Lifting the US Ban on Horse Slaughter
Dignity and Nobility Again
The slaughter of horses was halted in 2007 in the US by some well meaning people who loved the horse without really understanding the horse or the industry,… like loving elephants but not realizing you cant keep one in your back yard.
The slaughter market has historically established the base price for the equine industry and with that market option gone, the industry collapsed and the horse suffered. following the ban, horses became of soo little value that the once proud horseman couldn’t feed them and he couldn’t sell them because the shipping charges to the auction house were higher than the money he might receive for all 40 head.
So they were turned out onto the back 120 acres to fend for themselves,… or all but given away to neighbors who claimed they could take care of them. The market was suddenly flooded with cheap horses for those who have always wanted one but had never cared for anything larger than the family dog.
then came the news stories,… starving, pitiful, foundered animals,… America is outraged. Then the secondary outrage. Those who rescued a horse suddenly found themselves adopting 5, 10 or 20 more because the need was so great,… but so were the expenses. Soon the kind hearted fellow with 20 acres was the next news story that outraged America,… with 30+ head of horses starving to death on dry lot pasture, and the tearful wife pleading to the news camera that she couldn’t turn them away but was she going bankrupt trying to care for them.
Finally the Humane Society of the United States had to admit that the slaughter ban had failed. Not only were news stories of starving horses playing out in prime time, but thousands of US jobs had been lost to Mexico, where no such ban existed.
But far more heart breaking was the realization that horses were STILL destined for slaughter,… in Mexico. Bought and packaged in lots of 50-100 or more by brokers and shipped by rail south of the border, they were being killed without HSUS oversight. Buyers would pay mere pennies per pound for not just the flawed or aged horse, but for beautiful healthy animals that would balance the weight loss during shipping for the whole lot. standing for hours and days at a time in train cars, without food or water for the entire journey, they were being hustled through chutes to their demise, presided over by other people in other jobs, in other facilities… facilities that I promise you have not one tenth of the reverence and compassion of those in the US.
Finally the ban on horse slaughter has been lifted. Now we learn that an equine processing operation will be opening up soon in the old Rockville facility, and will bring 40+ new jobs back to a hard hit community. HOORAY! The facility will be clean and compassionate and our people will be making their house payments and supporting their families.
Not only will we receive good paying jobs that will bolster our economy and restore our regional pride, but the noble horse will have a market value again, a position of dignity and respect that he once occupied will be restored to him. He will be treated as the valuable and noble creature that he is,… and maybe we will get some of our own value and nobility back in the process.
your input is desired
this is my letter to the editor of our local paper,... the arrival of the new equine slaughter facility has caused an dust up in our community,... this was my explanation to the people,... let me know what you think. this hub will not be up for ever,.. i will delete it after i publish it in the local paper.
feel free to chime in the comments section