Horse Slaughter

[sw363535]

Think about it BA,  If equine were a protein source as they always have been, when their other services to society come to a close, horse is not going to be 5cents on the hoof.....when beef is 160.  The value would be much closer, even if our choice for the horse protein is primarily in the feed mix for our precious dogs...

5 cents is the result of leadership making decisions based on emotional ignorance....  The accounts described went on across the country...... Including the prosecution of poor who got stuck with their pets and get blamed for the elderly state of their animals and have no place to sell the animals.   If our own government cannot recognize the terrible condition created by this law........we haven't much hope...

[Husker-J]

What do you mean by 'become common'??   Up until not too many years ago, the slaughterhouse is where pretty much ALL the old horses around here wound up.   If there weren't problems then, I don't see how there would be now.   I belive the plants all had to be USDA inspected, so hopefully the inspector would be doing his or her job.

On the other side of the coin, the elimination of the horse slaughter led to the suffering of more of those poor animals, than any amount of humane slaughter would have inflicted.  I know of people who couldn't shoot their old horse, and couldn't ask anyone else to do it (it is illegal to shoot a horse, and not pay the $100 disposal fee, in case you didn't know), so they just let it loose, to die on its own.  A horse dying a natural death and being eaten by buzzards saved them the $100 disposal fee.   At least when they had horse slaughter, you could take them to the sale barn, and not have to pay to get rid of them. 

[BA Deere]

No kidding?  I`ve never heard of a normal packing plant taking horses.  I think Roswell had one one in Illinois, probably a couple in Texas.   As I understand it horses really freak out in those places and they need special equipment to do the dirty deed.  A while back on Market to Market they showed a  new horse plant they were building thinking the ban would come off and they`d stick a fat hog in the butt...but it all fell through in the middle of building it.

As far as shooting and burying your own horse, don`t talk about it, shoot it and bury it no big whoop. Who`s gonna fine you anyway?   If you get caught tell `em you were target practicing and the damnest thing...that old horse got right in the way and I buried it cause it was starting to stink...don`t follow stupid laws.

[Husker-J]

They weren't run through regular slaughterhouses, they had some designated just for equines, and none of the meat went to US consumption (unless you count the carnivore houses at various zoos), so contamination of other meat was not an issue

Snipped from Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_slaughter

-snip-

Of the horse meat supplied by the three equine slaughter houses that operated in the U.S., about 10% was sold to zoos to feed their carnivores, and 90% was shipped via air freight to Europe and Japan for human consumption.

-snip-

-snip-

The slaughterhouses exported approximately 42 million dollars' worth of horse meat per year,

-snip-

40 million dollars sounds like a pretty good export business.   If I read Wiki right, there were only 3 operational slaughterhouses, at the time of their closing.

[BA Deere]

Thank you for the link Husker. Those in favor of horse slaughter really should read the entire page before uninformed acceptance of it.   And "$42 million" in exports is really a drop in the bucket, in the whole meat industry, some individual companies have $40 million in a Salmonella hamburger recall.  People on here who`s opinions I really respect seem to be in favor of the slaughter, I respectfully disagree and they should read the link and see if they don`t change their minds.

IKEA had that tainted horse meatball debacle a year or two ago in Britain...that just gives me the willies...nasty.

Here`s a All in the Family episode where that "cheaper cut of meat" was brought up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_bWqY4_q4E   

I just think we`ve went 7,8 years without it and it only amounted to $42 million..if there was a accidental "mislabeling" I think I speak for all fussy eaters, it would easily do way more than $42 million in beef demand damage.

[Husker-J]

I have no problem with differing opinions, and can see your concern about meat mislabeling.  I think that is probably why equines were slaughtered in their own facilities, so no cross-contamination could occur.   Everything coming out of that plant, was for export, or predator feed for zoos.  However, those who say eliminating horse slaughter will reduce the 'cruelty' to horses, I disagree strogly.   Every horse that is now alive, is going to someday die.  For those not fortunate to die peacefully, they will have some amount of 'suffering' before they go.  I've seen people try to 'humanely' dispatch an old animal, and trust me, someone who is a poor shot, can inflict more suffering than can be described, much, much more than they would ever be subjected to on a kill floor.   One part of the unintended consequences of no horse slaughter, is what happens to the old horses?   Yes, you can shoot them, and bury them yourself, if you don't want to pay for the disposal, or leave them to die and become coyote feed, but how is that an improvement over a humane slaughter, and sale of the meat? 

If you object to the slaughter, I respect that, I'm just trying to explain why I think it is a good thing.

The one thing I DO take issue with, is your downplaying the export market, because it is 'only 42 million'.   To the owners and workers of the plant, that was their livelihood.    I am not going to downplay the loss of a legitimate business operating in the USA, paying salaries of people in the USA that generates $42 million that is legislated out of business.   If a business that generates 'only $42 million' does not matter, who is going to care if the day comes if you or I are legislated out of business?    I don't know about you, but I'm much, much, MUCH smaller than $42 million.

To shamelessly steal an idea from 'Ronnie', if you take $40 million here, and $40 million there, it can eventually add up to real money.

[nwobcw]

 The cattle auction I attend had a sign posted this week I never saw before regarding horse slaughter.  I don't know if they are seelling horses for slaughter I just saw the sign for the 1st time.