These are sweet, sad, beautiful stories about Sun, Snowdrop, and Willie. Horse slaughter for human consumption in this country is a terrible thing, but for those horses there is a great deal of humane laws in place, as well as the fact that they must arrive at the slaughter house in good flesh and undamaged. Their care and treatment falls under the European Union guidelines, which, as awful as the idea is, they have a value and must be cared for properly. But, you see Sun, Snow and Willie would not have been acceptable for human consumption. They and all the other underweight, old, sick, and seriously damaged horses go somewhere else. Somewhere that is so awful that I can't let my mind dwell on it. That would be the rendering plant for pet food. There are no laws, no guidelines, no end of life care. They don't even have to be alive. The dead ones are the lucky ones.
No favors were done for the unwanted horses by closing the slaughter houses for human consumption. All it did was make them worthless. The outcome was starvation, neglect and abandonment, nation wide, OR the dog food slaughter plants.
It is time to STOP the over breeding of horses. People need to be responsible for the care of their horses for life – if they can't do that, they shouldn't own horses. Don't feed the breeding industry by encouraging the birth of future unwanted horses.
I propose that all foals born from this day forward be micro-chipped. Who ever is responsible for their birth should be responsible for their end of life care. In the mean time laws must be made, where slaughter is not an option. We will know who that person is because of the micro-chips. A breeder gets a few of their horses back and he/she will be wondering is it's worth it to continue.
As nice as that would be it's probably not likely. The only way to end horse slaughter in this country is responsibility. When there are no more horses to go to slaughter, there will be no more slaughter houses.
I know the animal rights people mean well but most have no idea what's really going on. We need to police ourselves within the industry to deal with this problem. We need to come up with some solution. There needs to be a plan. There needs to be responsibility.
There is no place left for these horses to go. The rescues are full. We are underfunded and overworked. We do our best – but these are so many!
I pray often for justice for the horses. They are so innocent. If they are never born, they will never be unwanted.
So, in conclusion, for all who feel the need to help, make sure humane laws are in place nationally. The end of these horses lives doesn't need to be horrible. These laws must also be enforced. Lets make sure the pet food industry abides by the rules. Most of all be aware that your cats and dogs are being fed animals who have died horribly. By feeding cheap pet food we are enabling this to continue. Find out where the raw ingredients come from. Human grade food is the best.
I don't know everything so this is where your own research is important. Pet Source in Stow and Concord, MA is extremely careful where their products come from. So maybe you could start there.
This is an ongoing issue that will be addressed more thoroughly in the future.
~Nina
Thursday, March 29, 2012
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1 comments:
Hi Nina, I read most of your posts and am in total agreement with your views on horse slaughter. At least here in America they are not killed by a machete. I have had horses for 54 years. My first horse was an elderly, very wise gentleman who died in my arms at the approx age of 33. But, my parents woned a resort, where we had a herd of 30 horses. I was responsible for them for 11 years. many of them were elderly by then, when my father decided to sell the resort with a "trained trail string" included. Our resort was purchased by a corporation, who hired in their employees. My horses were quite abused by these brain dead creeps, but it went from bad to worse, when the corporation decided it would be cheaper to lease horses from a dealer only in the summers and sold all my horses to said "dealer". This person had a long-standing reputation as an awful person, starving horses, and abusing them in all ways. I was devastated and almost had a nervous breakdown. I am now alomost 60 years old and can see the face of everyone of my horses like it was yesterday. I spent years counting how old each one was and figuring when each one had died. They are all dead now and when i came to that realization, the wieght lifted off me was palpable. I did not realize how heavy it had been all those years, I just know that even now, the tears rush to my eyes when i think of them and how I let them down. i know I was just a ked and couldnt defend them but my heart doesnt feel that way. The relationship between my father and myself did not survive what he did to my horses. he is dead now too, and i do not miss him. What he did should have kept him from heaven, but i know God is more forgiving than i am. I still have horses, and love them with all my heart. They are my family. I strongly support you in your wish that the american abbatoirs be reopened, with one plea. There should be abbatoirs JUST for horse. They are different than cattle, sheep and swine. More delicate and need to be treated differently at the end of their lives. Thank you for this forum to share my experience, and my grief. But it is always better to have loved.
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