Joy and Misery: The Life of the American Horse
This website is dedicate to horses everywhere. It is my intention to provide educational information to help improve the lives of these noble creatures. I am completely opposed to horse slaughter and I am actively working to END the slaughter of American horses. Do not believe what you hear through the grapevine instead do the research. Read the documentation, look at the photographs and view the videos. Once you see something, you can not un-see it, so click at your own risk. Become active by contacting your elected officials to voice your opposition to this cruel practice. When the US based horse slaughter plants closed in 2007, the plants moved across our national borders north and south and continue to butcher roughly the same number of American horses yearly (approx 100,000). Most of the horses are young, healthy and sound. The pro-horse slaughter supporters will tell you that the horses sent to slaughter are old, lame, worn out horses, which is simply not true. The legislators in Oklahoma are trying to legalize horse slaughter with SB375 and HB1999. They claim that due to numerous starved and abandoned horses they are seeking to slaughter horses in their state. Oklahoma has a very poor record of enforcing their own laws against animal cruelty, abuse and neglect. Equine neglect is not the by product of the US based horse slaughter plant closures. American horses can and are being shipped to slaughter every day and have been all along. No horse has been starved or abandoned due to the lack of the option to slaughter them. Starved horses can be saved and can be brought back to good health.....no horse has ever been saved by horse slaughter. Legislators claim that horse slaughter in the USA is more humane than slaughter in Canada or Mexico....again that is simply untrue. Do not believe me, do the research yourself. This website hopes to inspire people to get involved. Together we can end the slaughter of American horses. Together we can reduce their misery and increase their joy. Thank you for visiting this website. You are welcome to contact me through this website or via email @ [email protected]
Selling The American Soul By The Pound
This is my open letter on the subject of horse slaughter. It is my opinion and not necessarily that of our organization. I hope you find it educational and informative. If you learn anything from it, please share what you learn with your friends and family to help horses. You can read it here and there is a link below to download it. Thank you, Elizabeth O'Neal
Selling The American Soul By The Pound
Open Letter to the American people, The President of the United States, The White House
Administration, The U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress by Elizabeth O’Neal, horse
rescuer and founder of Triple O Ranch Equine Sanctuary, Wister OK 74966
(dated 12-6-2011)
A horse is more than just a solid-hoofed plant-eating mammal. The horse is the heart
and soul of the United States of America.
Their beauty, grace and speed have inspired us since 1493 when they
first walked across what we now call American soil. Their strength, endurance
and agility were the saving grace to enable the first settlers to explore the
North American continent and establish the agricultural endeavors that feed our
children to this very day. They transported us from Point A to Point B. They
pulled our wagons and our plows. They carried the loads that we were too weak to
bear. They carried us safely to our destinations during blizzards, floods and
droughts. They delivered our mail and our freight. They fought and died in
every war right alongside the American soldiers in each battle. Imagine a horse
being recruited into war, while taking in consideration that horses by nature
are hyper-sensitive and have a capacity for fear that is beyond the realms of
terror known to any other species, including humans. Their generosity and
willingness to have a relationship with a mere human has enabled us to become
their co-pilots, co-workers and companions. The basis of human/equine
relationships is trust. Horses defer to humans for leadership and protection in
exchange for the many services they provide to our species and society. The
entire saga of the United States, from the very beginning has been carefully
interwoven like an intricate handmade tapestry made from all kinds of horses in
a multitude of colors, shapes and sizes. You cannot tell America’s story without
the mention of the majestic and awe inspiring equine species, they are a part of
us, just as we are a part of them. We have revered them to a point of them
becoming sacred to our culture. Statues of them grace our parks, battlegrounds
and historical sites. We’ve written stories about them and turned them into
legends and heroes. They’ve become performers, athletics and therapists. They’ve
become partners, companions and friends. We continue to cling so tightly to
our “American Icon”, the horse, but yet we continue to fail to protect them from
the atrocities of horse slaughter. We have allowed over 100,000 innocent equines
yearly to face an unnecessary death of pure terror. The pain and suffering they
have endured should be morally offensive to any rational thinking American
citizen. This cruel industry should have been thoroughly studied and analyzed by
the lawmakers which have been entrusted with the responsibility of deciding the
fate of an entire species. We were supposed to be their protectors instead we’ve
become their brutalizers. The depth and width of the betrayal we have committed
as a nation will leave history no other option than to judge us as, ungrateful,
selfish, greedy people which would sell their own soul by the pound for a few
cents. Horses still are the proverbial heart and soul of America. We, as a
nation, have lost our way and the people in our country need to be reminded how
they’ve arrived to where they are now, which was on the back of a horse.
I am a horse rescuer and the founder of an equine sanctuary. I was born in 1960,
during the era in American history referred to as the American Camelot when the
Kennedy administration worked to bring changes to our nation which took this
country out of the dark ages into modern times. It was a period of hope and
optimism in U. S. history, which made people look up to our country and admire
us as the example of what people worldwide aspired for their nations to become.
At the time, the idea of setting higher standards to make a just and righteous
society was uniquely American. The commitment of our nation which shows that “we
the people” have standards to live by was what set us apart from other countries
and made us the shining beacon which inspired hope and optimism. With each
administration and each generation we have been fine tuning our standards,
aspiring to become a more civilized culture, with an enlightened society to
continue to ascend to a higher plane. Recently our elected officials have taken
a giant step backwards and are threatening to take us back into the dark ages by
opening the doors to allow horse slaughter plants to re-open in the USA. This is
a sad commentary on our society. As a nation, our time of Camelot has come and
gone. All that is left of our American Camelot is a well-known horse auction of
the same name. A place where horses held hostage by auctioneers are “bailed out”
by donations and placed with rescues or individuals to save them from the threat
of slaughter. The shining bright beacon of hope and optimism that has been so
admired by people worldwide is slowly but surely being extinguished and being
replaced by our willingness to sell the soul of America by the pound.
The last of the horse slaughter plants in the USA closed down in 2007, as mainstream
Americans rejected this vile industry and its practices which are considered
extremely inhumane even up to the level of criminal cruelty. The foreign owned
companies caused a multitude of problems for the communities where they were
located as outlined in an “Open Letter to State Legislatures Considering
Pro-Horse Slaughter Resolutions” by former mayor of Kaufman Texas, Paula Bacon.
Former Mayor Bacon lists extreme hardships on her municipality with plants
causing ecological disasters, lowered property values; increased strain on the
community’s resources for services. The plant continually violated regulations
and did NOT pay taxes. The town of Kaufman spent thousands of dollars in legal
fees dealing with issues related to the company Dallas Crown. Instead of ending
the slaughter of American horses, these foreign owned companies relocated across
our borders north and south to continue the horrific practice of butchering our
horses. Now the horses have to endure additional misery, injury and sometimes
even death during the long transport across our nation’s borders before meeting
their final demise at the hands of slaughter house employees in Canada and
Mexico. Their meat is exported for human consumption. Europeans and Asians are
the primary consumers of American horse meat which is considered a delicacy and
is served in upscale restaurants.
Right now in the USA, legislation is
pending that could put an end to what many horse loving Americans consider to be
our “National Shame” which is allowing American horses to be exported to
slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Horse advocates nationwide strongly urge law
makers to co-sponsor S. 1176 and H.R. 2966 and pass these pieces of legislation
into law as soon as possible to FINALLY afford American horses the protection
they deserve and have long since earned. If you OPPOSE the practice of slaughter
of American horses please contact your Senators and Representatives and ask them
to put their name on the list of people that DO NOT accept horse slaughter as an
American enterprise.
H.R. 2966 / S. 1176: AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER
PREVENTION ACT OF 2011 would to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving,
delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses
and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other
purposes.
Last month, the wording which defunded USDA inspectors from
inspecting horse meat and effectively ended the U.S. based horse slaughter
plants in 2007 was LEFT OUT of the budget. Suddenly the issue went from stopping
American horses from being exported to slaughter to the possibility of
re-opening plants on American soil. How could the USDA put their stamp of
approval on meat which is now well known to be tainted with medications? In a
time of financial strain, how could the USDA even consider taking on the task of
inspecting horse meat for foreign consumers? Since the announcement that five
million dollars was put in the budget for horse meat inspections, the words
horse slaughter have appeared throughout all forms of media. The pro-slaughter
advocates are mistakenly calling to resume HUMANE horse slaughter and have a
laundry list of reasons that horse slaughter is good for America. Horse
slaughter is not humane; it has never been humane and will never be humane no
matter where the plants are located. Let me enumerate some of the myths flying
around the media on this subject, and follow up with the reality of the
situation.
• MYTH: There are millions of unwanted starving horses in
this country and slaughter is the way to “fix the problem” of surplus horses,
which are being abandoned because the slaughter plants in the USA were closed
down in 2007. Old, lame and sick horses have no other option other than being
sent to slaughter.
• REALITY: When speaking of food production, you
would not choose the old, lame, sick specimen to be used as food. Young, sound
and healthy stock would be the ideal pick for an animal being used as a food
animal. Old, lame and sick horses should be given a dignified death via lethal
injection by a vet and NOT be sent off on a 30 hour road trip without food and
water to meet terrifying death. Slaughter is nothing more than a way to be
financially rewarded for shirking the responsibility of horse ownership, to care
for their animals and to provide a non-violent end to their years of service. As
for the issue of abandoned horses, it is my personal belief that horses are
abandoned (set free on public land) by owners that truly cannot take care of
them and do NOT want them to be slaughtered. Otherwise, if they were
pro-slaughter, they would sell their horses to kill buyers instead of turning
them loose. In Canada they have a similar problem but yet their slaughter houses
are still in operation therefore that logic does not seem to hold true. Roughly
the same numbers of horses (100,000+) from the USA are being slaughtered each
year in Canada and Mexico as were being slaughtered prior to the closure of U.S.
based slaughter plants, which again points to the fact that with so many new
births each year that breeders will not be stopped from over producing horses
until horse slaughter is no longer an option which will leave them no choice but
to not add to the already glutted horse market.
• MYTH: Returning
horse slaughter to the USA will restore the horse prices, and make it possible
to make horse breeding profitable again. Having U.S. based slaughter plants will
have a positive effect on the farm/ranch lifestyle as well as on horse welfare.
For pro-slaughter advocates horses only have two options….starve them or
slaughter them, as they state the issue with starving/abandoned horses and the
drop in horse prices are due to the closure of U.S. based slaughter plants.
• REALITY: OVERBREEDING is the root of the problem of surplus horses
in America and has been for many years. You only have to check the numbers of
horses registered by the main breed associations each year. The Thoroughbred,
Quarter Horse and Paint Horse association’s numbers alone show why there is a
surplus of horses in America. Allowing horse slaughter “fixes” the problem NO
more than allowing dog slaughter would fix the ever increasing problem of puppy
mills in this country. Not to mention, increase the untold amount of suffering
by our canine and feline friends due to human irresponsibility which parallels
the equine situation in many ways. As long as horse slaughter is
allowed….overbreeding will continue and horses will continue to suffer because
of unscrupulous breeders trying for one big champion and discarding their culls
to the slaughter market. As well as people, some refer to as, back yard
breeders, with the mindset that if you have a mare she NEEDS to be bred so you
can sell the offspring. There are people in this country that make money off of
horses, even some that make a living at it. However they are in the minority.
For most horse owners, horses are a never ending expense and a very labor
intensive undertaking. We do not expect to recoup the money we spend on our
equines. We understand that the responsibility of being a horse’s caretaker is a
serious task, not for the less than dedicated types. It is a 365 day a year
obligation to provide adequate care for an animal that outweighs you 5 to 10
times over. As for horse prices and the drop in them over the years since 2007,
it is basic economics of supply and demand. Too many horses being born without a
demand to meet the supply. When there are no buyers is when new home builders
should stop building houses. Simple as that, so the same goes for breeding
horses. Horses have a gestation period of 340 – 342 days. They have single
births most all of the time as twins are very rare. This is not a overpopulation
problem like rabbits which have a gestation period of 28-31 days and give birth
to 4-12 babies with each litter. WE DO NOT HAVE A HORSE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED
STATES……WE HAVE A HUMAN PROBLEM CALLED GREED/IRRESPONSIBILITY. To avoid the
reproduction of future surplus horses……the solution is simple. Geld your
stallions and/or separate mares and stallions from being housed in the same
pastures. When the economy took a nose dive in 2008, many people lost their
homes, well so did many horses. Recently, it has been a tough time to be a horse
in America. Typically, in tough economic times, luxury items are the first
things to go. IF and that is a very BIG if…….overbreeding of horses magically
stopped today it will take years for the effect to be felt in the horse market.
But if that were to happen…..then horse rescue operations could dedicate all of
the resources available to them to help the old, sick, starved, blind, lame and
abandoned horses without being needed to help save horses from slaughter as
well. . When U.S. based slaughter houses were in operation, American horse
owners were in constant fear of horse theft. Even with the plants outside our
borders, horses are still stolen for the slaughter market. So if they re-open
locally, horse theft will rise and cause additional criminal activity for our
communities. That would not be a positive effect on the farm/ranch lifestyle or
horse welfare.
• MYTH: Our altruistic nature would cause us to NOT deny
starving people in Third World countries to go hungry when we have all this
surplus horse meat available to nourish and sustain them during their desperate
state of poverty and horse slaughter is a form of humane euthanasia which is
necessary to rid our country of surplus horses.
• REALITY: We, as a
nation, have been knowingly allowing foreigners to make meals from our horse’s
meat which is tainted with a wide variety of medications which were never meant
to be in the food chain. Most medications for horses are plainly labeled as not
for use in animals which will be slaughtered. Some of these medications have no
safe withdrawal time and are considered toxic for humans. There have been a
number of studies abroad showing the relationship between the consumption of
medicated horse meat and human health issues. The day will come when the people
of Europe and Asia will start holding us responsible for knowingly poisoning
them and this will be a liability nightmare for American tax payers. Information
acquired by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the USDA has well
documented the excessive cruelty and inhumane practices of horse slaughter when
it was still allowed in the USA. The meaning of the word euthanasia is "good
death" and refers to the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves
pain and suffering. Horse slaughter is exactly the opposite of euthanasia.
Ninety percent of American horses which are slaughtered are relatively young and
healthy and have no need for their lives to end as they are not in pain or
suffering until they become unfortunate enough to slip down the slaughter
pipeline. Slaughter is by NO means a good death; it is a horse’s worst
nightmare. I challenge EACH AND EVERY person in the Senate and Congress that
supports horse slaughter to go to a horse slaughter plant and bear witness to
the atrocities that you are responsible for allowing to continue. If that is too
much to ask of you, then please at least have the courage to watch videos online
of the process from beginning to end. You will see a level of terror which you
have never experienced in your lifetime. You were elected to serve the people of
your state. To be true to the people that you represent you must be well
informed and know the realities of the lives you hold in your hands as a law
maker.
• MYTH: Horses are just livestock and are the same as cows,
pigs, goats, sheep and chickens that have been raised for food production for
generations. IF we ban horse slaughter, “those animal rights wackos” will ruin
the food animal industry by shutting us agricultural types down and make us all
eat tofu and bean sprouts.
• REALITY: Horse meat is mostly taboo to
American meat consumers. Some for moral, spiritual or ethical reasons would not
consume horse meat. For Christians, many quote the Bible, “Leviticus 11:3
Whatsoever parteth the hoof and is cloven-footed and cheweth the cud among the
beasts, that shall ye eat.” as a reason that horse meat should not be consumed,
as horses are NOT a cloven-hooved animal and do not chew their cud. Horses are
not now and have not been considered a food source by most mainstream Americans
for many, many years. Many Americans are heavy meat eaters and are obviously not
going to want to give up hamburgers and fried chicken. When elected officials
use the “slippery-slope” excuse not to support legislation to ban horse
slaughter stating that it would lead to a ban on the slaughter of cattle, it is
just that….another lame excuse. From what I’ve learned, that is a frequently
repeated line used by our senators and representatives, quoting the slippery
slope theory. Shame on you Ladies and Gentlemen for sending your constitutes, a
such a lame excuse in a copied form letter commonly sent out by so many of you.
We deserve better than that. All lawmakers, please understand this fact horses
ARE different from all the other animals mentioned above. Their fearful nature
and extremely enhanced senses combined with a highly evolved flight response to
danger as prey animals separates them from ALL the animals considered mainstream
food sources. They are physically, mentally and emotionally different. The do
not live in the same way and cannot be killed in the same way. The manner in
which they are handled and managed is different. The way they relate to humans
and relate to each other IS indeed different than animals which are bred and
raised for food production. Horses are taught to trust humans and to follow
their lead. That alone makes their position in relation to humans different and
more complicated as compared to animals raised for food production.
Humans teach horses to trust them and depend upon them. This longstanding and
complex human/equine interaction is the proof that this is the GREAT AMERICAN
BETRAYAL OF THE EQUINE SPECIES. In this country, we do not buy and sell horse
meat and we should not be exporting our horses for this purpose. We, as
Americans are better than that. We owe it to our children to show them that not
everything in American is for sale to the highest bidder. And that we do indeed
have a soul and it is NOT for sale by the pound
Open Letter to the American people, The President of the United States, The White House
Administration, The U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress by Elizabeth O’Neal, horse
rescuer and founder of Triple O Ranch Equine Sanctuary, Wister OK 74966
(dated 12-6-2011)
A horse is more than just a solid-hoofed plant-eating mammal. The horse is the heart
and soul of the United States of America.
Their beauty, grace and speed have inspired us since 1493 when they
first walked across what we now call American soil. Their strength, endurance
and agility were the saving grace to enable the first settlers to explore the
North American continent and establish the agricultural endeavors that feed our
children to this very day. They transported us from Point A to Point B. They
pulled our wagons and our plows. They carried the loads that we were too weak to
bear. They carried us safely to our destinations during blizzards, floods and
droughts. They delivered our mail and our freight. They fought and died in
every war right alongside the American soldiers in each battle. Imagine a horse
being recruited into war, while taking in consideration that horses by nature
are hyper-sensitive and have a capacity for fear that is beyond the realms of
terror known to any other species, including humans. Their generosity and
willingness to have a relationship with a mere human has enabled us to become
their co-pilots, co-workers and companions. The basis of human/equine
relationships is trust. Horses defer to humans for leadership and protection in
exchange for the many services they provide to our species and society. The
entire saga of the United States, from the very beginning has been carefully
interwoven like an intricate handmade tapestry made from all kinds of horses in
a multitude of colors, shapes and sizes. You cannot tell America’s story without
the mention of the majestic and awe inspiring equine species, they are a part of
us, just as we are a part of them. We have revered them to a point of them
becoming sacred to our culture. Statues of them grace our parks, battlegrounds
and historical sites. We’ve written stories about them and turned them into
legends and heroes. They’ve become performers, athletics and therapists. They’ve
become partners, companions and friends. We continue to cling so tightly to
our “American Icon”, the horse, but yet we continue to fail to protect them from
the atrocities of horse slaughter. We have allowed over 100,000 innocent equines
yearly to face an unnecessary death of pure terror. The pain and suffering they
have endured should be morally offensive to any rational thinking American
citizen. This cruel industry should have been thoroughly studied and analyzed by
the lawmakers which have been entrusted with the responsibility of deciding the
fate of an entire species. We were supposed to be their protectors instead we’ve
become their brutalizers. The depth and width of the betrayal we have committed
as a nation will leave history no other option than to judge us as, ungrateful,
selfish, greedy people which would sell their own soul by the pound for a few
cents. Horses still are the proverbial heart and soul of America. We, as a
nation, have lost our way and the people in our country need to be reminded how
they’ve arrived to where they are now, which was on the back of a horse.
I am a horse rescuer and the founder of an equine sanctuary. I was born in 1960,
during the era in American history referred to as the American Camelot when the
Kennedy administration worked to bring changes to our nation which took this
country out of the dark ages into modern times. It was a period of hope and
optimism in U. S. history, which made people look up to our country and admire
us as the example of what people worldwide aspired for their nations to become.
At the time, the idea of setting higher standards to make a just and righteous
society was uniquely American. The commitment of our nation which shows that “we
the people” have standards to live by was what set us apart from other countries
and made us the shining beacon which inspired hope and optimism. With each
administration and each generation we have been fine tuning our standards,
aspiring to become a more civilized culture, with an enlightened society to
continue to ascend to a higher plane. Recently our elected officials have taken
a giant step backwards and are threatening to take us back into the dark ages by
opening the doors to allow horse slaughter plants to re-open in the USA. This is
a sad commentary on our society. As a nation, our time of Camelot has come and
gone. All that is left of our American Camelot is a well-known horse auction of
the same name. A place where horses held hostage by auctioneers are “bailed out”
by donations and placed with rescues or individuals to save them from the threat
of slaughter. The shining bright beacon of hope and optimism that has been so
admired by people worldwide is slowly but surely being extinguished and being
replaced by our willingness to sell the soul of America by the pound.
The last of the horse slaughter plants in the USA closed down in 2007, as mainstream
Americans rejected this vile industry and its practices which are considered
extremely inhumane even up to the level of criminal cruelty. The foreign owned
companies caused a multitude of problems for the communities where they were
located as outlined in an “Open Letter to State Legislatures Considering
Pro-Horse Slaughter Resolutions” by former mayor of Kaufman Texas, Paula Bacon.
Former Mayor Bacon lists extreme hardships on her municipality with plants
causing ecological disasters, lowered property values; increased strain on the
community’s resources for services. The plant continually violated regulations
and did NOT pay taxes. The town of Kaufman spent thousands of dollars in legal
fees dealing with issues related to the company Dallas Crown. Instead of ending
the slaughter of American horses, these foreign owned companies relocated across
our borders north and south to continue the horrific practice of butchering our
horses. Now the horses have to endure additional misery, injury and sometimes
even death during the long transport across our nation’s borders before meeting
their final demise at the hands of slaughter house employees in Canada and
Mexico. Their meat is exported for human consumption. Europeans and Asians are
the primary consumers of American horse meat which is considered a delicacy and
is served in upscale restaurants.
Right now in the USA, legislation is
pending that could put an end to what many horse loving Americans consider to be
our “National Shame” which is allowing American horses to be exported to
slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Horse advocates nationwide strongly urge law
makers to co-sponsor S. 1176 and H.R. 2966 and pass these pieces of legislation
into law as soon as possible to FINALLY afford American horses the protection
they deserve and have long since earned. If you OPPOSE the practice of slaughter
of American horses please contact your Senators and Representatives and ask them
to put their name on the list of people that DO NOT accept horse slaughter as an
American enterprise.
H.R. 2966 / S. 1176: AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER
PREVENTION ACT OF 2011 would to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving,
delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses
and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other
purposes.
Last month, the wording which defunded USDA inspectors from
inspecting horse meat and effectively ended the U.S. based horse slaughter
plants in 2007 was LEFT OUT of the budget. Suddenly the issue went from stopping
American horses from being exported to slaughter to the possibility of
re-opening plants on American soil. How could the USDA put their stamp of
approval on meat which is now well known to be tainted with medications? In a
time of financial strain, how could the USDA even consider taking on the task of
inspecting horse meat for foreign consumers? Since the announcement that five
million dollars was put in the budget for horse meat inspections, the words
horse slaughter have appeared throughout all forms of media. The pro-slaughter
advocates are mistakenly calling to resume HUMANE horse slaughter and have a
laundry list of reasons that horse slaughter is good for America. Horse
slaughter is not humane; it has never been humane and will never be humane no
matter where the plants are located. Let me enumerate some of the myths flying
around the media on this subject, and follow up with the reality of the
situation.
• MYTH: There are millions of unwanted starving horses in
this country and slaughter is the way to “fix the problem” of surplus horses,
which are being abandoned because the slaughter plants in the USA were closed
down in 2007. Old, lame and sick horses have no other option other than being
sent to slaughter.
• REALITY: When speaking of food production, you
would not choose the old, lame, sick specimen to be used as food. Young, sound
and healthy stock would be the ideal pick for an animal being used as a food
animal. Old, lame and sick horses should be given a dignified death via lethal
injection by a vet and NOT be sent off on a 30 hour road trip without food and
water to meet terrifying death. Slaughter is nothing more than a way to be
financially rewarded for shirking the responsibility of horse ownership, to care
for their animals and to provide a non-violent end to their years of service. As
for the issue of abandoned horses, it is my personal belief that horses are
abandoned (set free on public land) by owners that truly cannot take care of
them and do NOT want them to be slaughtered. Otherwise, if they were
pro-slaughter, they would sell their horses to kill buyers instead of turning
them loose. In Canada they have a similar problem but yet their slaughter houses
are still in operation therefore that logic does not seem to hold true. Roughly
the same numbers of horses (100,000+) from the USA are being slaughtered each
year in Canada and Mexico as were being slaughtered prior to the closure of U.S.
based slaughter plants, which again points to the fact that with so many new
births each year that breeders will not be stopped from over producing horses
until horse slaughter is no longer an option which will leave them no choice but
to not add to the already glutted horse market.
• MYTH: Returning
horse slaughter to the USA will restore the horse prices, and make it possible
to make horse breeding profitable again. Having U.S. based slaughter plants will
have a positive effect on the farm/ranch lifestyle as well as on horse welfare.
For pro-slaughter advocates horses only have two options….starve them or
slaughter them, as they state the issue with starving/abandoned horses and the
drop in horse prices are due to the closure of U.S. based slaughter plants.
• REALITY: OVERBREEDING is the root of the problem of surplus horses
in America and has been for many years. You only have to check the numbers of
horses registered by the main breed associations each year. The Thoroughbred,
Quarter Horse and Paint Horse association’s numbers alone show why there is a
surplus of horses in America. Allowing horse slaughter “fixes” the problem NO
more than allowing dog slaughter would fix the ever increasing problem of puppy
mills in this country. Not to mention, increase the untold amount of suffering
by our canine and feline friends due to human irresponsibility which parallels
the equine situation in many ways. As long as horse slaughter is
allowed….overbreeding will continue and horses will continue to suffer because
of unscrupulous breeders trying for one big champion and discarding their culls
to the slaughter market. As well as people, some refer to as, back yard
breeders, with the mindset that if you have a mare she NEEDS to be bred so you
can sell the offspring. There are people in this country that make money off of
horses, even some that make a living at it. However they are in the minority.
For most horse owners, horses are a never ending expense and a very labor
intensive undertaking. We do not expect to recoup the money we spend on our
equines. We understand that the responsibility of being a horse’s caretaker is a
serious task, not for the less than dedicated types. It is a 365 day a year
obligation to provide adequate care for an animal that outweighs you 5 to 10
times over. As for horse prices and the drop in them over the years since 2007,
it is basic economics of supply and demand. Too many horses being born without a
demand to meet the supply. When there are no buyers is when new home builders
should stop building houses. Simple as that, so the same goes for breeding
horses. Horses have a gestation period of 340 – 342 days. They have single
births most all of the time as twins are very rare. This is not a overpopulation
problem like rabbits which have a gestation period of 28-31 days and give birth
to 4-12 babies with each litter. WE DO NOT HAVE A HORSE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED
STATES……WE HAVE A HUMAN PROBLEM CALLED GREED/IRRESPONSIBILITY. To avoid the
reproduction of future surplus horses……the solution is simple. Geld your
stallions and/or separate mares and stallions from being housed in the same
pastures. When the economy took a nose dive in 2008, many people lost their
homes, well so did many horses. Recently, it has been a tough time to be a horse
in America. Typically, in tough economic times, luxury items are the first
things to go. IF and that is a very BIG if…….overbreeding of horses magically
stopped today it will take years for the effect to be felt in the horse market.
But if that were to happen…..then horse rescue operations could dedicate all of
the resources available to them to help the old, sick, starved, blind, lame and
abandoned horses without being needed to help save horses from slaughter as
well. . When U.S. based slaughter houses were in operation, American horse
owners were in constant fear of horse theft. Even with the plants outside our
borders, horses are still stolen for the slaughter market. So if they re-open
locally, horse theft will rise and cause additional criminal activity for our
communities. That would not be a positive effect on the farm/ranch lifestyle or
horse welfare.
• MYTH: Our altruistic nature would cause us to NOT deny
starving people in Third World countries to go hungry when we have all this
surplus horse meat available to nourish and sustain them during their desperate
state of poverty and horse slaughter is a form of humane euthanasia which is
necessary to rid our country of surplus horses.
• REALITY: We, as a
nation, have been knowingly allowing foreigners to make meals from our horse’s
meat which is tainted with a wide variety of medications which were never meant
to be in the food chain. Most medications for horses are plainly labeled as not
for use in animals which will be slaughtered. Some of these medications have no
safe withdrawal time and are considered toxic for humans. There have been a
number of studies abroad showing the relationship between the consumption of
medicated horse meat and human health issues. The day will come when the people
of Europe and Asia will start holding us responsible for knowingly poisoning
them and this will be a liability nightmare for American tax payers. Information
acquired by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the USDA has well
documented the excessive cruelty and inhumane practices of horse slaughter when
it was still allowed in the USA. The meaning of the word euthanasia is "good
death" and refers to the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves
pain and suffering. Horse slaughter is exactly the opposite of euthanasia.
Ninety percent of American horses which are slaughtered are relatively young and
healthy and have no need for their lives to end as they are not in pain or
suffering until they become unfortunate enough to slip down the slaughter
pipeline. Slaughter is by NO means a good death; it is a horse’s worst
nightmare. I challenge EACH AND EVERY person in the Senate and Congress that
supports horse slaughter to go to a horse slaughter plant and bear witness to
the atrocities that you are responsible for allowing to continue. If that is too
much to ask of you, then please at least have the courage to watch videos online
of the process from beginning to end. You will see a level of terror which you
have never experienced in your lifetime. You were elected to serve the people of
your state. To be true to the people that you represent you must be well
informed and know the realities of the lives you hold in your hands as a law
maker.
• MYTH: Horses are just livestock and are the same as cows,
pigs, goats, sheep and chickens that have been raised for food production for
generations. IF we ban horse slaughter, “those animal rights wackos” will ruin
the food animal industry by shutting us agricultural types down and make us all
eat tofu and bean sprouts.
• REALITY: Horse meat is mostly taboo to
American meat consumers. Some for moral, spiritual or ethical reasons would not
consume horse meat. For Christians, many quote the Bible, “Leviticus 11:3
Whatsoever parteth the hoof and is cloven-footed and cheweth the cud among the
beasts, that shall ye eat.” as a reason that horse meat should not be consumed,
as horses are NOT a cloven-hooved animal and do not chew their cud. Horses are
not now and have not been considered a food source by most mainstream Americans
for many, many years. Many Americans are heavy meat eaters and are obviously not
going to want to give up hamburgers and fried chicken. When elected officials
use the “slippery-slope” excuse not to support legislation to ban horse
slaughter stating that it would lead to a ban on the slaughter of cattle, it is
just that….another lame excuse. From what I’ve learned, that is a frequently
repeated line used by our senators and representatives, quoting the slippery
slope theory. Shame on you Ladies and Gentlemen for sending your constitutes, a
such a lame excuse in a copied form letter commonly sent out by so many of you.
We deserve better than that. All lawmakers, please understand this fact horses
ARE different from all the other animals mentioned above. Their fearful nature
and extremely enhanced senses combined with a highly evolved flight response to
danger as prey animals separates them from ALL the animals considered mainstream
food sources. They are physically, mentally and emotionally different. The do
not live in the same way and cannot be killed in the same way. The manner in
which they are handled and managed is different. The way they relate to humans
and relate to each other IS indeed different than animals which are bred and
raised for food production. Horses are taught to trust humans and to follow
their lead. That alone makes their position in relation to humans different and
more complicated as compared to animals raised for food production.
Humans teach horses to trust them and depend upon them. This longstanding and
complex human/equine interaction is the proof that this is the GREAT AMERICAN
BETRAYAL OF THE EQUINE SPECIES. In this country, we do not buy and sell horse
meat and we should not be exporting our horses for this purpose. We, as
Americans are better than that. We owe it to our children to show them that not
everything in American is for sale to the highest bidder. And that we do indeed
have a soul and it is NOT for sale by the pound
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