The Intense Debate Over Horse Slaughter
If you want to see a controversial bill on which there are strong opinions on both sides, check out H.R. 6598, The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008.
The proponents of the bill (opponents of horse slaughter) feel very passionately about the cruelty to the animals that may occur during slaughter, and many feel that the proponents of horse slaughter are wrongly treating a beautiful animal as a commodity.
Opponents of the bill see horse slaughter as a necessary evil, and more humane than seeing these animals uncared for, abandoned, and left to starve. Many point out that over-breeding of horses is a problem that requires horse slaughter to continue.
(Partisans on either side: If I’ve mischaracterized your position, feel free to comment below. And be nice about it. Don’t let your passion control you.)
Speaking of passion, as occasionally happens on controversial bills, there are allegations of vote manipulation. Given some advanced technical knowledge, it is possible to vote multiple times, but it takes a lot of work. To be sure, the votes on bills are an unscientific poll.
What’s interesting about any potential vote-riggers is that they have completely missed the point of debating about legislation on a site like this. If the vote goes their way, they get precisely . . . nothing.
What matters is influencing others, using careful and patient comments, using the wiki-editable articles about the bill, and so on. (Here’s where to start editing the article for H.R. 6598.)
Voting is an important outlet for people who want to quickly register their opinion, and people should encourage others to come vote as a starting point for getting involved more substantively, but voting is not something to fixate on.
Anyway, overall this is a very productive debate. Going over the comments, you can see merit in the arguments on both sides and you can see why the issue is so divided. Horses generate a lot of passion, that’s for sure.
Here’s where the voting stands right now. (But please remember, it’s only one part of the influence process!) Click to vote, learn more, or edit the wiki article about the bill.
Gypsyheart Ramona Foxworth
I live a few miles from Morton,Texas Frontier Meats feedlot.This feedlot ATTEMPTS to fatten horses up for slaughter and holds them for transport at a later date to Mexico.There are thousands of them crowded together there.Many healthy,gorgeous horses and foals die there for unknown reasons and are dumped in a hole behind this desolate facility.Baby horses are left to starve as their mothers are too stressed to make milk.There is no shelter from the storms or snow..I was one of the people who rescued 35+ pregnant mares and foals from this hellhole.We lost 4 foals due to starvation or strangles.Firsthand,I have seen the hauling of horses to slaughterhouses..They are packed into trailors shoulder to shoulder,frightened to death,sweating and wild-eyed. Please help stop this cruel,abusive practice. Vote yes to HR6598. I am a witness to this,it is more wretched than mere words can explain. It must be stopped forever. Horses deserved much better than this in-humane cruel,abusive end..sign me The Gypsyheart for HR6598
Susan
Equating horse slaughter with humane euthanasia is incorrect. USDA vets have testified that the majority of horses regain consciousness 30 seconds after the cattle-designed captive bolt stunning. They experience the bleed-out alive and sentient. That is inhumane by any standard. That’s why – along with the rampant violations of transport humane laws – this legislation accurately categorizes horse slaughter as inhumane along with dog fighting a la Michael Vick.
Horse slaughter is a profitable offshore corporate business that relies on misinformation to block legislation so it can keep supplying contracts for its overseas customers. Horse meat sells for over $25 a pound (with carcinogenic drugs “not intended for human consumption”) – So follow the money!
Once slaughter is removed as a cop-out, horse owners and trainers at low end claiming tracks will have to take personal responsibility for their horses and call a licensed vet or a retirement facility.
Arlee
Closing horse processing plants has had an adverse effect on horses & their owners in the US. Now there is no way to market non-usable horses. If they are killed by their owners, the meat is waisted and becomes pollution for the environment. This proposed law will compromise owner’s constitutional rights to their own property and their right to commerse. I see nothing wrong with people eating horse meat and feel that if a horse owner is ok with selling a horse for meat, the government should have NO RIGHT to intervene.
There is not enough feed to collect all the horses and keep them for the typical twenty years that they would live. Who is going to pay for their care????
RA Ferguson
As someone who lost a mare to heaves last month, the total cost for disposal of remains was a whopping $210. Trying to say that this is a economic hardship is a FLAT OUT LIE. People spend much more than that on mindless electronic gadgets and overpriced coffees.
Also, judging by the grammar and spelling, alot of people are either too uneducated, unthinking, or uncaring to look at the realities of this vampire industry.
J. Butcher
Personally Once a horse is dead I really don’t care if someone wants to eat them, BUT I do care very deeply about how they are treated before they die and the way they are killed. I don’t know if this latest bill is the solution even though I voted for it, but what I do know is that I would rather see a horse dead than suffer.
horses for sale
It all comes down to what is the most efficient way to deal with the horses. A lot of it is up to the businesses to decide whether they want to use slaughter houses or not. The public can be a great influence and I appreciate all your efforts for whatever opinion you have.
Thanks.
Jennifer L
Being involved in horse rescue, rehabilitaion and placement I have to say that since the ban on slaughter our business has increased. I work for a small Michigan 501C3 Rescue. A few years ago we would take in maybe 10-20 horses a year and work to get them healthy, trained & successfully placed. Now I am turning away 30 horses a month. We get calls from all over our state from people desperate to “replace” their horses. Some have lost homes, jobs ect… We now have more animal control cases, more neglect cases, more abuse and abandonment cases. This was “good” for horses? I think slaughter is a necessary evil. Done humanely! Lets face it what do you do with an unsafe or dangerous horse? If euthanized it goes in the ground and then accomplished nothing but filling a hole. Why not use it to feed the dogs of the US. Another animal in such great over population! Realistically… What do I tell people when they call crying because they love their horse and cant afford to feed their kids due to circumstances beyond their control? If they can not give their horse away, can not sell it, can not auction it, and can not afford to feed it or euthanize it… THEN WHAT HAPPENS TO IT!!! Wake up people! If you support the ban on horse slaughter then why aren’t you volunteering at my farm taking care of all the horses NO ONE wants? Where are funds coming to feed them… Let me tell you when people are losing houses and jobs they can’t afford to give to rescue groups either.