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I love my horses, too, TreasuredJewel. I love and respect ALL horses way too much to want to see them condemned to neglect, starvation, and a long slow death in order for some to be able to pat themselves on the head and feel warm fuzzies.
As said, any slaughter ban that is TRULY for the horses and not the warm fuzzies of those pushing for it will be realistic and will take into account the predictable consequences and will provide for the care of the horses.
I love horses, and always have; have worked them, trained them, been the emergency medical person for them (even though I'm not a vet, I was often called for traumatic injuries and sudden illnesses by several horse owners), and finally got my own land and adopted my own Grace, thru a friend who rescued her from a riding stable that closed due to the recession. It tears my heart out to go to the 'wild horse adoption' events and not pick up every last one of the little darlings and give them a good home. BUT - I do not have the land type to support a herd, nor do I have the time or energy to train a herd. Horses cost a LOT of money that many people don't realize - and adopting a wild horse means not only health issues that have to be treated, but often sterilization and long hours of work just to get them to trust a human. Often they cannot be 'broke to ride' much less 'gentled to ride' as their previous injuries and/or illnesses/starvation/poor growth make them unsound mounts.
TexasHorseLady, I relate to what you are saying about the leased land, like the ones that run wild on NatResource and public lands; all too often they stray onto land that is owned by citizens as well, and some ranchers and farmers practice the 3 "S's" rather than deal with legalities. (They often just leave them for the coyotes and wolves and other creatures, don't bother with the shovel- or backhoe - as the case may be.)
I totally agree that people should be well-versed in what it takes to care for horses BEFORE they buy one and try to stick it on a half-acre with a lean-to and call it good. I have worked with horses that you could put your whole fist between each of their ribs, who had never had their teeth floated and could not even chew, who even had to be put down because they were so neglected by ignorant people who honestly didn't know that they were starving and torturing the animal - they just wanted a horse for the kids... I've even had such people ask, "What's a gelding?" as their poor 22 year old mare with rotten feet struggles to deliver still another 'cute' colt in the mud pen that they call a 'pasture'.
It's all too easy to say, "Let's ban horse slaughter!" if you don't know what really happens to these magnificent animals when you do, and if you don't have to see or deal with the consequences.
The Humane Society of the USA lists four acceptable options for disposing of a dead horse. Rendering is one of them. (The others are burying, cremating, or landfill).
Rendering extracts useful parts of the animal for various commercial uses, ranging from glue-factories to zoo animal feed.
Would somebody please explain the difference, in terms of the dignity of the animal, between rendering and human consumption?
If horses were raised for slaughter, like cows, in what way are horses less ethically appropriate for that purpose than cows?
It's all too easy to say, "Let's ban horse slaughter!" if you don't know what really happens to these magnificent animals when you do, and if you don't have to see or deal with the consequences.
Preach it sister.........
We have a auction barn near by (30-40 miles away) where you can go down once a month and buy a horse for 15-20 cents a pound. When you can get a horse for $150-$200 people of all kind buy them, throw them out in a field and forget about them. If they could get a decent price from the canners the wannabes couldn't afford them.
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