Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Dispelling the myths from the facts about horse slaughter resuming in America
Quote:
From rumors of a horse slaughter plant reopening in Illinois in a few weeks to President Obama having signed a bill to resume horse slaughter in the United States or to Wyoming legislator Sue Wallis' claims of selling horsemeat to Wyoming school children, there have been so many conflicting stories, it seems to depend on just which side of this contentious issue one may stand. Instead of arguing back and forth, let's just deal with some facts:
Now, do not mistake my next comment as some "equal value" comparison between humans and horses because that's not the point AT ALL ... but the flaw in your line of reasoning would become more obvious to you if you were to apply that same approach to all of the abused and suffering and homeless children and adults across this once great country of ours. You wouldn't think of slaughtering them as the humane answer to their plight, would you? Of course you wouldn't. So why do you do so with the horses? Because in spite of your kindness demonstrated by the adoption of Gracie (which I applaud), it's hardly worthy of the Nobel peace prize for finding room for one horse among 60 acres, and asking everyone else what they are doing to help. Very few people are blessed with that type of acreage, and many are doing much more with a lot less. And you really don't seem to see these creature as the intelligent living beings that they are, or you don't place the appropriate value on that. What seems totally lost in these rationalizations in measuring problems-solutions, is what we as human beings are saying about ourselves in the solutions being embraced, and the alternatives being ignored. And it's not a pretty picture. And your definition of the damage horses cause to land tends to suggest to me that your views are in concert with the cattle industry who sees these creatures as pests.
The bolded section demonstrates what others have been trying to communicate, and even though you speak the words, you seem oblivious to the meaning of your own observations and experience. Horses are indeed noble and proud creatures, intelligent, and not satisfied and content with simple existence like cows are. That is the reason why your's has taken on the role of heard mother. There is just simply more complexity to horses as sentient beings, and that fact alone demands more consideration in their proper handling.
We already have a deplorable situation in the commercial processing of cattle that few have a clue about the horrors thereof .... while there are some smaller operations that operate with respect to the animals, they are evermore being pushed out of business, replaced by the most offensive, inhumane big processing operations. Adding another species to the mix is moving in the entirely wrong direction, in spite of whatever reasons you use to justify it.
Let's get one thing straight ... this solution you embrace is simply the most "cost effective", "Profitable" approach to dealing with the problem, and has nothing whatsoever to do with being humane.
If you want to get "something straight", let's do -
You obviously have no perception of 1) the type of land that is here - mostly powdered sand, which frequently suffers from overgrazing due to peoples' ignorance; 2) The fact that there are actually established grazing algebraic formulae that take into consideration type of soil, water availability and useage, types of grasses, and all of that equals the amount of animals that a piece of property can maintain without becoming damaged. If you were half as aware of these things as you pretend, then your mere opinion on the usage of my acreage might hold water - it doesn't. I know what my property will support, because I am familiar with it - and I will not pretend to some bleeding-heart sacrificial attitude and further destroy land because of someone's emotional, uneducated, and uninformed opinion about what I "should be able to do" with my land. A REAL respector of nature does not blindly destroy things in their emotionalized rush to "save" something else; all things must be weighed in their particular construct and impact. Rushing to "save" 40 horses would make the land unfit to support them in a year - but that solution doesn't occur to the ones who insist that 'saving' those animals this year only makes them starve in two years.
You obviously (again) have no perception of cattle either as a group or singly. Each one has different personalities, idiosyncracies, attitudes, and beliefs - they are not merely cud-chewing mindless ruminants. You have obviously never seen a cowman, fully mature, fight and cry to yank a calf from its mother, with chains around the calf's forefeet, in a blowing ice storm, before mother and calf die in childbirth - or watch that calf be steered and still follow the cowman around like a pup - or seen that matured calf taken to auction or the processor by the very same cowman. Cows, steers and bulls, yes, and chickens and goats and partridges in pear trees, all have personalities - and discounting one over the other insults them all.The cowmen I know, incidentally, do not see their own horses as pests - they keep them fed and cared for and vetted, long after they are unable to be ridden for ranch work, because they respect the animals and what they have done for them over the years. The animals that are "pests" are the ones who have been inappropriately bred and turned loose when their owners ran out of money or patience, and abandoned to destroy others' property.
You can "love" animals and still use them for pulling carts, riding, meat, milk, eggs, or whatever; farmers and ranchers have been doing it for generations. There is no dichotomy there; and your insistence that one animal - the horse - is somehow higher on the food chain because it feels more or is more aware is pure and simple hogwash - or cow-wash, as the case may be.
Aside the bolded section, the rest of the story you provide are rationalizations for the need for slaughter houses, and the full scale commercialization of horses for meat. Now, maybe you believe that this is the humane answer for the problems you outlined which are primarily the result of the purposeful implosion of our economic livelihoods by criminal gangsters .... the irresponsible actions of so many thoughtless human beings ... and a mindset that lining them up in wholesale fashion, and killing them one by one is somehow a thoughtful way to handle those issues ... but that only tells me that you know nothing about the reality of slaughter houses, nor of the animals themselves.
Unlike cattle, which demonstrate a certain lessor amount of reason and awareness, horses are more intelligent and aware. Even the presence of a strange trailer puts them on edge emotionally, and without exception, they understand and feel loss when one of the herd is separated. Green horses that have never been transported will often arrive soaking wet from sweating due to the stress-fear, so if that is enough to frighten them out of their wits, lining them up like cattle for slaughter ALONE is beyond inhumane, to say nothing of the horrors that occur routinely in slaughter houses as animals are slit open like so much garbage, dead, partially dead, what have you. Rivers of blood, animal carcasses, screams and wails of the animals being summarily discharged, all while the rest stand in line waiting their "turn", forced to wait and observe. And don't think for a minute they don't understand what is to become of them.
Now, do not mistake my next comment as some "equal value" comparison between humans and horses because that's not the point AT ALL ... but the flaw in your line of reasoning would become more obvious to you if you were to apply that same approach to all of the abused and suffering and homeless children and adults across this once great country of ours. You wouldn't think of slaughtering them as the humane answer to their plight, would you? Of course you wouldn't. So why do you do so with the horses? Because in spite of your kindness demonstrated by the adoption of Gracie (which I applaud), it's hardly worthy of the Nobel peace prize for finding room for one horse among 60 acres, and asking everyone else what they are doing to help. Very few people are blessed with that type of acreage, and many are doing much more with a lot less. And you really don't seem to see these creature as the intelligent living beings that they are, or you don't place the appropriate value on that. What seems totally lost in these rationalizations in measuring problems-solutions, is what we as human beings are saying about ourselves in the solutions being embraced, and the alternatives being ignored. And it's not a pretty picture. And your definition of the damage horses cause to land tends to suggest to me that your views are in concert with the cattle industry who sees these creatures as pests.
The bolded section demonstrates what others have been trying to communicate, and even though you speak the words, you seem oblivious to the meaning of your own observations and experience. Horses are indeed noble and proud creatures, intelligent, and not satisfied and content with simple existence like cows are. That is the reason why your's has taken on the role of heard mother. There is just simply more complexity to horses as sentient beings, and that fact alone demands more consideration in their proper handling.
We already have a deplorable situation in the commercial processing of cattle that few have a clue about the horrors thereof .... while there are some smaller operations that operate with respect to the animals, they are evermore being pushed out of business, replaced by the most offensive, inhumane big processing operations. Adding another species to the mix is moving in the entirely wrong direction, in spite of whatever reasons you use to justify it.
Given that commercial slaughter INEVITABLY seeks the most expedient and lowest cost methods to kill and process ... that INEVITABLY leads to severe cruelty. Well informed people know of the nature of these meat processing operations, and the inhumane treatment of the animals processed .... so it is a complete disconnect with rational thinking that allows you or anyone else to consider slaughter houses as the humane solution to dealing with horse issues.
I'm really at a loss for words to adequately define just how backward your position is on this matter. It just shows that there is no limit to the irrationality of the human mind, given too much time to theorize and hypothesize and rationalize.
The bottom line here is that there is a problem. That problem is result of greed, irresponsibility, ignorance, and a total absence of compassion. The slaughter of these animals as a solution to that exemplifies those very failures ... and does nothing to combat them.
Let's get one thing straight ... this solution you embrace is simply the most "cost effective", "Profitable" approach to dealing with the problem, and has nothing whatsoever to do with being humane.
Hell yeah! Most informative poster on this forum!!!!!
The indians revered their horses, we moved west and conquered the frontier on horseback, how can we do this to our partners, our heritage? We are a cold unfeeling society, and growing evermoreso.
The only real solution is what Guy outlined in his other post about premits, licensing, and insurance. These beautiful creatures will reside in hands capable of caring for them, and seeing to it that they have a peaceful end. We owe them that much.
I have a yard ornament next door. He looks forward to my carrots every morning, because he is so agonizingly lonely. I don't miss a day.
One random act of kindness everyday, and we could make this a better world.
Hell yeah! Most informative poster on this forum!!!!!
The indians revered their horses, we moved west and conquered the frontier on horseback, how can we do this to our partners, our heritage? We are a cold unfeeling society, and growing evermoreso.
The only real solution is what Guy outlined in his other post about premits, licensing, and insurance. These beautiful creatures will reside in hands capable of caring for them, and seeing to it that they have a peaceful end. We owe them that much.
I have a yard ornament next door. He looks forward to my carrots every morning, because he is so agonizingly lonely. I don't miss a day.
One random act of kindness everyday, and we could make this a better world.
Some souls are so twisted, that when confronted by beauty, they want to kill it.
Why this is so, I really have no clue, but it is beyond sad.
Beautiful post, wish I could rep you on it again.
The process of slaughtering horses is more humane then letting the horse either starve to death or freeze to death:
The process is similar to how cattle are slaughtered: The animal is usually stunned with a captive bolt pistol that drives a spike into its brain and renders it immediately unconscious...
A lot like cow slaughterhouses. Horses arrive on trucks and trailers, usually after being purchased at one of the many horse auctions across the country. They proceed down a ramp, into a feeding pen, and finally through a chute that leads to a small, brightly lit room. That's where an employee holds a pressurized gun called a "captive bolt pistol" up to the horse's forehead and shoots a 4-inch piece of metal about the size of a roll of quarters into its brain. Workers sometimes need to shoot three or four times before the horse stops moving. The horse is then dumped out a side door and strung up by its feet, at which point workers slit its throat and drain the blood. The body is then cut up and sent off to a meat company, usually in France or Belgium, where horse meat is a delicacy. (See a video of the whole process here.)
Where do you kill them if not in the slaugherhouse? In the barn?
You send them to Mexico and Canada...you know,to make yourself feel better not having to think about it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
