More for the Record: Informal Letter from Arabian Horse Association Secretary Jan Decker
Provided by Fran Jurga | 13 June 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com
Here is the unedited text of Ms. Decker's letter:
"I will not attempt to speak for all of the Board members, but I want to share my thoughts with you related to this issue. I have had a passion for horses all of my life (and I mean all my life) and I share your concerns especially for the welfare of, not just Arabians, but all horses in the United States.
"I will not attempt to speak for all of the Board members, but I want to share my thoughts with you related to this issue. I have had a passion for horses all of my life (and I mean all my life) and I share your concerns especially for the welfare of, not just Arabians, but all horses in the United States.
"Unfortunately, time has proved that the discontinuation of equine slaughter houses in the United States was a government action that was meant to be good thing, but turned out to be bad thing for the welfare of a lot of horses, in my opinion, from what I have observed since the inception of slaughter house closings.
"I am still struggling with the concept of a horse breed organization going to the American Horse Council trustees meeting this summer in the position of condoning horse euthanize aka slaughter.
"However, the facts of starving horses standing in squalid conditions because owners can not or will not provide feed due to current economic conditions is horrible. Trucks hauling loads of debilitated horses thousands of miles to get across the U.S. Borders south to Mexico or north to Canada is not a pleasant thought.
"I have been told herds of 'wild' horses out west in open range are growing greatly in numbers as owners haul their horses out to open range and open the trailer doors and abandon their animals. There are countless tales of horrible events all across the USA related to equines that I can not go into here of horses just "dumped" on rural roads and other stories of horror.
"The state forest/parks here in Indiana now have adopted the position of counting the horses in a trailer when they come into a park to be sure the people do not leave horses behind in the park turned loose to fend for themselves. Local fairgrounds with horse stalls are patrolling them to insure no one has broken into the locked fairground stalls and left behind horses in those facility's stalls.
“One suggestion I heard of recently that has come up is a 'Euthanasia Clinic' and I have been solicited to donate money to such a 'Clinic'. I can not visualize that picture of a lot of old, crippled, starved, or just plain unwanted horses hauled into one location to be 'put to sleep' at a cost of $200 - $500 per animal. Would they be buried on site? Would a winch truck be there to pull all the bodies up into a big 'dead wagon' truck? I just can't envision this happening with a lot of dead horses lying around after such an event.
"It is never easy to euthanize a horse anytime, but when the suffering does not validate continued life it is necessary. I had the veteriarian euthanized a horse on this farm last Saturday and then buried it with a back hoe. This old mare had some age on her, a thyroid condition and had grass foundered and her system was shutting down, we had doctored her for a month and she was not getting any better.
"Many counties/states do not allow horses/livestock to be buried and cremation costs about $1500.00 so I am told, thank goodness, we still have space to bury them on our farm and can do it legally in our county.
"Animal slaughter is necessary to obtain meat for consumption by humans and if the cattle, hog, chicken, sheep, goat meat slaughter houses can be regulated and maintained using humane methods to kill these animals, there is no reason humane standards of treatment and euthanasia can not be met for horses even though not for meat to be consumed by humans.
"Yes, there are rescue facilities around the country and here in Indiana. I had a college student/boarder here at my stable that was unable to maintain paying her pasture board here at my location so she "donated" her two fat healthy horses to a "rescue" place in southern Indiana. These were a palomino quarter type horse and an Arabian gelding (without papers) trained to ride, sound, and good looking horses. She had to pay some amount of money to the rescue location to take these horses off her hands and she still owes me $1700.00 in back board. The "Rescue" site would not take her horses until I agreed to let her make payments on what she owed to me. And this is just one story of thousands.
"In conclusion, am I in favor of regulated horse slaughter, yes, if the alternative is mistreatment of horses. Regulated being the key word here.
"Am I in favor of starving, mistreated, abandoned horses of any breed absolutely not, but people must face reality even though it can be ugly at times. Life is just not fair. Do not judge any of us to harshly, I believe we really do have the best interest of the horses in our hearts. It was not an easy position to take."
Jan Decker, owner of horses for 64 years
(Jan Decker is currently the secretary of the Arabian Horse Association.)
Please refer to today's earlier post for the official statement of the AHA board in support of horse slaughter and humane treatment of horses.
Labels: Arabian, Association, Decker, Glenn, horse, Jan, Petty, slaughter
posted by Fran Jurga @ 6/13/2009
11 comments
11 Comments:
It's time for Ms. Decker to retire!
She never worried about horses starving or the ones that went to Mexico before.
Can she explain why the USDA imported over 7,000 head of horses for slaughter in the US in 07, if there is too many horses that we have to have slaughter.
It's supply and demand as usual. The meat industry is losing money and they want it back at any cost.
Why does Ms. Decker say, "there is no reason humane standards of treatment and euthanasia can not
be met for horses even though not for meat to be consumed by humans."
How about gelding, and not promoting over-breeding you idiots.
Slaughter in the US, even though regulated, was not much more humane than in Mexico or Canada. And the trip of thousands of miles is the same frightening and dangerous one whether the horse is going to Texas or Mexico.
A euthanasia clinic is by far a better end for someone's tired or sick older horse than that trip to facilities most often designed for the slaughter of cattle. The whole purpose of such clinics is a peaceful end and legal disposition of the remains (usually to a rendering plant).
The only ones who benefit from slaughter plants are those who sell the meat for human consumption (on another continent, no less), and those who are looking to squeeze one last puny "profit" out of their own or someone else's equine friend.
In spite of large commercial breeding operations, horses are closer to being companion animals than livestock. They need to be treated with dignity for the service they have provided.
There is no good reason for the resumption of equine slaughter in the US. What does need to happen is the banning of transport out of the country for slaughter. That would end the pain and suffering of thousands of animals. Rescue operations and humane euthanasia need to be made more available to those who can no longer care for their horses. AHA should consider supporting, and maybe even subsidizing such alternatives if they are so concerned about the welfare of American equines.
I too have own and been around horses my whole life but I know the word responsiblity and some who support horse slaughter do NOT know the word.
Ms Decker should realize that the AVMA and the AAEP took an Oath in office and have failed they knew for years Double Deckers were used they knew for years how the slaughter of horses were. But as usual the head was turned and ignored until the Responsible Americans realize that Texas plants Operated against a 1949 law and that these were NOT old,sick,horses. These horses were treated with the most irresponsibly way to handle any animal. According to the own USDA FOIA reports horses arrive at the plants with plucked eyes out,blind, fully crippled and some having been pregant and giving birth on the kill floor. Shame on you Ms Decker saying you care for the horse. At your age why dont we send you to a place where humans are slaughtered since you are old and dont play a responsible place to be here. Allowing slaughter will NOT make irresponsible people responsible as usual they will remain that way. Why dont you donate to rescues and support many why dont you sponsor and help rescues instead of supporting irresponsible people. You are part of an Organization that is the problem STOP BREEDING.. MORAN...
Ms. Decker does not address one of the main sources of horse overpopulation....overbreeding and indiscriminate breeding. This is and has been a problem with Arabian breeders as well as Quarter horse breeders. Like many well-meaning people, Ms. Decker has bought in to the American Horse Council's agenda. This organization as well as its state counterparts do not have horse welfare as a top priority. They represent the breeders and profit-seeking industries that see horses as a commodity. As a past breeder of Arabian horses, I am disgusted by the AHA stance on the slaughter issue. My last horse, a purebred 19year old mare I bred and raised, was euthanized last summer due to irreparable leg and hoof problems. She was buried in her favorite paddock. The cost for all was less than one month's board. Ms. Decker needs to really educate herself about the slaughter issue and why we must put an end to this horrific treatment of our horses. If AHA and other breed associations, ie AQHA, stepped up to the plate and subsidized rescue groups and sanctuaries by donating a small portion of their registration fees, member dues, and show entries, a huge part of this dilemna could be solved.
Quote from Miss Decker - "One suggestion I heard of recently that has come up is a 'Euthanasia Clinic' and I have been solicited to donate money to such a 'Clinic'. I can not visualize that picture of a lot of old, crippled, starved, or just plain unwanted horses hauled into one location to be 'put to sleep' at a cost of $200 - $500 per animal. Would they be buried on site? Would a winch truck be there to pull all the bodies up into a big 'dead wagon' truck? I just can't envision this happening with a lot of dead horses lying around after such an event."
So, she can't "picture" a euthanasia clinic, where horses would be humanely euthanized, but she can "picture" salughter? It seems, in her mind, it is better for a horse to be shipped for hundreds of miles on unsafe/unacceptable transportation, shoved into a corral with many other scared, panicing horses, forced into a kill area that was designed for cattle, struck in the head with a bolt that was designed for cattle (hopefully killing it the first time...hopefully), having its throat slit, and strung up by the back legs and hung upside down to bleed. If she actually believes that this is a better alternative to humane euthanasia, I am very worried for Miss Decker's mental health.
Since when is Decker concerned about the mistreatment of horses? She only needs to attend an AHA show and take a walk behind the barns to witness ongoing abuse.
Apparently the AHA finds it acceptable for 'trainers'/exhibitors to beat horses but they can't stand the thought of horses being humanely euthanized?
Guess what, Decker? It is still legal to ship US horses to slaughter plants so your claim that people are starving horses because the US plants were closed is idiotic.
You may 'have been told' that owners are turning horses loose to run with the mustangs, but where is your proof?
If you really want to see proof of the horror horses went through when the US plants were open and supposedly 'regulated', you need to look no further than the 900 + page report the USDA recently published.
Take a good look at the photo's included in the report and then explain why you seem to believe that humane euthansia performed by a veterinarian or a skilled shooter is less acceptable to the AHA than having them vivisected while still alive and able to feel pain.
Better yet, explain whether it was a cattlemen group or the AQHA that paid for your (un)qualified opinion.
I have never seen a better summary of every myth and distortion about horse slaughter than Ms. Decker's.
To begin with, 2008 was the second highest year for the slaughter of American horses (134,059) since 1995! So any abuse and neglect that occurred did so in the presence, not absence, of slaughter. That fact alone would negate any of the other statements she makes.
As to the state park myth, we called hundreds of state parks to try and determine the number of horses being dropped off as related in various third hand accounts and did not find a single horse!
We have studied the statistical evidence and found there no relationship between rates of slaughter and rates of neglect. We did, however, find a clear relationship between the rate of unemployment and neglect cases.
If Ms. Decker's letter is indicative of the "careful study" done by the AHA, then their decision would better have been based on a coin toss.
John Holland
Equine Welfare Alliance
The comments I see are from people who are totally out of touch with the real world of horses. Ms Decker is 100% correct--I live in Montana and the government land is being filled with unwanted horses, they are starving (not because people don't love horses, but when it comes to feeding your family or a horse...), there are 150,000 excess horses per year plus 8,000 plus excess "wild horses" which the BLM has feed-loted at over $20Million of tax dollars per year, etc.--most important horses are private property (often paying taxes on)and the owners have the right to dispose of their animals as they chose--an American regulated processing plant is much more humane than Mexico or starvation. I am shocked at the naive ignorance of so many comments!
I don't think most people who are anti-slaughter are naive to the unwanted horse issue, as a poster above me suggested. On the contrary I think most people I talk to are all too aware of it.
I would like to see the issue of over-breeding of horses addressed. This is the route cause of the over-population. Slaughtering horses is a way to "fix" the issue; but it doesn't go to the heart of it.
I personally see a bit of a conflict of interest when the AQHA and now the AHA come out in support of slaughter. I'd like to see them discourage breeding of all but the best quality animals. However, they make their money by registering the many foals bred each year; and through the showing and such fees that those foals generate. Unfortunately, when legislators, who aren't horsemen themselves, see the AQHA and AHA supporting slaughter; that probably carries a lot of weight with them. I just feel that there is a deeper issue than that; too much breeding and much of it poor quality breeding.
If slaughter in this country really were humane, that would be one thing to discuss. But I've seen videos from back when it was legal in the US. The captive bolt and stall set up used is appropriate for cattle, not horses. Things are not over quickly or simply. I won't go into gory details here, but you can find such videos online easily enough.
I am disgusted by the AHA's decision to support horse slaughter in the U.S. I believe it's hypocrisy for an Association that promotes the reproduction of horses to support the horses' most cruel destruction. My opinion of these slaughter supporting breed organizations couldn't be lower and I question their ability to regulate purebred horses and the preservation of the history of the breed.
In my opinion, Jan Decker has a naive view of the condition of horses in the U.S. I believe people like Jan don't want to know the truth and they develop their opinions based on what other people tell them.
We have always had starving horses in the U.S. and there have always been people who refused to care for their animals, who walk out on board and training bills, and who dump horses. There is no evidence that the horse's condition was better because we had slaughter plants in the US.
In the '60s & 70s you could go to the local bush track at the end of racing season and find a horse in a stall with papers tacked to the front. The horse was yours for paying its bills. One of these tracks was not far from a processing plant. When people run out of money, over extend, or don't get what they hoped for, some of them walk off and leave these poor, used up creatures behind. They did it then and they do it now. The problem occurs because of morals, not because we don't have a way to slaughter horses.
Euthanasia clinics are good because they provide a choice for horse owners. NorCal Equine Rescue (info@savethehorse.com) has done a good job for these sad animals. They are limited by funds, which is a situation that these high rolling breed organizations could help with, instead of supporting slaughter. And as far as disposal of the bodies- I think most true horse lovers would prefer rendering to live slaughter.
There has never been regulated horse slaughter or slaughter transport in the US that has benefited the horse. Anyone that has looked, even slightly, into the issues knows that it's a horror and that it's not going to improve. Horses are hung by the leg and slit while alive because a beating heart pumps the blood out of the veins. The same is done with other animals but other animals have not spent their lives carrying your grandchild around the show ring. Susie didn't feed them carrots and tell them all of her secrets while growing up. And they didn't give you the thrill of your first gallop through a field or your first ride up a mountain. And they didn't patiently put up with your clumsy efforts to learn to ride, forgiving you when you jerked their mouths or lost your balance.
Countless Arabians have already gone to slaughter. The pens were full at the stock yards after the Arabian business imploded in the 80s.
Shame on Jan Decker and AHA. You promote the Arabian as a family horse. You promote yourselves as horse lovers. Your organization is in a position that could actually help horses yet you choose to support inhumane torture and you have the GUTS to make a public statement of support for horse slaughter.
I suggest that Jan and counterparts follow this link http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/05/182.shtml and read "We Can't Slaughter our way to Horse Welfare" and while they are at it, take a look at http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/06/101.shtml and read about the latest plans for the wild horses.
Take the blinders off. Horse lovers don't condone sending horses to slaughter. And informed people don't believe there is a way to successfully legislate humane horse slaughter.
Jan says people need to face reality, but actually it's Jan Decker and her cronies who need to face reality. Reality is they have the power to help and they choose to bury their heads in the sand.
In my opinion, people who say they are horse lovers and also condone sending horses to slaughter are people who have chosen to believe a pack of lies.
I just read the article and my mouth is still hanging open from shock. NOT THE AHA! The organization who sets its animals apart from other horses. Who breeds the most beautiful creatures in the world. Who is so concerned about the purity of the blood...also believes that slaughter is a humane option. I have had several geriatric arabians who were with me until their deaths, and I will continue to keep my beloved horses after they are not "useful" to me. I cannot believe that this decision to back reopening slaughterhouses (I flinch at the word) reflects the opinions of arabian owners and breeders.
You hear all of these horror stories about great thoroughbreds dying at slaughterhouses.
What if *Bask, Muscat, or Raffles had ended up in the wrong hands?
What would Ms. Decker respond to that?
Post a Comment
<< Home