responsible for that animals wellfair. I will not write anything further on this subject for I don't want to be involved in an argument that would only drain me. I am so saddened that my state has plans to build slaughter houses for horses and it is all about money rather than the humane treatment of horses. Try getting your thinking caps on and come up with ways to handle the overbreeding of horses rather than an easy way out. Mary

 

[Sonya]

In a perfect world, slaughter houses would not be needed....we all know this is not a perfect world. I do not like the idea as I'm sure no one on this board does and I wish there didn't have to be slaughter houses...but at the moment until someone comes up with a better solution, it's all we have and I wish the ones in the U.S. where not shut down, at least then we would know exactly how they are regulated and could have a voice in that.

 

[midnight star stables]

Those who are against slaughter, what exactly do you think is the ETHICAL ALTERNATIVE for ignorant breeders flooding the market, old horses, crazy horses, and others who flood the slaughterhouses? Andrea

Stop Breeding

I truely wish there was a breeding "Cap", where any one place could only breed x amount of horses a year. I am breeding two this year, but I have the space to keep both these foal if I choose to. Breeding is not wrong... Breeding for greed is.

I am against horse slaughter. Well rather the way it is done, but I am not going to cause a huge ruckus. It's like beating a dead horse

As was said, the battle lines are clearly drawn.

 

[Sonya]

Stop Breeding

if only it were that easy....look at all the dogs/cats that get euthanized daily.

 

[txminipinto]

Those who are against slaughter, what exactly do you think is the ETHICAL ALTERNATIVE for ignorant breeders flooding the market, old horses, crazy horses, and others who flood the slaughterhouses? Andrea

Stop Breeding

I truely wish there was a breeding "Cap", where any one place could only breed x amount of horses a year. I am breeding two this year, but I have the space to keep both these foal if I choose to. Breeding is not wrong... Breeding for greed is.

I am against horse slaughter. Well rather the way it is done, but I am not going to cause a huge ruckus. It's like beating a dead horse

As was said, the battle lines are clearly drawn.

The same could be said for the human species as well! Enforcing a ban on breeding anything would be impossible and unfortunately, until people rip off their coke bottle barn glasses it won't stop. The junk abounds in all species of domesticated animals and some people either won't or can't be educated on what good breeding practices are. Large farms are also to blame that put out 20, 40, 60, or hundreds of foals each year. Big horses and small! The best way to be part of the solution is to geld. It's impractical to spay a mare, but it's pretty darn easy to geld a colt.

 

[fourhorses]

In a perfect world, slaughter houses would not be needed....we all know this is not a perfect world. I do not like the idea as I'm sure no one on this board does and I wish there didn't have to be slaughter houses...but at the moment until someone comes up with a better solution, it's all we have and I wish the ones in the U.S. where not shut down, at least then we would know exactly how they are regulated and could have a voice in that.

With all due respect this is where some of the Anti-slaughter voices make sense. It is still fascinating that so many people think that regulation would change the way things are done. Regulation has been in place for years, laws have been on the books for years, violations, over & over again have taken place for years. The system needs an overhaul like many other systems in this country. In most cases those who are in charge of regulating are the very ones allowing the law to be broken.

As with any atrocity that takes place in the world it takes a collective voice to make a change. You can't change stupid. There are always going to be people who think it's OK to torture and there's always going to be people who don't think it's OK. There will always be people who would rather buy from a pet store/puppy mill than adopt from a shelter or buy from a private breeder. There are always going to be people who put dozens of foals on the ground knowing full well that the market has been dry for a few years now and will be dry a few more. There are always going to be people who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. There are always going to be those who scream from the rooftops about their "rights" but will stand with their hand out if it helps them after all.

 

[Elsa]

Those who are against slaughter, what exactly do you think is the ETHICAL ALTERNATIVE for ignorant breeders flooding the market, old horses, crazy horses, and others who flood the slaughterhouses? Andrea

Stop Breeding

I truely wish there was a breeding "Cap", where any one place could only breed x amount of horses a year. I am breeding two this year, but I have the space to keep both these foal if I choose to. Breeding is not wrong... Breeding for greed is.

I am against horse slaughter. Well rather the way it is done, but I am not going to cause a huge ruckus. It's like beating a dead horse

As was said, the battle lines are clearly drawn.

I support the warmblood system, where offspring can only be registered when sired by an approved stallion having gone through testing. I think it would make a world of difference. It wouldn't eliminate the BYB's but there would be less horses overall.

 

[tagalong]

And those so called slaughter videos that have been spread all over the net. in NO Way represents the Modern Processing plant and was produced by the Highly biased peta and the far out side of the Animal Rights wackos.~!

Every time this topic comes up - I relate my tale of actually touring a big slaughterhouse in Canada. Clean, well run. Many horses in the holding pens received better care than they had ever had in their lives... better feed, shelter etc. They even had horses set aside in different paddocks that you could "shop" for... friends picked up many nice riding horses that way. I watched the entire process at length on 2 separate visits. Why? So I would KNOW what went on. After the horse (or a human for that matter) is dead, what happens to the shell/body does not concern me. Many people have horse meat as a regular part of their diet - and yet some are quick to label that disgusting and uncivilized. Why? Some cultures shun pork. Some revere cows. We gobble down both of them. And yet there is no great uproar about pigs or cows being slaughtered - compared to the outrage about horses. Even many "horse cultures" have eaten horse meat through the centuries.

Anyway - back to the plant. NONE of the sensationalist stuff that you are preached is the norm happened. None of it. Everything was very regulated and HUMANE. No suffering. The horse who came into "the box" never even had a chance to panic before he was on the floor... all but brain dead. If the guy with the pneumatic "stick" had any reason to doubt that it was not a clean hit, he did it again - often before the horse had even hit the floor.

Thus no poor horse "came to" as he was on the line hanging upside down - think about it. If you worked there would you want a 1,000 ppund horse thrashing overhead? The horses were NOT "alive" as they were bled out. Are deer still alive when hunters bleed them out and dress them out? No. The only movement I saw was the involuntary kind of things you see when any horse is put down or dies - and I have seen a lot of that....

I saw no pregnant mares being sliced open alive - but did see lots of pregnant mares... there was an actual pasture of mares and foals there - pregnant mares were seperated from the others. Of course - none of them should have been pregnant in the first place. The same friends often bought a mare & foal package there - rode the mare, raised and started the youngster.

Anyway - the well run, HUMANE slaughterhouse I saw was not like the many videos you see circulated. If only they were all run like that one...

Instead of THINKING about what was gping to happen, the plants were shut down as many had airy-fairy thoughts of all horses running free in flower-bedecked meadows... and now they have to be trucked even farther. No thought was given to that. No concern about those double decker transports designed for catlle, not horses. But stuffed with horses. No one seemed to think ahead and they went about this back-asswards. They shoud have regulated the transport issues first and banned the double deckers... instead of patting themselves on the back for "saving" horses by closing the plants. In many cases - they actually created more suffering.

No petitions for me. The real horror is the transportation.... and not carefully regulated plants... THAT I would sign a petition about...

 

[Indy's mom]

Ok so you happen to tour a well run slaughterhouse in Canada, great. So how does that tell us how the plants here are/were run? Do you think that the awful video's that are out there are fake?

I have seen numerous videos of and spoken to normal people who have witnessed first hand how the killer bound horses are treated at the auction houses, downright abusive!!!! Google "New Holland Horse Auction" and see what you find! These people are not thinking, "oh this horse should be treated with respect until he dies"! More like, "who the heck cares he's as good as dead anyway"!

As far as the "transportation in double deckers" go, they have been banned for years in many states but still used! In one of the more recent US slaughterhouses they had a "law" that stated the horses could not be delivered to the slaughterhouse in a DD....guess how they got around that....they unloaded the horses across the street. No one cares to keep an eye on slaughterhouses to make sure that the rules are being followed!

My pregnant rescue mare that I have right now was with a group of 30 other broodmares, we were able to pull 5 and the rest we were told "disapeared in the middle of the night" most likely shipped to slaughter!

I think that if ALL slaughterhouses were run and operated the way the one was that you toured in Canada, MAYBE it might not be such a hot topic. But unfortunately most are not!

 

[tagalong]

So how does that tell us how the plants here are/were run? Do you think that the awful video's that are out there are fake?

Please read my post again. I said ...if only all plants were run like that one. HOWEVER it is often maintained that all slaughterhouses are evil torture chambers. People "know" this based on what they are told without seeing anything for themselves.

People are going about the horse slaughter thing completely backwards. There would be no need for slaughterhouses if there were not as many horses. Good ones, garbage BYB ones - they all can wind up in the same place.

I have seen numerous videos of and spoken to normal people who have witnessed first hand how the killer bound horses are treated at the auction houses, downright abusive!!!!

I"m a normal person!

So is the petition about auction houses then - or slaughterhouses? I have been to many auction mart sales in the past - and many owners simply dump their horses there and leave. Again - who is delivering these horses to auction houses and not even caring where they might end up? Often in terrible condition? It may be time for horse owners to take responsibility for their own actions... instead of shifting the blame only to the auction houses. Why are those owners being given a free pass by all those who are against horse slaughter?

I've sat through horse sales at auction houses ... seen instant weanings as foals at heel were sold separate from their mothers as designated by the consigner... seen bunches of yearling QHs come through the ring.. dumped by their owner who could not bother halter breaking them... let alone worm them or do their feet or touch them in any way. And you can bet all their mothers were pregnant again at home. Is it the auction mart's fault that the poor things are terrified and trying to climb panels and walls - and each other? Eight of them, milling around the ring ... take your pick of the hip numbers. Good luck getting him home in one piece - the stock guys will manage to get him split off from his friends with some difficulty and into his own holding pen. After that - the poor little guy is your problem. And I have dealt with that problem a few times in the past.

In the midst of all the chaos an owner will ride in their horse and present it as best they can to try and ensure that it finds a good home. Not that that helps - a local sale I was at a couple of months ago had well-broke, papered QH geldings selling for $200. Or less. And yes, over the years friends and I have left those sales with horses... having come with none.

No one cares to keep an eye on slaughterhouses to make sure that the rules are being followed!

Which is why many of us say they need to regulated and inspected and observed. As any new slaughterhouses would have to be, IMO.

But what is the point of regulated slaughterhouses when the transports are pretty much left to get around the rules and do as they please? Look at the transport videos on You Tube. Horses that have gone down and are being walked on. Legs snapped. Eyes gouged. Ears torn off. MUCH worse than any slaughterhouse assembly line, IMO.

 

[maestoso]

For the record. I am against horse slaughter anywhere, and was glad to see it eliminated from the U.S. There was a huge thread on this subject a while back where I shared my opinions on why I feel the way I do, and in return I was told I was young, ignorant and stupid. I'll spare myself that frustration this time.

My only opinion on this topic is that it tends to be similar to the equivalent to our society's non horsey arguments about abortion, same sex marriage, etc etc etc. The kind of topics that no matter what you say, no matter what opinion you share, no matter how you justify your opinion, you will never convince the "other" side that you are right and they are wrong, and most of the time it just causes useless arguments and frustration. Probably would be a less heated thread of people just stuck to the objective, if you want to sign the petition go for it and if you dont, ignore it. Just my take on it . . . .

 

[tagalong]

I was told I was young, ignorant and stupid.

I don't recall that, Matt - that would have been very rude

It is an open forum - and we should all be able to voice our opinions and concerns on all sides without being ridiculed or bashed or sneered at...

 

[~Lisa~]

People are going about the horse slaughter thing completely backwards. There would be no need for slaughterhouses if there were not as many horses. Good ones, garbage BYB ones - they all can wind up in the same place.

.

I agree this is a huge part of the problem so many think nice horses do not end up there and sadly that is not the case. It is not just the old, lame and sick horses it is beautiful, healthy, well trained and well papered horses of all breeds.

If only everyone both minis and large horses realized it easily could happen to those wonderful quality animals they are breeding

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Those videos are mostly taken from Mexican slaughter plants... where we send most of our horses now, thanks to US do-gooders who had no clue what they were petitioning their congressmen for. I'm pro-US slaughter.

 

[Minimor]

I have seen numerous videos of and spoken to normal people who have witnessed first hand how the killer bound horses are treated at the auction houses, downright abusive!!!! Google "New Holland Horse Auction" and see what you find! These people are not thinking, "oh this horse should be treated with respect until he dies"!

From what I've heard it isn't just the slaughter bound horses that are treated badly at these auction houses, it's any/all of them. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the hellhole that is New Holland auction is still in operation, even though the US plants have closed down? And conditions for the horses at New Holland have not improved?
If everyone had turned their attention to the auction houses, and the transport methods, and the conditions at the slaughterhouses--go after those things and keep after them until laws are changed and officials actually enforce the laws--these horses would have been a lot better off in the last days of their lives. But no, people jumped into it in the middle and went after closing down the slaughterhouses--and never mind that the horses now have it worse in that they're being shipped to Mexico...not only is it a longer trip but from what I've heard the Mexican trucks they're loaded onto are worse than the doubledeckers we see in the US...plus some of them are offloaded to be used for entertainment in the horse tripping events.....and conditions in places like New Holland have not changed.

 

[Indy's mom]

So how does that tell us how the plants here are/were run? Do you think that the awful video's that are out there are fake?

Please read my post again. I said ...if only all plants were run like that one. HOWEVER it is often maintained that all slaughterhouses are evil torture chambers. People "know" this based on what they are told without seeing anything for themselves.

People are going about the horse slaughter thing completely backwards. There would be no need for slaughterhouses if there were not as many horses. Good ones, garbage BYB ones - they all can wind up in the same place.

I have seen numerous videos of and spoken to normal people who have witnessed first hand how the killer bound horses are treated at the auction houses, downright abusive!!!!

I"m a normal person!

So is the petition about auction houses then - or slaughterhouses? I have been to many auction mart sales in the past - and many owners simply dump their horses there and leave. Again - who is delivering these horses to auction houses and not even caring where they might end up? Often in terrible condition? It may be time for horse owners to take responsibility for their own actions... instead of shifting the blame only to the auction houses. Why are those owners being given a free pass by all those who are against horse slaughter?

I've sat through horse sales at auction houses ... seen instant weanings as foals at heel were sold separate from their mothers as designated by the consigner... seen bunches of yearling QHs come through the ring.. dumped by their owner who could not bother halter breaking them... let alone worm them or do their feet or touch them in any way. And you can bet all their mothers were pregnant again at home. Is it the auction mart's fault that the poor things are terrified and trying to climb panels and walls - and each other? Eight of them, milling around the ring ... take your pick of the hip numbers. Good luck getting him home in one piece - the stock guys will manage to get him split off from his friends with some difficulty and into his own holding pen. After that - the poor little guy is your problem. And I have dealt with that problem a few times in the past.

In the midst of all the chaos an owner will ride in their horse and present it as best they can to try and ensure that it finds a good home. Not that that helps - a local sale I was at a couple of months ago had well-broke, papered QH geldings selling for $200. Or less. And yes, over the years friends and I have left those sales with horses... having come with none.

No one cares to keep an eye on slaughterhouses to make sure that the rules are being followed!

Which is why many of us say they need to regulated and inspected and observed. As any new slaughterhouses would have to be, IMO.

But what is the point of regulated slaughterhouses when the transports are pretty much left to get around the rules and do as they please? Look at the transport videos on You Tube. Horses that have gone down and are being walked on. Legs snapped. Eyes gouged. Ears torn off. MUCH worse than any slaughterhouse assembly line, IMO.

I didn't mean to inply that YOU were not a normal person! lol! Someone said that the awful slaughter video's are all from the "crazy PETA" people, I was just trying to state that that is not the case!

~Tammy

 

[stormy]

Doesn't matter at this point if you think slaughter of horses is right or not right. It has been banned. The real problem is no alternative for unwanted horses was put in place BEFORE the ban. Horses ARE being turned loose, dumped on others farms, given away to anyone who will take them regardless if they are any better able to care for them.. Not only are there too many unwanted/unusable horses many families are having to part with animals they would never have considered giving up before due to the economy!

We need to put some real solutions in place, low cost euthanasia, disposal options for carcasses, assistence programs for placing sound and sane horses in new homes. This supports should have been in place before the slaughter ban.

If you do not believe there are more starving and abandoned horses out there now than before the ban OPEN YOUR EYES!! We had a county wide notice last fall to deer hunters to shot loose horses on site as someone had released over 40 horses into a state game area and they could not be caught. The alternative to shooting them would have been starvation over this long hard winter.

 

[minifancier]

Well that is what happens when the Far Left Animal Rights People and some peta folk get together thinking with heart instead of using their God Given Brains, and thinking Outside of the box and what could happen IF this happens, like closing the processing plants down. What Might happen.

And NOW we are seeing just what might happen, because it IS happening. More horses are suffering WAY more now then ever before the processing plants closed. And that is Plain and simple.

Thanks to one and all, and you know who you are, countless horses are suffering on a daily basis, just LIKE most said what was going to happen if those processing closed down.

 

[~Lisa~]

I am sorry minifancier but the blame is not soley on those opposed in fact that is a pretty near sighted way to look at it.

Bottom line is the blame is with all of us who keep a never ending supply of excess horses

 

[MiniMaid]

I support it.

I dont eat horses,I never will or would. (and there not kosher). But would YOU want to see those horses die a long,hard,sad,lonley life? I bet you wouldent,so lets just put those horses out of their misery.

-R