I am horrified by the banning of horse slaughter and the expected, unintended consequences to horses.
This horse-slaughter ban is only an issue if the horse "industries" (racing and show-barn) keep overproducing, and cranking out thousands of excess animals for what the market will bear . If there were no more horses produced than what the American horse owners and equine rescues could absorb, there would not be the need for mass elimination of unwanted animals. The predatory foreign markets were just capitalizing on a means of revenue that became available because of the mindless overproduction of unused horsemeat in this country (just as the illegal aliens capitalized on the freebies they could come here for).
The irresponsible backyard breeders are probably just a drop in the bucket compared to the Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse "industry" productions. Have you noticed how the Quarter Horse studs are looking more and more like huge beef cattle? Banning the convenient means of disposal for the irresponsible production of excess horses seems to be the only way to get the attention of the equestrian world ~ just like it took the high gas prices affected our gas consumption.
Horse production practices in this country need to change, and hitting in the pocketbook is probably the only way to get the perpetrators' attention.
Terry
> From: c_collins@xxxxxxx > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [RC] death is part of "life" > Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:13:50 -0700 > > Personally, I think if you are too fragile to have a discussion about > the death and disposal of your animals, then you have no business > owning them. > > Some of you may know Dr. Matthew Mackay Smith, endurance rider and > medical editor of Equus. Matthew once said, "There are worse things > in life for a horse than death." I agree with him 100% on this. > Also, along with every vet I know, I am horrified by the banning of > horse slaughter and the expected, unintended consequences to horses. > There are fates WAY more inhumane than the slaughter house and that's > what we're seeing now. > > AND, before you think differently, my endurance horses are buried in > our back yard, as are our dogs. Cindy > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >
