What happens to all the "pretty little horses" that have reached the end of their career as race horses or no longer able to compete in other equine sports?
The sad fact is that many of these race horses are are often taken directly from the track and sent to auction for sale as meat.
Since the three foreign based slaughter houses in the United States have been closed, "killer buyers" who profit from the sale of horseflesh are now shipping these unfortunate horses outside the United States, to Mexico and Canada where horse slaughter remains legal.
Tonight, May 12 at 10:00 PM, REAL SPORTS with Bryant Gumbel will present a special report airing some of the dirty little secrets about the plight affecting many of our magnificent Thoroughbred race horses no longer able to compete in the sport of racing during his 134th debut edition of the show.
It is my fervent hope that many people will watch the show this evening and will be touched sufficiently to take action to stop the inhumane and cruel practice of horse slaughter.
Many of these horses remain suitable to find new homes where they can begin a happier and useful life. Many of them can be retired at rescue havens where they may be able to live their lives out in peace.
We need to work together in support of the pending legislations H.R. 503 and S. 311, to be finally passed to protect our vulnerable horses.
On the other hand, it is heartwarming to see a lovely mare, named Remarkably, a slaughter bound mare that was "thrown away" given the opportunity to have a new life. Just look at her now. She was pulled from the kill pen in September 2006 and has found a career as a show horse.
Ridden by Liesha, trained by Elissa Allen (Evenstride Farm) winning a 2nd and 5th place win at a recent horse show.
Information provided by
Jo Deibel
President/Director
If you are a horse lover and wish to help, I urge you to watch this special segment tonight on REAL SPORTS. Then follow your heart and take action by visiting: American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
10 comments:
I hope this is the beginning of a landslide of education for the public about horse slaughter- America's dirty little secret. All of the major presidential candidates are opposed to slaughter - both Republican and Democrat so I hope this will be the year that slaughter and transport to slaughter ends!
If people know what happens to horses there is no way they could suport it! I'll be watching for sure.
I hope there is a large audience for this program and more people get involved in preventing horse slaughter. It is hard to believe that this happens in America, and there has not been more opposition to it. Hopefully. this will motivate more people to take action against it.
Joanne, the problem is exactly that, the public does not understand horse slaughter, or horses at all for that matter. I know that you may see horse slaughter as the horrible murder of peoples pets, but that is simply not the case. First of all, I think you are the one that is not educated, have you ever even ridden a horse? Horses are tools, not pets, and have been centuries. I have grown up on a ranch and ridden horses all of my life, and yes you grow attached to the animals just as you might to dog or a cat, but these animals are not pets. They are tools and very useful ones, but just as cats and dogs are our property we should have the right to what we want with our property this is america after all. The passage of the ban on horse slaughter in a few key states such as Texas has created major problems in the U.S. all ready. There is no longer a horse slaughter plant in the U.S. and the market is basically gone, and I am sure this is no concern of yours but it should be. You see, there are a lot more than just worn out race horses out there, there are a bunch of horses that can no longer carry out their jobs (yes jobs, once again they are tools not pets) on working ranches and ranches cannot afford to keep to them around. You see horses weigh around 1200 lbs and eat a lot of hay which currently costs 170 dollars a ton, record amounts. But what about euthanizing horses, isn't that cheaper. Well it costs about $100 and you start adding that together where ranches have 100 horses and that is a lot of money. Also people do not want to be the ones who put down their horses, so now instead of taking there horses to the ring, they simply turn them loose. Just in the last year wild horse populations have increased and now little food exists for this amount of horses. You see, now these horses are starving to death instead of being killed humanely at slaughtering plants. Other people around Florida are dumping their horses off into swamps where, they starve, drown, or are eaten, by various critters. This does not sound very humane. Horse slaughter is much more humane than the alternative. Also, most of the meat is shipped overseas where it is eaten by low income familys that could not afford other food to eat, and could very well starve to death themselves. Personally I think that people are much more important than horses. Finally, I would like to say that I love my horses and don't wish anything bad on them, but banning horse slaughter is going to do a lot more harm to horses than good. I know this may seem radical to you, but think about, and realize that by banning horse slaughter you are hurting horses, and you are hurting those of us who actually have something to do with horses, and know how to use them.
Jon,just because you buy something doesnt give you the right to play god with it.What gives you the right to decide whos life is worth living or murdering.Its funny you think these animials have chosen this for their life.Oh wait they didnt people like you did.Jon I hope for youre sake that this is not youre profession murdering animials,so you can feed the poor.If it is I highly suggest you go back to school.One more thing i would rather dump a horse in a swamp,then have it shocked in the head with a probe,stabbed with a knife in its spine.Or have it hanged upside down with its throat slit open and left to bleed to death.How would you rather die?
Jon - horse meat is NOT consumed by "low income families" who would otherwise starve if they didn't get it. Horse meat is an expensive meat sold to high-end buyers in Europe - just check out the prices it goes for and you would see that you are wrong!
Horses are regarded as "tools" only by people who see them as a way to make money and don't really care about their welfare. These greedy individuals will do or say anything to keep the horse slaughter option available so they can wring the last penny of blood money from their horse's hide rather than have the animal that has served them be humanely euthanized.
They usually post as "ranchers who love their horses" but everything they advocate says otherwise.
When horse slaughter was banned in California, horse theft went way down. The private property rights of those horse owners whose horses had been stolen and sent to slaughter were only too glad to see an end to slaughter in their state and a concurrent drop in horse theft.
Jon,
Your ignorance is showing. People aren't dumping horses in swamps, or anywhere else. Don't believe everything you read.Misleading Stories have been printed stating that people are dumping horses in an effort to get people to support horse slaughter. These stories have been investigated and have been proven to be untrue.
Also, horsemeat is NOT shipped overseas to feed the poor. It's a delicacy in Europe and only the wealthy can afford it. In American dollars, it would be 15.00 per pound.
Yes, we expect owners to be responsible and have their horses euthanized when they are no longer able to do their "Job". If they can't afford it because they have so many horses, then how do they cover the other expenses, such as feeding, farrier, worming, etc?
It's people like you, Jon, that make one excuse after another, when actually all it comes down to is that you would rather make a buck sending a horse to a cruel death, than spend a buck and give a horse a painless end. It's ALWAYS about the almighty dollar, isn't it Jon?
Jon,
Please educate yourself prior to posting rediculous garbage such as you have here. Open your eyes and ears and allow yourself to broaden your knowledge of what is actually happening to what you call "tools", humane people refer to them as...horses. I live in Florida and so far, so good, I haven't spotted the first loose horse in a swamp getting eatin by some "critters", can you believe that....not one loose horse! So that part of your post must be speculation. I have also read that the other places you purport to say have loose horses running around, haven't seen any there either...more speculation perhaps? OR is it that you are just plain D-U-M-B?? I have been in the horse industry for over 35 years, have a degree in Equine Management, key word here is "Management", that's what needs to happen to the numerous amounts of horses being bred each year so you and people like you can have the "tools" you need to do your work and be able to sell the "tools" you don't need and profit from them. Management of overpolulation of breeding farms and backyard breeders is what needs to happen, not slaughtering the ones that are no longer useful or ones that you and your's couldn't turn a decent buck on. This country needs to come up with a method of management, probably a monetary fee, for thoses that breed, over breed and breed irresponsibly. Horses are "pets", beloved pets to those of us who have a heart and are capable of caring. When our friend comes to the end of his/her life, we do whatever it takes to help them leave this world in a compassionate way and that does not in any way include a slaughter house where they are murdered brutally and shipped to someones dinner plate. You are a joke and your comments are that of an uneducated, uncaring individual that has been brainwashed. So the next time you choose to post on an anti-slaughter board of any kind, perhaps you can get your facts, not fictions, together, truths are always better than lies.
So go forward in your life on your ranch and let's hope that your "tool" doesn't toss your lousy butt into a barbed wire fence, since I am sure you use that method of control as well.
Good luck with your education,
Bernel
JON, SINCE YOU HAD SO MUCH TO SAY I HAVE RESPONDED TO YOU POINT-BY-POINT FROM YOUR POST.
YOU ARE BEHIND THE TIMES, BECAUSE THE PUBLIC IS LEARNING MORE THAN EVER ABOUT HORSES AND THEIR BRUTAL, INHUMANE TREATMENT BEFORE AND DURING THE SLAUGHTER PROCESS. AND THE PUBLIC WILL CONTINUE TO BE EDUCATED BY THOSE WHO KNOW THE FACTS AND TRUTH OF THIS MATTER.
JON, WHAT ARE THE FACTS YOU CAN USE AS A BASIS TO SAY THAT HORSE SLAUGHTER IS NOT THE "MURDER" OF OUR HORSES? ALSO, IN MANY CASES THESE HORSES WERE INDEED SOMEONE'S PETS?
I HAVE RIDDEN, TRAINED, RAISED AND REHABILITATED HORSES VERY SUCCESSFULLY FOR OVER 30 YEARS, SO I AM QUITE CAPABLE OF RESPONDING TO ANY OF YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT HORSES.
TO ADDRESS YOUR STATEMENT THAT HORSES ARE "TOOLS" AND NOT "PETS" - THIS IS ONLY YOUR OPINION, THIS IS NOT A FACT. MANY PEOPLE OWN HORSES FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECREATION OR PLEASURE RIDING, AND COMPANIONSHIP. MY "OFF-THE-TRACK" RESCUE HORSE MAKES A GREAT PET!
JON, YOU NEED TO EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT THE ISSUE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS BY READING THE FULL TEXT OF THE BILLS IN CONGRESS THAT DESCRIBE THE AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER PREVENTION ACT: HR503 & S311. THIS BAN DOES NOT IMPINGE ON ANYONE'S PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS...NOT AT ALL.
THERE IS A BAN ON HORSE SLAUGHTER IN TEXAS AND ILLINOIS, BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MARKET BEING "BASCIALLY GONE." HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY THE TWO ARE NOT RELATED: (1) AMERICA'S HORSES ARE STILL BEING SHIPPED TO SLAUGHTER JUST AS IF NOTHING HAS CHANGED, BUT THEY ARE NOW GOING OVER THE BORDERS TO BE BUTCHERED IN MEXICO AND CANADA - THE CLOSURE OF THOSE PLANTS HAVE NOT SLOWED DOWN THE SLAUGHTER OF OUR HORSES, AND (2) HAVE YOU BEEN READING THE PAPER OR WATCHING THE NEWS? THE ECONOMY IS SO BAD IN EVERY AREA RIGHT NOW, AND THE SEVERE DROUGHTS THAT SPANNED SEVERAL STATES IN THE U.S. LAST SEASON CAUSED AN EXTREME HAY SHORTAGE - WHICH IN TURN, HAS CAUSED EVERY TYPE OF GRASS-EATING ANIMAL TO BE SENT TO AUCTION: COWS, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. ONCE AGAIN JON, YOU SHOULD BE FULLY EDUCATING YOURSELF ON THE FACTS BEFORE MAKING SUCH INACCURATE STATEMENTS. WHAT AN INSULT TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR YEARS TO END THIS BARBARIC PRACTICE, AND DO OUR "HOMEWORK."
THERE IS TRUTH IN YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT OTHER HORSES GOING TO SLAUGHTER BESIDES RACE HORSES - MANY OTHER BREEDS OF HORSES ARE GOING TO AUCTION AND SLAUGHTER - BY THE WAY, THEY ARE NOT "WORN OUT" RACE HORSES, THEY WERE JUST NOT FAST ENOUGH, OR MAY HAVE INJURIES THAT IN MOST CASES CAN BE FULLY HEALED. MOST RACE HORSES GOING TO AUCTION ARE YOUNG WITH MANY YEARS LEFT TO LIVE. THE GREED OF THE RACING INDUSTRY CAUSED THEIR DEATHS. THE OTHER HORSES AT AUCTION ARE QUARTER HORSES (BIG NUMBERS), WALKING HORSES, PAINTS, APPALOOSAS, ETC. AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE PREGNANT MARES (SOME ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH), FOALS, WEANLINGS & YEARLINGS, AND INJURED HORSES THAT SHOULD NOT LEGALLY BE TRANSPORTED TO SLAUGHTER. WHILE THERE ARE DRAFT HORSES DUMPED BY THE AMISH FARMERS, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE HORSES ARE YOUNG & HEALTHY, WITH THE ONLY PROBLEM BEING THEY WERE IN THE "WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME"...99% OF THEIR FORMER OWNERS HAVE NO CLUE THEIR HORSES WILL BE SOLD "BY THE POUND" AND SLAUGHTERED FOR THEIR MEAT, SO FOREIGN COMPANIES CAN MAKE MILLIONS.
YES - HAY PRICES ARE VERY HIGH, BUT THIS IS DUE TO THE DROUGHTS AND NEW ETHANOL CROPS.
IF YOU ARE A RANCHER/FARMER AND THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS, THEN THE "COST OF DOING BUSINESS" SHOULD ALLOW FOR YOUR HORSE(S) TO BE HUMANELY EUTHANIZED WHEN THE TIME COMES. THIS COST IS NOT TOO HIGH. IT IS POOR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT NOT TO PLAN FOR A HUMANE AND DIGNIFIED END FOR A HORSE(S) THAT HAS WORKED SO HARD FOR THE SAKE AND PROFIT OF THE "BUSINESS." AND I SHUDDER TO THINK THERE ARE ACTUALLY RANCHES OR FARMS THAT EUTHANIZE 100 HORSES A YEAR?!
YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT "TURNING HORSES LOOSE" INSTEAD OF EUTHANIZING THEM IS COMPLETELY FALSE. THIS WAS MADE UP OF FABRICATED STORIES AND PROPAGANDA FROM THE PRO-SLAUGHTER SIDE AND IT'S BEEN PROVEN WRONG WITH OUR FACTS/DATA- THE "NEWS" ALSO RETRACTED THOSE ARTICLES.
THE ISSUE WITH THE WILD HORSE POPULATION IS A SEPARATE ISSUE THAT IS BEING ADDRESSED BY BILL HR249 - YOU NEED TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK! THIS BILL WILL PROTECT THEM FROM SLAUGHTER.
TO ADDRESS YOUR STATEMENT, HORSE SLAUGHTER IS "MUCH MORE HUMANE THAN THE ALTERNATIVE", I HAVE ALREADY ADDRESSED THERE IS NOT A PROVEN ISSUE OF HORSES STARVING IN THE ABSENCE OF SLAUGHTER, ESPECIALLY SINCE SLAUGHTER IS STILL GOING STRONG. HORSE NEGLECT & ABUSE IS A COMPETELY SEPARATE ISSUE AND THERE ARE LAWS IN EACH STATE THAT SHOULD PROTECT ANY ANIMAL FROM THIS. BEFORE YOU SAY HORSE SLAUGHTER IS "MUCH MORE HUMANE", WATCH THE VIDEOS AND MAKE SURE YOUR "VOLUME" BUTTON IS UP, SO YOU CAN HEAR THE "TRUTH"....FROM THE HORSES.
TO ADDRESS YOUR STATEMENT THAT HORSEMEAT BENEFITS LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, THIS IS ANOTHER COMPLETELY FALSE STATEMENT! THE REASON WE HAVE HORSE SLAUGHTER IS THE PRICE OF HORSEMEAT IS VERY HIGH, AND ONLY THE RICH CAN AFFORD TO BUY IT IN RESTAURANTS. IT'S NOT FOR THE POOR!
PEOPLE ARE VERY IMPORTANT, BUT THE MANNER IN WHICH WE TREAT OUR HORSES AND OTHER ANIMALS IS NOT ONLY VERY IMPORTANT, IT ALSO SHOWS THAT WE ARE A CIVILIZED SPECIES. WE ARE THE CARE-TAKERS OF THIS PLANT - AND WE WERE NOT PLACED HERE TO TORMENT AND DESTROY THE LIVES OF THE INNOCENT...SUCH AS OUR HORSES!!!
JON - WHEN YOU SAID YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR HORSES AND DON'T WISH ANYTHING BAD ON THEM, THAT IS THE ONLY REDEEMING THING YOU HAVE WRITTEN IN THIS LONG LIST OF FALSEHOODS. HOWEVER, YOU ARE SADLY MIS-INFORMED IF YOU THINK THAT BANNING HORSE SLAUGHTER WILL HARM OUR HORSES. THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF HORSE ABUSE & NEGLECT HAS BEEN IN THE STATES WHERE SLAUGHTER PLANTS HAVE OPERATED (TEXAS & ILLINOIS), AND HORSE SLAUGHTER IS SIMPLY A "SUPPLY & DEMAND" DRIVEN, FOREIGN BUSINESS THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ABUSE/NEGLECT OF HORSES.
AND HERE IS SOME GOOD ADVICE - I WOULD NOT SELL ANY OF YOUR HORSES UNTIL SLAUGHTER IS BANNED IF YOU DON'T WISH ANYTHING "BAD" ON THEM. BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT SAFE UNTIL THEN.
I'm sorry Jon - I have to say this...you in fact are the "tool" to say that horses are likened to machinery in your eyes. More healthy horses go to slaughter than the ones you speak of. People need to stop trying to make that last buck off the animals and humanely euthanize on their own farm when necessary. They deserve no less.
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