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There is a viable market for horse meat, hence the reason there were slaughterhouses just a few years ago.
What I got is that the number of "unwanted" horses is rising. No one is debating that. The poor economy and droughts are responsible, not lack of slaughter facilities. All this is saying is that people have come on hard times and there is more need for rescues and programs already in place.
Slaughter houses are not the answer to this.
There is not nor has been a profitable viable market for horse meat in this country. Many Americans frown on the practice. The reason is irrelevant. I think this is evident as the people spoke and got the slaughter banned. Secondly, considering the issue economically, it just isnt financially practical, given the repulsion by some to eating horse meat and the fact that it is just more productive to raise cattle for meat.
Many Americans frown on the practice. The reason is irrelevant. I think this is evident as the people spoke and got the slaughter banned. Secondly, considering the issue economically, it just isnt financially practical, given the repulsion by some to eating horse meat and the fact that it is just more productive to raise cattle for meat.
As you have stated, where are the facts to back up the claim "Many Americans frown on the practice." (315 million people in America)
As the price of beef continues to skyrocket maybe the time is now that horse meat is economically viable....
Your really not making an arguement for yourself. Your first article: actually Im the first that brought up the PMU and nursemare foals, maybe you should read up on it. These are produced from greedy industries. They are by-products that are unnecessary. Taking away there easy out will help to force them to use alternatives for their goals.
Its not being debated that several factors have led to a temporary problem with homeless horses. Most specificially, the economy and weather conditions. Slaughter houses are not the solution. For animals that can not be homed a humane euthinization is quite possilbe. The slaughter houses as several posters pointed out are all about making a quick buck for a few.
As far as slaughter houses over the boarder. Laws and regulations could stop this.
As you have stated, where are the facts to back up the claim "Many Americans frown on the practice." (315 million people in America)
As the price of beef continues to skyrocket maybe the time is now that horse meat is economically viable....
A few years back enough lobbied to get the horse slaugher shut down. Is that fact enough. Hores meat has never been sold openly because it has not been accepted. Is that proof. If it were not frowned on we wouldnt be having this discussion.
The price of beef has skyrocketed because of problems of raising feed prices, available grazing, gas prices, etc. Really, you think adding competition for these resources is going to help that situation. These are the same reasons people are having to give up their horses. They arent going to breed more horses when they cant feed the ones they have and replacing cows with horses would only be less cost effective.
Its not being debated that several factors have led to a temporary problem with homeless horses. Most specificially, the economy and weather conditions. Slaughter houses are not the solution. For animals that can not be homed a humane euthinization is quite possilbe. The slaughter houses as several posters pointed out are all about making a quick buck for a few.
As far as slaughter houses over the boarder. Laws and regulations could stop this.
Isn't that what America is all about?
The quick buck?
I guess MORE Laws and Regulations could be passed further eroding the myth that America is still the land of freedom of choice...
Not having actual statistics in front of me but I'll take a wild guess and say homeless horses are not on the majority of Americans minds...
There is a bleeding heart for every American cause so I guess it comes as no surprise there is a Homeless Horses cause....
So it IS that you like horses,so horses shouldn't be eaten,with a little religious rules thrown in just to see what sticks.
That doesn't seem very logical.
Pigs are intelligent,should pigs no longer be slaughtered?
Are you as adamant about stopping that?
You're not a very good reader-listener, because I've been extremely clear in my views ... and your intuitive powers seem a little off as well. But I will reiterate the points for clarity purposes:
1) horses, by the nature of their heightened awareness and intelligence absolutely suffer far greater emotional pain than cows do, even with the most humane practices of slaughter being observed .. and those operations that focus on humane treatment are the rare exceptions. The rule unfortunately is horrifyingly absent of humane treatment.
2) I deplore the inhumane treatment of any animal, including cows, and all slaughter operations ought to be forced to observe strict practices that minimize that suffering to the greatest extent possible .. i.e. compassionate euthanization prior to processing. And that's better for the sake of the animal as well as for the meat to be consumed due to the reduction of stress hormone release. So it's both morally and scientifically proper to insist on humane practices. Unfortunately greed and money tend to ensure the cheapest and most expedient measures are employed with no regard for the comfort of the animals.
3) I'm not a religious go-to-church on Sunday person, nor does a person need to be to recognize certain elements of any teaching that might make sense to you as good advice. One example is the Ten Commandments. One need not be a Christian to recognize the value of those prohibitions, and I would not welcome as my neighbor anyone who had a problem with them. Likewise, as I have already stated clearly, the ancient scriptures addressing "clean" versus "unclean" food doesn't appear to be arbitrary, and likely represents a level of wisdom that would be beneficial to observe. I think it is a rather obvious exercise of logic to embrace "clean" versus "unclean" when it comes to consuming a substance, be it animal meat or a vegetable or fruit. I like the idea of clean food, and the idea of unclean food is not appealing to me. I cannot imagine any form of "logic" that would view the matter differently. If you prefer unclean food, I have no reservation in declaring you crazy for feeling that way.
Honestly, those prescribed items designated as clean and unclean don't all make sense to me ... but because many of them do make a great deal of sense, this leads me to consider that any confusion on my part regarding the others is simply a lack of understanding on my part.
4) Personal awareness and intuition should easily recognize the major differences between, say, a tuna fish and a dolphin, and one should not need outside guidance to illuminate that reality. This should come naturally to those with a reasonable level of conscious awareness. That same conscious awareness should also be able to make the same distinctions when it comes to the differences between cows, horses, and dogs.
5) Logic suggests that there is a basis for long held and observed practices which go beyond mere tradition, and when it comes to those ancient prescriptions outlining the proper food for human consumption, there seems to be no example that proves to be "wrong", so the wise conclusion suggests that it appears to be "right".
Now, my overall philosophy is that horse meat is obviously not an accepted source of food in the US ... that it is in other countries is immaterial. And, if we view it as inappropriate, for whatever reasons we do, be it the moral or health implications, we should also maintain that it is inappropriate to produce it for others to consume. It is indeed a demonstration of hypocrisy to do otherwise.
Furthermore, given the poor track record of inhumane treatment of other animals that we already process for food, adding another type of animal to the list that we can safely assume will be equally mistreated is obviously not the appropriate step to take. Better we learn and enforce more humane treatment of the ones we currently produce before considering expanding the practice to others.
And finally, your assumption that I don't have a problem with slaughtering pigs is either further evidence of your lack of intuition and reading comprehension, or a tactical debating ploy. The topic at hand is the slaughter of horses ... and it is a deflection to move the argument to that of pigs, assuming logical conflict where none actually exists. I don't believe in butchering Chimps for food either ... but I did not mention that because that is not the topic being discussed.
This "devil's advocate" approach to the topic that so many on the pro-horse-slaughter argument employ suggests several possibilities. 1) the psychological immaturity in many humans who automatically must do what they aren't supposed to do .... 2) the spiritual immaturity which is oblivious to the stark differences in conscious awareness of other living things ... 3) the inane lack of logic demonstrated in failing to recognize the obvious error in adding more animals to the list of those already being inhumanely treated.
Frankly, you don't have a leg to stand on. And all of your cited "reasons" are nothing more than empty rationalizations.
So it IS that you like horses,so horses shouldn't be eaten,with a little religious rules thrown in just to see what sticks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oz in SC
That doesn't seem very logical.
Pigs are intelligent,should pigs no longer be slaughtered?
Are you as adamant about stopping that?
I know this is not for me, but I want to comment.
It is not logical and I will admit that I as many illogically draw a line at certain animals. Me, its cats and dogs and horses that I have an irrational ethical problem with. I have goats and pigs that are my pets and I will not eat them. Other peoples without names, yep.
I posted it earlier but I will repeat my reasoning. It is not intelligence per se nor the fact they can be ridden. These particular animals as opposed to others, in my experiences, have the ability to reciprocate the love and devotion that humans give to them. They will be seek you out and actually enjoy your company, they will be loyal, protective and even die for you. They even seem to connect on an emotional level, have a silent understanding and provide comfort. I know not every one is an animal lover or has ever experienced this kind of companionship, but I have.
Now logically, I have no problem with people that eat horse meat, dogs or cats either. My opposition, as Ive tried to state, is that legalization of horse, dog, cat slaughter for consumption will only intensify the problem we already have with overpopulation and under education. It will provide incentive to irresponsibility breed and mistreat these animals instead of being responsible owners and spay/neuter/geld. Yes, lets add foo foo doggie and pretty kitty into the mix. Why stop at horse meat, we have way more unwanted cats and dogs. We kill them by the thousands a day anyway why not utilize that resource.
Why is it justified for you to slaughter those other animals for food and never horses? Do your other animals in principle have less of a right to life than the horses?
This is totally failed logic ... the entire "if one, why not all" point of view is a product of a mind incapable of discernment and distinction. It's a demonstration of moral or logical relativism, and a sign of simple mindedness that views all things in such over simplified terms. The same approach would conclude that nothing is off-limits for consumption ... there are humans that eat monkeys and chimps for instance ... there are those that eat other humans ... and there are those that eat carnivores that eat humans, so eating them would be in effect eating other humans by proxy. Would you also advocate the consumption of humans? If not, why? I mean, if they are already dead, why bury or cremate them ... why not process the meat? Of course, I'm being extreme here ... but this is the basic logic you are employing, and it's a form of reasoning used by cannibals, and those that eat Chimpanzees, etc.
Since we humans are omnivores, designed to process both animal and vegetation, the logical conclusion is that we were designed to eat both .. but there are certain vegetation that is neither suitable or safe to consume, which leads one to the obvious conclusion that discernment is both wise and necessary for selecting what vegetation to consume, so it stands to reason that we should employ discernment in what meat to consume as well.
However, just because we are designed to consume both doesn't automatically prove that we should. And though I am a meat eater myself, the idea that avoiding meat and consuming only vegetables might be a more "Enlightened" choice, particularly given the mistreatment inflicted upon those animals we process for food, is a possibility not lost with me.
So those strict non-meat eaters may very well be correct in their view that it is a much better practice to consume only vegetation. Though I am personally not at the stage of giving up meat entirely myself, ... I consider the idea of eating anything that moves, with no consideration of what it is, to be very low level behavior, and a sign of spiritual or intellectual backwardness.
And there are a multitude of topics routinely discussed on this board that suggests we do indeed have a serious issue regarding intellectual/spiritual enlightenment and awareness among many who regularly participate here.
And if the shoe fits, one must wear it.
Last edited by GuyNTexas; 12-05-2011 at 11:55 AM..
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