Share itI absolutely understand that this is a touchy subject. No one wants to imagine horses being slaughtered, they have a very gentle nature and are considered one of man’s closest friends along with dogs. It is very unfortunate, however as you said above @JordanBosstick, the horses will be slaughtered in Mexico in a much less humane fashion. I think that we should try to find homes for these horses first, however if there are no other options we should probably have them slaughtered rather than starved. I do not think we should eat them though, like you said we have no idea what kind of drugs or steroids these horses are given when they are sick, and I do not trust our government to create safe consumption standards. Horse meat has already found its way into the United States and although those companies were forced to pull the food from the shelves, many people could have consumed that “food.” I agree we need to raise awareness for this cause. Raising awareness will help not only raise money for the cause and save horses or help create rescue centers, it could also educate people about the true costs of horses and encourage them to be financially stable before people accept the responsibility of taking care of a horse or horses. HERE is a great charity that helps save horses: http://www.savethehorses.org
Subscribe to RSS
Do You Think Its Okay To Slaughter Horses For Their Meat in the United States?
This issue is very near and dear to my heart. I’ve spent most of my life with horses. I grew up taking care of them, riding them, and learning about their nature and individual personalities.
The United States Department of Agriculture is starting to issue permits to companies such as Valley Meat Co, to slaughter horses for their mean in the United States. The first permit has been issued to Valley Meat Co in Roswell New Mexico after the company sued government officials for not issuing permits to them. At least 6 other horse slaughter facilities could be issued permits to begin slaughtering horses this month (July, 2013). The last horse slaughter facility closed about six years ago in the United States when Congress banned funding for inspections of all horse meat slaughter houses. The ban has lapsed and the USDA issued a statement saying these permits are now in compliance with the law and they will issue them until Congress acts.
Valley Meat Co claims they will not sell the horse meat for consumption in the United States, they claim to sell the meat to countries abroad, specifically Europe, until a market for horse meat consumption forms in the US. However if you don’t remember, large companies such as IKEA, Nestle, and TESCO recently had to pull products from their shelves for containing horse meat.
I understand that we have an over population of horses in the United States. Horses and other animals are shipped to Mexico and Canada when slaughtering them in the United States is illegal. Foreign methods of slaughtering horses is often more cruel to the animals. So I am proposing we find ways to save these horses, while also not allowing horses to be slaughtered for their meat in the United States. I fear that horses will start to be farmed specifically for their meat. We already have a society that does not know the contents of their food. These horses being slaughtered for meat are often diseased and have been injected with different drugs and steroids before they will be slaughtered for food. I think we need to bring more awareness to this issue and start raising money to save horses that have been abandoned.
I want to know what everyone thinks about this, and if you know any other ways to help, or if you would be willing to join me in the fight against the slaughter of horses in the United States.
Here is some more information about this topic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/business/usda-may-approve-horse-slaughter-plant.html?_r=0
Living in an area where people are routinely abandoning horses to the desert wilderness, putting them in the pastures of vacant homes, or just letting them starve on their own property, I find it far more human to slaughter them.
This concept of ‘finding them homes’ is not very realistic… I see how badly it works here.
You could make the exact same argument about any slaughterhouse or any animal being slaughtered. Providing meat for the world is a dirty process. I feel like your love of horses is affecting your opinion. Someone in Walla Walla Washington could claim a close personal connection to cows, but I doubt you’d join the fight to ban Cow Slaughter in the US.
@Skip I actually agree with you. My love of horses is definitely affecting my opinion. This is just very, very close to my heart. I think of the horses I’ve known over my life and I would die if any of them had to die this way. If it is a last resort, I would rather have them slaughtered in the most humane way possible, but I would like to make sure we do everything we can before we use slaughtering as a last result. I fear that we will begin to farm horses specifically for their meat if it becomes prosperous. I am 100% against farming horses for their meat. The Valley Meat Co spokesperson said these animals are slaughtered mostly because they are diseased and abandoned. I am against people eating horses that are slaughtered because they are diseased. And yes, you can make an argument against all slaughtering with the position I am taking. But we aren’t farming dogs for their meat to eat them. This issue is really forcing me to struggle with how I feel about the meat industry. If you are going to make the argument that its either all or nothing, and that no species of animals are off limits, than I would probably be against the consumption of any animals. I may be giving an emotional argument here but I feel like dogs and horses are off limits.
I definitely understand where you’re coming from. It’s not pretty. It’s all societal too. If we were in India, Dogs and cows are pretty much reversed, but the argument is exactly the same. I love dogs! But i’m not going to fight if someone wants to start a slaughterhouse for them, especially if they’re saving them from a worse plight. I just can’t elevate any animal above another in these discussions. God put them all here for humans to enjoy. In America we enjoy riding horses, in some countries they enjoy eating them. Enjoy your horses though, they’ll be safe. 
My opinion sides with Jordan; I can’t get my emotions away from this one.
I recently became a huge advocate of pet adoption(especially dogs,cats and horses) after visiting various animal shelters in Florida and in California.
Upon these visits I came to the conclusion that awareness must be raised on not only the issue of slaughtering abandoned pets… But also the issue of adopting pets before paying thousands for them.
I side with Jordan as well.
Slaughter houses are awful, disgusting and cruel. And I am to the point of giving up meat even though I love a good steak.
I am biased. I love horses.
if I could, I would just ban ALL inhumane slaughter
why give permits to companies that slaughter any animal if it has been injected with steroids or drugs, or if it is diseased due to poor living conditions/other abuses? what do you think they do to cows?
not to mention, that sort of conduct really impacts the quality of the meat
You guys don’t have anything to worry about. The market for horses as food will never pick up. It’s been a longstanding tradition in some European countries (Italy, in my experience). However horse meat isn’t very tasty, so I don’t think you should have anything to worry about it mainstreaming in the U.S.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
