What are your thoughts about horse slaughter?
Horse slaughter is a hot topic, coupled with the recent BLM removal of mustangs which was met with much protest, and it seems as if it has been raging since I began working with horses over 15 years ago. I know that my own thoughts on the issue have been very… bland? I would like to believe that this was solely because of the amount of conflicting information being presented on all sides, mixed in a bit with my ability to reason an understanding (though not necessarily agreement) of all parties involved. To be honest, I haven’t known completely how to sway my opinion on the horse slaughter matter up until I visited this website and read the first article talking about the motivation behind horse slaughter in a light I had not seen before.
Much of my family is comprised of farmers. Not horse farmers but land and livestock farmers. They refer to horses as “hay burners,” which I’ve learned to laugh at rather than argue about, and to them the slaughter and consumption of animals is what they have known their whole life and depend upon to make money and survive. I wasn’t raised on a farm though, and so that familiarity and comfort of killing animals for food has not found a home in my heart, though I can understand the familiarity that others can find in it when they have been around it since birth.
I used to breed horses, in small quantities, and made some profit (though never as much as I had hoped) from selling the horses I raised. I took much care in the homes they went to and always made efforts to let people know that I would always buy a horse back if they were put in a position that sending the horse to auction was likely to happen. I do understand the breeder mentality of wanting to turn a profit in a business that is not inherently profitable, but at the same time I was the first to say that I was done breeding when I was afraid one of the babies I bred would meet an unfortunate end.
I think it can be said that the quality of a person’s soul can be seen in the way their animals are treated. Maybe it is because they cannot speak in words against the cruelties they experience that it makes it seem less abusive? I’ve noticed that people are more liberal with attacking one another and resorting to vicious verbal attacks when interacting over the internet than they would ever have the courage to do face to face. Do we fear less judgment from the people around us if we take out our angers, fears, insecurities, greed and selfishness on the animals in our stead?
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Okay, back on track to what I wanted to talk about. Money. Money makes the world go round? Money runs our soul into the ground. People are willing to do the most amazing things for money. It should be no surprise then that some of the largest sectors of the horse industry are also involved in the slaughter of the very animals it claims to love.
AQHA
The American Quarter Horse Association – the largest breed organization in the world – is pro-slaughter. They mention horse slaughter being a viable option should you need to get rid of your horse on page 7 of pamphlet available to members which reads :
“An option unthinkable by many horse owners (and we respect these owners’ beliefs) is slaughter. There are three horse processing plants in the United States where approximately 50,000 horses are processed annually. Horses that are processed are traditionally unserviceable, vicious or otherwise unacceptable in today’s equestrian community.
The plants are federally regulated with on-site U.S.D.A. Veterinarians, and the processing conditions are acceptable to both the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners. Certainly, many horse owners would not consider this as an option for their unwanted horse, but for certain horses it provides a humane alternative to additional suffering or possibly dangerous situations. We respect the right of the responsible horse owner to choose this option when applicable.”
My question is simple. Why would you even mention sending an animal to slaughter that is the very core of your business (and hopefully something that you love!) unless there is some monetary interest?
The AQHA supports activities which are founded on disposable horses – racing and breeders incentives. They award prize money to breeders who earn the most points (which breeding more horses would help increase your chances of winning). Prize money paid out in race horse winnings in 2008 totaled $125,545,585 according to the AQHA’s public records. The racing industry consumes young horses with a short shelf life, fewer horses race as 3yr olds than 2yr olds and it is not common to see horses older than 3 racing successfully.
AVMA
The American Veterinary Medical Association is publicly pro-slaughter on their website, even discussing the matter to some length in one article. Isn’t the medical community’s oath “do no harm”? There is nothing in the observation and assistance in slaughtering horses that even remotely makes me think that person is keeping the horse’s best interest at heart.
Doesn’t it seem counter-productive to be promoting the slaughter of animals you’ve been charged with keeping healthy?
Other Groups
I hate to say there are too many to list, but the list does go on. Organizations are set up to represent the interests of their individual members, and many do so because it helps line their pockets in some way shape or form. Read more…
Media
The media has been abuzz with story after story of neglect and abuse. It seems like right after the slaughter plants in the US were closed I heard numerous tales of horses being turned loose in towns across the country by owners who felt there were no other alternatives now that slaughter wasn’t available. These are easy things to believe and remember, but I hope I don’t have to be the only person to point out just how one-sided and blinding the media can prove to be. The second Iraq war should be proof enough of just how easy it is to feed subjected stories to the media and serve them on a silver platter to television screens, radio and print news every day…
Meanwhile the truth looks a little less attractive…
Links & Resources
There is a lot of information out there… here are some of the links I found of interest and helpful. How do you feel horse slaughter should be addressed?
- Respect4Horses.com Article : Horse Slaughter Thriving
- PETA : PETA’s Race to Help Thoroughbreds
- Saving America’s Horses : A Nation Betrayed (trailer) | Website
- The Gonzo : Pro Horse Slaughter Groups
- Horse Talk : Quarter Horse Policies Part Of The Problem Not The Solution
- Humane Society : End Horse Slaughter
But surely every group has its dirty little secrets right? The issues that must be swept under the rug and kept hidden in order to keep the status quo functioning? But is it worth the lives, and suffering, of the very animals we claim to love so much? I don’t think so, what about you? I challenge you to give your two cents, tweet about horse slaughter, take steps to making people more aware of the issue! So, do you accept this challenge?
It all comes down to responsibility, something here in America that is truely a rare commidity. My 6 upgraded Curlies thank you for bringing slaughter up.
A more disturbing issue that the recent ban of horse slaughter has to do with is personal property rights, and the ability and role of government to destroy legitimate businesses for special interest groups.
I am appalled that the government saw fit to wipe out an entire industry and put people out of their jobs. Should slaughter be regulated? of course. Should it be made as humane as possible? absolutely. Should the government just decide to ban it outright because some find it distasteful? No.
People who were working in horse slaughter were employed in a perfectly legal industry making a living. Then the Government decided they should be allowed to do that anymore. That is just not right.
What happens when the government decides that sky diving is too risky and costs too much in health insurance and all the skydiving instructors, equipment manufacturers, airplane pilots and other industry support are put out of business? It won’t be long before that would apply to horse trainers and riding instructors if PETA doesn’t get there first…
Are we all just going to stand by and let each niche industry fall because we don’t like it, or we don’t participate? Who will help us when it is our livelihoods on the chopping block?
All very excellent points Callie. Usually the large argument I hear about pro-slaughter is that it helps keep the horse population in check- a large misnomer. But, it could also be argued against your statements, should we benefit monetarily (which is what the industry is all about) at the sake of our horses’ lives? Is it fair to ask the horses which we as an industry turn over at auctions, to give their lives so we can have a paycheck and can sleep soundly without harbored fears about PETA? Perhaps it wasn’t the governments place to outlaw it, but then it also wasn’t the governments place to allow it – where then can public opinion weigh in and make changes to a corporation that has no moral grounds?
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