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RE: Re: [RC] OT-Big win for horses in the House! - heidiJulie, your scenario below is just one of many. Passing a law
such as the one that Raven reported will NOT stop horse
slaughter. What it WILL do is cause horses to be hauled even
further to slaughter--which can be an abuse in and of itself, with
horses batched together in large trucks. It will force horses to
be hauled outside the country for slaughter--where WE HAVE NO
LEGISLATIVE POWER OVER WHAT TAKES PLACE. Horse slaughter
plants in this country at least can be subject to regulations,
inspections, etc.
Currently, many equine lives that are otherwise full of not only
neglect but often pain and suffering are currently ended by horse
slaughter. Those horses will continue to be neglected, and will
continue to suffer.
In Europe, the local meat plants slaughter horses. When it is a
horse's time to go, the owner can take him there in person, and hold him
while he meets a humane end, just as one can at a veterinary clinic
here. In years past, we had relatively local plants that would
slaughter horses as well, and again, one could make an appointment and
go in on a specific day, and have the job done immediately.
Very humane.
I don't personally care to eat horse meat, but I have a real
comprehension problem with the rationale of people who don't want
horses used for human consumption. Once the horse is dead, HE
DOESN'T CARE if he is eaten, burned, buried, or left to rot. HE
IS NO LONGER FEELING THE PAIN.
What we DO owe horses is attention in life--and by banning horse
slaughter, we are underwriting continued neglect, abuse, and misery for
hundreds of thousands of horses. Euthanasia is not a viable option
for most of them, given the large size of horse carcasses and the
environmental impact of either burying them or leaving them exposed to
scavengers with the drugs most commonly in use for euthanasia.
I do indeed hope that people will write their senators, but I hope
that true horsemen will send just the opposite message--painting a TRUE
picture of what happens to unwanted horses when there is no readily
available means of ending their lives.
Heidi
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