Some Important News

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An Industry Divided
By Kathryn Brim, Editor

It looks like the battle is heating up over the proposed American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. According to a growing opposition, HR503 and S311 seem to stretch beyond the limits of simply sparing horses from slaughter.

Essentially the bill “authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction which is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition.”

The concern is that this legislation will impact any and all horses being transported throughout the U.S. Be it rodeo contestants, local trail enthusiasts, or a simple trip to the vet, the horse or horses under transport could be inspected and confiscated at anytime if determined sore, injured, sick, or en route to slaughter.

Furthermore, many horse owners believe the end of horse slaughter in the U.S. is an injustice to the American horse industry. According to the Concerned Horse Owners Regarding Equine Slaughter, “those who support the legislation offer no solution to care for the estimated 100,000 unwanted horses annually in the U.S. Supporters of the legislation have been spreading inaccurate information that is driving legislators to act on emotion, and not on true facts.”

In recent months, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times and many other news resources have reported on the growing number of unwanted and neglected horses. “My worst nightmare has happened. This is an example of well-intentioned but very bad unintended consequences,” Dr. Temple Grandin told a New York Times reporter. Dr. Grandin, a world renowned animal behaviorist, has spent her life developing facility layouts and equipment designed to be least stressful for horses and livestock. “The American slaughterhouses killed horses quickly by driving steel pins into their brains, a method the American Veterinary Medical Association considers humane. Workers in some Mexican plants, by contrast, disable them by stabbing them with knives to sever their spinal cords,” said Grandin.

Sale barns and auction houses are also suffering. “First time in my life I’ve seen livestock that has no value,” said Devin Mullet, owner of Kalona Sales Barn in southeastern Iowa in a New York Times report. “After his monthly auction in October, Mr. Mullet said he shot 28 horses that had failed to fetch any bids. Since then, he has monitored horses coming in for sale, turning away those he thinks are worthless ­ often yearlings and the aged, which tend to yield less meat,” reported the New York Times.

Supporters of HR503 and S311 continue to be adamant that this is the right thing to do – for the horse. Yet, the industry remains divided. Many organizations have publicly supported the legislation, while others, like the American Quarter Horse Association, actively oppose it. Even the American Horse Council, the industry’s leading political body, refuses to pick sides.

I personally think it would help everyone (especially the poor horses) if both of these legislations were reversed. MO

Going out on a limb here, But Yes, I do believe there are some good reason for slaughter houses. Not going into it, but if it were a perfect world, we would nt need them, but its not. Yes, I like Merikle, See a need for this be to reversed.

I encourage all horse people to go to the link below and fill out the petition. Can you imagine being somewhere be it a show or auction or just transporting and being told they are taking your horse cause its lame.
This can happen if passed. Guess I would end up in jail if they tried that on me.

Im on the limb with TJ over the slaughter houses.


Petition:
We, the undersigned horse owners and horse professionals, ask the U.S. Senate and Congress to vote "NO" on the AHSPA (HR 503 and S 311) as this legislation does nothing to provide a better outcome for the overall welfare of horses.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/against-american-horse-slaughter-prevention-act.html
If you are uncomfortable with your name being out there, click anonymous so it is not viewable on the website. Please feel free to leave a [url]

i just signed it.
that is scary.
like hell im going to let someone take my horses. over my dead body!

They are killing the horse industry! I signed it.

Scary - scary - scary... What, pray tell, is their plan for all of the "lame" horses - YIKES...

Frightening thoughts!!!!

So instead of sticking there noses in where they dont belong, why dont they just make stiffer laws, about starving and mistreated horses. Lord, you can drive down the road and see bone starved horses call they H.Soc. and they go out and say heres a warning feed your horse, a month later.. They are worse, call them again, they go out and say.. Feed your horse.. Better yet, I love to go by this paint farm and see they foals dead in the pasture because the NUT, (*&#@) only feeds his broodmares Fescue, the pretty babies are so cute and 10 days later +, are dead in the pasture, I have told him more then once they arent COWS.. Why do you own them! He has money too. Tax write off! He says..

UGH!
We keep our horses at a guy's place - they have a mare that some %^&*(*&^%$%^&* sold them...these people don't know anything about horses - this mare has to be 30+ years old - looks like a QH/Pony cross...she is skinny and just flat out old - topline is sunk down like you wouldn't believe...they have us feeding her 2x a day...
She is skinny but she is a happy old thing, just trying to make her last little while more comfortable - the problem is her owners think she is in her early TWENTIES - HA...not likely in the least!!!!!!!

While some people shouldn't own a horse - other people shouldn't be allowed to SELL a horse!

I signed the petition as well.

Until I read this article... i didn't know about the transportation thing.

So what happens when they pull you over and you got a lame horse in the trailer? they confiscate it? Even if you're headed to the vets?

They went way over board on that... Just plain silly. Didn't that start with the Tennesee walkers? or saddlebreds or something?

We here in Canada are seeing a lot of the results of HR503 as well... Sadly our horse prices have gone down, and many US horses are just being shipped farther and farther to still meet the same fate.

I agree with TJ, In the perfect world they would all have loving caring homes... But in reality, slaughter is sometimes the best thing for some horses. People can be cheap, lazy, and utterly selfish... So for many, putting a sick/injured/lame/unsafe horse down doesn't even cross their minds...

My guess is this will never happen. There are many laws that never happen..

As far as slaughter goes.. The humans are the reason for this problem. I love all animals more then I should.. On one hand some animals are better off dead then with humans who neglect them. I say we round all the humans who do this and send them to slaughter..

And I forgot to mention the ones who lame up and through out their world champions so they can brag about how well they did.. Lets round them up too....

Bluejay wrote:

My guess is this will never happen. There are many laws that never happen..

As far as slaughter goes.. The humans are the reason for this problem. I love all animals more then I should.. On one hand some animals are better off dead then with humans who neglect them. I say we round all the humans who do this and send them to slaughter..

Might be good to sentence them to work at a slaughter house.. Make them do the dirty work. Maybe they would get the point then!