How Many Congressmen Does It Take To Screw A Horse?
This is an article on forbes.com...there's no graphic images, all very factual with back up & not emotional. The media has been putting a lot of propaganda out mostly in favor of horse slaughter. Here's my opinion: There's no such thing as humane slaughter. I also believe that kill pens & buyers at auctions should be illegal...as well as shipping horses to Mexico & Canada packed into trailers for slaughter. The only humane way to kill a horse if that is needed is euthanasia or a properly placed bullet if euthanasia is not possible. We just had to do that (euthanize) to one of our old horses who had a twisted gut. It was less than $200. He didn't suffer. Horses are not like cows. My husband helps out a butcher every week killing & butchering cows & pigs. They go into the kill chute & don't move much at all. Horses, when panicked (they're so smart, they know something's wrong & the smell of blood scares them) try to climb out of the chute, they rear up, when the captive bolt comes towards them, they instinctively throw their heads back away from it, so the bolt is hitting them & hurting them, but not killing them. So, then they have to keep trying to hit them with the captive bolt & finally use a gun if they have to..sometimes the horse ends up getting hung & then comes to--horrifying. Captive bolt is a big metal hydraulic bolt that knocks the animal senseless & is supposed to render them brain dead. Here's a great article explaining the process of horse slaughter. There is a movie to watch with the article, but doesn't play unless you click it. I didn't watch it-the article & info from my dh & our butcher was enough for me.
Horse Slaughterhouse Investigation Sounds Food Safety and Cruelty Alarms
Not to mention that people in this country don't eat horse as a rule...these horses are for export to European countries, but Italy published a statement saying they don't want American horses-they're loaded with drugs & wormers(which take a year to leave a horses' body)...and other countries are joining that sentiment. Horses are not bred & raised in this country for food supply.
Serious overhaul of the breeding & racing industry is needed. Horses are being overbred trying to find the next Secretariat.
Racing Industry Silent About Slaughtered Thoroughbreds
Did you know about the nurse mare industry? These are mares available, usually for thoroughbred farms. They have to have babies to make milk in case a broodmare needs to get rebred (sooner than what they should be). So, the foal of the nurse mare is considered a by-product-killed/shipped to slaughter for their hides/or rescued if they're lucky. Here's a wonderful nurse mare foal rescue place:
What are Nurse Mare Foals?
The lnext atrocity against horses that I will mention is the topic of PMU mares. Ever heard of Premarin-hormone therapy for women going through menopause?
Premarin = PREgnant MAre uRINe. Can you believe it? These poor horses live years & years in a standing stall with a urine collection attached to them 24/7. They have to be pregnant, but when the foal is born, that is considered a by-product. Premarin has been linked to heart disease & breast cancer along with a host of other bad things...gee, I can't imagine why. Does it seem illogical to anyone that people should not be ingesting the urine of another animals? Especially when there are so many natural & synthetic methods to help deal with the affects of menopause. I could not, in good conscience allow even 1 horse to suffer for my personal comfort, even if premarin didn't have so many awful side effects. I'm not judging others...this is my personal decision.
What blows my mind are the horse people that are in favor of horse slaughter. They're reasons always go back to the business side of it, though-money. The pro-slaughter side has even rationalized how slaughter is actually helpful to the horse. No, it's not-and it's not even helpful to the horse industry. The biggest thing I hear is how there's so many more abandoned horses since the ban was imposed in 2007...but if you read the articles above, you'll see how that's not true. And here's an article telling of slaughterhouses in Mexico who are abandoning horses:
Mystery Surrounding Abandoned Horses Finally Solved
That link also has a lot of info on what is happening to the wild mustangs (on property that is designated for them) by the BLM, who is being sued for their abuse to the wild horses & burros. It seems horses are being attacked in every area...which is amazing, seeing how over 70% of Americans are against horse slaughter & horse cruelty. I guess the 30% has a more vested interest, eh? Dollar signs-cha ching! Yes, I'm angry...I've always been one to stick up for the underdog & the voiceless-whether it be people or animals...and I'm not going to be quiet because this topic makes people feel uncomfortable...just imagine how uncomfortable the horse destined for the slaughter house is right now.
"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do." ~Edward Everet Hale~
He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.
Immanuel Kant
So sad...
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