Help stop the slaughter of horses

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RoseT

Guest
HAHA very funny TONY! and all the times I was nice to you when Jill wasn't! Things are going to change!:main_yes: You will have to go to Japan or somewhere to get that burger and please stay there for a looooooooooong time! lol
 
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misanthorpe

Guest
More info needed please.
What horses? Where are they? Where is it proposed that it be illegal to slaughter horses for food? And why is it more acceptable to slaughter millions of Holstiens for hamburger after they have given all they have to produce calves and milk? Ever seen a little pig? They are darn cute. And, pigs are smarter than horses. What does the pork eating public know about the conditions pigs are born and raised into? It isn't half as pretty or poetic as grass pasture. Before anyone decides I deserve to be slammed as a horse hater, get a grip. I love horses. But, why should it be "illegal" to kill them to eat them? Crap, we kill millions of animals every day just to eat them. What do you propose be done about those people who eat dogs? One horse is a lot of protein. Is it more "proper" to bury all that protein in a pit in the ground? Why?
 
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Intense Herpetoculture

Guest
Another ridiculous law to deal with in Texas, yah! How about, let's just let PETA help make all the future laws in regards to animals down here.
 
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RoseT

Guest
:p No thanks.. I hate PETA..lol and im soooo glad the bill got passed.
 
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kristi

Guest
Horse meat is exported primarily to Europe (mostly France) and other third world countries. It is lower in calories and higher in protein and iron than beef. I'm not saying that I am going to start eating horse meat, because I'm not (well, I would if I was hungry enough). But just because it's taboo in our own country doesn't mean its taboo in other countries. It's actually considered a delicacy just like veal, etc. We see horses as companion animals. It's just another food source in my opinion. If it helps feed a hungry person, go for it.
 
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sportbike_rob

Guest
my theory....if it tastes good i eat it. people say chinese food is cat and dog and what not, but hey if they can make old "sparky" taste that good than i will enjoy it. for millions of years we have killed animals for food, its just the nature of humans.....loins kill zebras for food.......its not wrong, people forget we are animals too. we are nothing more than bi-pedal, hairless monkeys that talk, and are smart. if the species is endangered of becoming extinct, then i wouldnt eat it no matter how good it is, but if there are plenty to go around.....then serve it up.
 
OSUgecko

OSUgecko

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Think about this before you start endorsing it. What are people going to do with horses that are not "good enough" to use anymore? If you've got horses with chronic health problems that aren't rideable anymore, no one is going to buy them (except for a handful of people that will have their hands full trying to cope with numbers - you can only keep so many horses around).

So what do you do with the horses? A lot of people will probably stick them out in their pastures, and may or may not properly care for them. Why would they spend money in vet bills if the horse does nothing productive for them? (Just speaking hypothetically here, we all know that there are people like that out there).

Or they might just put them down. They've outlived their usefulness, many of them are in severe pain (navicular disease, for example) and could potentially cost their owners thousands of dollars in food and vet bills before they die of natural causes.

This is such a waste of meat, and the only reason people are supporting this is because they've elevated the horse to the "companion animal" level. Well, in my opinion that is only a matter of opinion. I love horses and I understand that many people have an emotional attachment to them, but you can't let your emotions override your logic. Not everyone has a stigma about eating horse and the proponents of this bill are not thinking about the incredible waste of resources that this is promoting.

Again, the only reason people are doing this is because its a HORSE. If it was a cow or pig a lot of people wouldn't have a problem with it. I think that's because the proponents play with their horses, and get their hamburgers in a bun or their porkchops on a meat tray already sliced and cut. There's no emotional attachment to the dead cow/pig because they are removed from the reality of the slaughter. I tamed in a dairy calf once and it got to be a lot friendlier than many horses that I know. It probably ended up in a Big Mac. But you know what? It hasn't stopped me from eating beef!

I think that a removal from reality is a poor excuse for throwing perfectly good meat in a hole in the ground so that the maggots can enjoy it. It WILL get eaten by something, so why not let people eat it?
 
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StinaKSU

Guest
I simply can't support the bills to ban horse slaughter.....unfortunately the VAST majority of horses brought to slaughter are horses that would otherwise end up neglected and/or abused...they aren't bred specifically for slaughter, they are brought there because they are no longer wanted. There hasn't been ANY proposal to deal with the huge number of unwanted horses that would otherwise be sent to slaughter. Honestly I don't even see any big deal in slaughtering them...if they're going to end up euthanized anyway what difference does it make to them what happens to their bodies after they die?...why waste the entire animal? I am a horse lover...they've always by far been my favorite animals...and I'm considering going into equine medicine...but really, and as I said...these horses aren't being bred to go to slaughter, they are unwanted animals and many of them would/will end up abused and neglected if the law goes into effect.
 
Scott&Nikki

Scott&Nikki

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misanthorpe said:
More info needed please.
What horses? Where are they? Where is it proposed that it be illegal to slaughter horses for food? And why is it more acceptable to slaughter millions of Holstiens for hamburger after they have given all they have to produce calves and milk? Ever seen a little pig? They are darn cute. And, pigs are smarter than horses. What does the pork eating public know about the conditions pigs are born and raised into? It isn't half as pretty or poetic as grass pasture. Before anyone decides I deserve to be slammed as a horse hater, get a grip. I love horses. But, why should it be "illegal" to kill them to eat them? Crap, we kill millions of animals every day just to eat them. What do you propose be done about those people who eat dogs? One horse is a lot of protein. Is it more "proper" to bury all that protein in a pit in the ground? Why?
Click to expand...

Thats what made me become a vegetarian about a year ago. We watched a video on factory farms and all that, and that did it for me.

There is a horse slaughtering plant in the city I live in. I hate it, don't even know where it is, but I would rather keep it that way.
 
OSUgecko

OSUgecko

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There's no way on earth I would ever become a vegetarian; I like my meat too much. However, I know that there are a lot of people out there who successfully manage that diet (although it is very difficult to have a balanced vegan diet). Just as I would not impose my choice to eat meat on someone who was a vegan, I don't think that vegans should be able to judge other people for eating meat. That includes eating cows, pigs, sheep, AND horses.

Another thing, while I don't like many trends in the animal science industry (a lot of areas are become VERY "production-only" oriented in an attempt to make more money), don't knock the entire industry. A lot of animal producers are very caring and concerned about their animals, and give them a high quality of life.

Even the animals that are intensively managed are usually given the only the best food, water, and shelter, as much as they could ever need or want. All that is asked of them is that they eat, sleep, and breed. That's a pretty plush life, especially when you compare it to that of a wild animal. How many animals who live "natural lives" starve to death every year? That's not very "poetic" either.

As Christina said, horses that go to slaughter are horses that no one wants. That said, slaughter horses are not raised in intensive management. Most of them are pastured, and most of them are relatively well cared for up to the point of slaughter. I don't think that this should even be so much of an issue with horses as some people would have with pigs, for example.

As I understand it, a horse killed for slaughter never knows what hits it... death is instantaneous. Therefore, the only thing that people are having problems with here is the fact that the horses are eaten after being killed. But the horse is not going to care. Again, I simply think that this is a waste of quality meat that could be used for human nutrition.
 
Scott&Nikki

Scott&Nikki

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OSUgecko said:
There's no way on earth I would ever become a vegetarian; I like my meat too much. However, I know that there are a lot of people out there who successfully manage that diet (although it is very difficult to have a balanced vegan diet). Just as I would not impose my choice to eat meat on someone who was a vegan, I don't think that vegans should be able to judge other people for eating meat. That includes eating cows, pigs, sheep, AND horses.

Another thing, while I don't like many trends in the animal science industry (a lot of areas are become VERY "production-only" oriented in an attempt to make more money), don't knock the entire industry. A lot of animal producers are very caring and concerned about their animals, and give them a high quality of life.

Even the animals that are intensively managed are usually given the only the best food, water, and shelter, as much as they could ever need or want. All that is asked of them is that they eat, sleep, and breed. That's a pretty plush life, especially when you compare it to that of a wild animal. How many animals who live "natural lives" starve to death every year? That's not very "poetic" either.

As Christina said, horses that go to slaughter are horses that no one wants. That said, slaughter horses are not raised in intensive management. Most of them are pastured, and most of them are relatively well cared for up to the point of slaughter. I don't think that this should even be so much of an issue with horses as some people would have with pigs, for example.

As I understand it, a horse killed for slaughter never knows what hits it... death is instantaneous. Therefore, the only thing that people are having problems with here is the fact that the horses are eaten after being killed. But the horse is not going to care. Again, I simply think that this is a waste of quality meat that could be used for human nutrition.
Click to expand...

I deffinately see your point and I do not try to impose my vegetarian ways onto anyone. However, after my research, I have found that a lot of what you just said about giving "high quality food and water" and living "plush lives" is extremely rare. If you can look past the de-beaking, castration, tail snipping, teeth pulling, forced molting, etc with no anesthetic, it is possible you can argue that a select few animals are then raised humanely. With that being said, I have seen a source that considers many acts humane that I think are plain cruel. They claim (with their loose deffintion of "humane") that 85% of animals in the food industry are raised inhumanely. That 85% is considering that vegetarian animals turning cannibalistic is "normal".

IF (and that is a big if) these horses being slaughtered are actually living normal lives and killed instantaniously, I personally would be ok with it. But when they say the same about cows, pigs, etc and it doesn't happen, it just makes me wonder.
 
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