Fugly Horse of the Day

The Slaughter Debate

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 | Tags: backyard breeders, bad owners, FHOTD, news stories, slaughter, submissions | Category: Uncategorized

Going through the many, many submissions for the FHOTD writer’s job, a theme very quickly became apparent. Horse slaughter and the recent change in US law are very popular topics (forgive us, but; duh). It’s funny, because before we even started going through all the emails, we were making big plans for our first post. We wanted to address something topical and a little controversial, something that would really fire up a good debate. We wanted a topic that we felt strongly about. You guessed it – we were going to write about horse slaughter!

Since reading all the submissions, instead we’re going to throw this one out to the other writers who were hoping to contribute to Fugly. There were a lot of well written articles submitted. From those we’ve chosen two that we feel took an original approach to the topic.

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This first piece is by The Naughty Tobiano.

The Black Market Horse Meat Industry—Could Domestic Slaughter STOP this Atrocity?

While the debate of should horses be slaughtered has been a very hot, hot topic since the late 1990s; and it’s heating up even more with Obama’s signing of a bill that would repeal the ban on USDA inspectors essentially making it legal to slaughter horses again the U.S. except for in CA and IL. Both sides are vehemently arguing their points.

The anti-slaughter side argues that slaughtering a horse is inhumane and cruel as horses have souls and feelings; and that they should be considered pets or companion animals—not livestock. They point fingers at the breeding industry, back yard breeders, incentive programs offered by registries, and the money hungry horse dealers who only see $$$$$. They demand more laws, in some cases suggesting restrictions on who gets to own a horse is the answer. Others state a “foal tax” is the answer.

However, many of the horses standing in kill pens waiting to die are in the prime of their life: 8-15 yr olds, born BEFORE the ban on USDA inspectors went into effect. It is this point as well as some of the suffering slaughter bound horses face that have many pro-slaughter advocates suggesting Obama’s signature was a good thing. They argue the horses are suffering in Canadian and Mexican slaughter houses where the method of slaughter is NOT regulated. Evidence suggests horses’ throats are slit and the butchering begins before they are dead. The pro-slaughter side argues they want to lessen the suffering of horses that are presently bound for slaughter by tightly controlling the manner in which horses are treated at the new “equine processing plants” and ensure the slaughter is humane. They further cite how re-opening slaughter will reduce the unwanted horse population and restore the once lucrative economic market that the horse industry brought to all parts of the U.S.

Some people worry about the BLM mustangs. Some people worry about the race horses.

There is another argument that has little to do with the welfare of horses but instead focuses on the human consumption element of horse slaughter.

One anti-slaughter argument points to repeated European bans on U.S. horse meat (http://www.pennsylvaniaequestrian.com/news/EU-ban-1009.php ; http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety/Tainted-US-horse-meat-puts-world-consumers-at-risk-welfare-body ) and state that it is ethically wrong for the U.S. to slaughter horses and export the meat when many American horses have been treated with medicines that clearly state on the label “not intended for use in horses for human consumption”. On the flip side, reports are showing there is little evidence that bute , ivemectrin, pyrantel, and other equine drugs stay in the horse’s system long enough to cause harm to humans. The paleo diet movement actually encourages horse meat, stating that humans were meant to eat horse: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/horse-meat/

But there is a much, much darker side to the unavailability of domestically processed and inspected meat: the black market for horse meat.

The following links are actual news stories concerning a growing problem in Southern Florida. Horses are being STOLEN and butchered on the side of the road, often while still alive, to supply meat for the black horsemeat market.

WARNING…….The videos are graphic and photos horrific.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61rD3rBC2L4&feature=related
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6478115
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7VMcna1PAE

Though presently focused on a trend in Florida only, is black market horse meat reaching other ethnic communities around the U.S.? Though it appears the killers for this market are sticking to a small locality of Florida, what makes people think the horse meat is not traveling through the underground market to other states with heavy populations of Hispanic communities. Furthermore, is the desire for horsemeat reserved for the Hispanic culture or are other ethnic groups also feeding the greed of the black market.

Having said that, is it reasonable to believe that if the USDA began offering inspected, legal, domestic horse meat would the black market disappear?

This same argument has been made for the legalization of marijuana.

But….it was also made long before that in another still heated Pro Vs. Anti fight: Abortion. Prior to the legalization of abortion, thousands of women died while having an illegal abortion. But, once legalized, the back alley, black market diminished and women could safely make the choice concerning their own body.

Could this rationale not be applied to the black market for horse meat? Is it not reasonable to assume that IF people who wanted to eat horse meat due to their culture or their own personal health beliefs had access to a safe, legal source the black market would essentially disappear?

Obviously the current situation is grim as there are repeated reports of horses being stolen and simply disappearing. The anti-slaughter side points their fingers to the current “kill buyers” but I sincerely have my doubts that the dealers who sell to the feed lots are all running around Southern Florida snatching up family’s beloved horses? Why would they when there is a myriad of FREE ones on craigslist just a short trailer ride from many auction houses and feed lots.

So…..would the black market crumble if horse meat were domestically available? No matter how many videos of a captive bolt coming down on a horse I see, I cannot compare it to the terror and pain a horse like Geronimo suffered at the hands of the butchers who took him from his barn and tortured him just a half a mile from his family.

It may be a very distasteful thing to think about; but, under tightly regulated USDA supervised situations, could humane slaughter stop this atrocity?

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Check back tomorrow for another submission on this issue.

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