Anti-Slaughter Advocates Will March on Washington Next Month
Get ready for a news blitz. The group Americans Against Horse Slaughter has organized a two-day invasion of Washington DC by anti-slaughter advocates and celebrities from across the country. Parties and protests and grassroots lobbying sessions are planned for March 4-5, 2008.Learn more about the events planned for Washington.
On the federal level, the U.S. Senate's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee voted 15-7 last month in favor of sending the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act to be considered before the full Senate. In 2006, the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 263-146, but was not acted upon by the Senate before it adjourned for the year.
The slaughter issue has not been in the press much in the past few weeks, but it continues to trouble many horse owners, who realize the complexity of the issue.
As with so many political issues, the two sides continue to turn up the volume of rhetoric whenever the media offers a mouthpiece, but either no one is coming forward on a national level with ideas for a workable middle ground...or that microphone is not turned up.
Labels: horse slaughter
posted by Fran Jurga @ 2/10/2008
5 comments
5 Comments:
Probably the microphone isn't turned up.: )
Plenty is going on in the middle to create practical, real world solutions that will make the present situation obsolete - overbreeding for a fast buck followed by another fast buck: inhumane transportation for slaughter in Canada and Mexico.
A lot of people are motivated to think outside the box here and responsible horse owners are leading the way.
It doesn't take a phd in economics to know that it's European demand, not "unwanted horses" in America that motivates foreign horse slaughter corporations to do business here.
Just a few of the things happening now: Retirement foundations, proposals for a % of the racing tote for retirement, collaborative rescue operations, instant communication via the internet rehoming horses to second careers and much, much more.
History will look back on the images of American horses being "processed" in Mexico while fully awake and French restaurant ads "Eat a Kentucky Derby Winner" and wonder why it took us so long to put a stop to it.
I've seen plenty of 'unwanted horses' go the way of the slaughterhouse and have had the misfortune of seeing what happens to those who don't make it there (e.g. the backyard breeders' ponies that simply don't weigh enough to bring any cash at slaughter); starvation isn't pretty. Most people I know who work for equine rescues are in favor of slaughter for just that reason -- it's not nice, but it was more humane than that. There's a strong case for a middle ground -- ask any equine vet.
Great comments, saratoga horseman. I will be one of the folks in DC next week. It's time to close the chapter on this ugly piece in America history.
I work in rescue and all also belong to the horse rescue coalition - we work with a lot of rescues and none are pro-slaughter.
should i ask the same AVMA who said throwing live chickens in a wood chipper was humane? the AVMA who calls veal crates and premarin pee lines humane?
i grew up with horses and cattle, my family is 4 generations of farmers. my 4-h and pony club mounts were rescues..i have been involved with horses for over 35 years and i am on the board of directors of an equine rescue...
slaughter is far from humane! abuse and neglect happen with or without slaughter..
In reply to Superfecta, most equine rescues I know are opposed to slaughter. Not just because the transport is inhumane, it's the "processing" itself.
Veterinary, videographic and forensic evidence shows many horses wake up for the "processing." Arguing degrees of cruelty - standing in a field, being dismembered while sentient - is a waste of time and sidesteps the real problem: Owners and breeders who make money off horses should be taking responsibility for their welfare from the moment of conception. No money to feed? Don't breed. Violate existing humane laws? Expect to be prosecuted.
We presently have enough humane and transport rules on the books to reframe this whole issue if they were enforced.
Expecting the volunteer community (or the taxpayers) to pick up the tab - or come up with answers to - a problem that's the responsibility of owners and breeders to solve is just plain silly. A fee for breed registration and a per-start fee at the track would be a place to start and put the responsibility back where it belongs.
Humane euthanasia is an option - a two-stage dose of medication by a licensed vet. Legislation to ban horse slaughter does not restrict the right of an owner to call a vet in for that.
What humane euthanasia is not: Slaughtering companion animals (that we in America are opposed to consuming) to satisfy overseas corporate contracts while deliberately subjecting these animals to fear and pain. The "middle ground" simply can't include slaughter as an option with 70-90% of Americans strongly opposed to it.
I'm amazed at the pro-slaughter spin that the folks working to stop slaughter need to come up with enough resources to solve the industry's problems of overbreeding, racing unsound horses on drugs till they are beyond redemption, 'stable to the table in 7 days,' etc. before we pass a national law to stop slaughter.
I wonder the pro-slaughter paid lobbyists would have to say about personal responsibility and, say, taxpayer support for the offspring of unwed human mothers.
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