Do you think Horse Slaughter is inhumane?

Question

I say yes, it is very inhumane. I do know that this is a very biased topic, but it doesn't mean that it isn't any less important to me. I'd just like to know how many other people out there are against it, and don't just say you are, say WHY. I want to really know how you feel about this. Be MATURE in how you answer this, and please refrain from using chatspeak.

Answer 1

Yes,it is very inhumane.There is currently legislation to make this illegal in the US.Horses are slaughtered in the same matter as cows and this causes all kinds of problems.They are hit several times with a cap-bolt gun which is not designed to kill them,but knock them out.The bolt is not long enough to accomplish this. Many time horse are hung up and bled out while still alive and kicking.I have seen some videos of this and it is very sobering.A lot of people think only old ,sick or lame horses go for meat.This is simply false and is pro slaughter propaganda.I am at the kill pends at auctions all the time and all the horses there are fat and sound and the ones I have rescued from being slaughtered have gone on to become excellent show horses.
For those who want more info on this subject and how horse slaughter is NOT needed please visit the following sites.-Nicole

http://www.marynash.org/
http://www.hoofpac.com/
http://www.savethehorses.com/
http://www.ahdf.org/
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/equine_protection/get_the_facts_on_horse_slaughter.html
Or do a search for horse slaughter

Answer 2

I dont think slaughtering horses is inhumane. I think rounding up wild mustangs because there is no pasture left for them and selling them to people is inhumane.

I think banning horse slaughter, which would lower the price of horses even more, is inhumane because most of the time when something is cheap people dont take care of it properly.

I do own a horse, but Im not against eating them either. I actually have had cows I have liked better then some of the horses I have owned and I have sold the horses for slaughter and I have eaten my cows.

What may need to change in some areas is how animals are transported to slaughter, not just horses but cows, ect, and how they are actually treated at the slaughter house.

Answer 3

i think horse slaughter is an significant evil. The worst element that we did replaced into to restrict it in the U.S. a minimum of we would have monitored it, and stuck the failings that had to be fastened. Now, all we did replaced into to make those horses commute 3 cases as far. In Canada and Mexico they do no longer have the regulations that we had in the U.S. seem at some video clips on how they kill them in Mexico. terrible!. do not get me incorrect there replaced right into a lot to be fastened in the U.S. flowers. in the adventure that they might have idea with there heads somewhat of there hearts there will be a lot a lot less horses suffering. Horse slaughter won't ever end all we are able to do is make it less demanding for the horses, which we cant do at the same time as they're going to Canada and Mexico. I stay down the line from a guy who ships horses to Canada, there are better semis going out of there now better then ever. I also believe that the blame is often positioned on the incorrect human beings. it really isn't any longer the "killer" customers fault that we which ability, the united statesare breeding a majority of those horses and not taking propper care of those we already have. thousands of horses are being shipped a week, were are they coming from?

Answer 4

I agree with you! Horses are treated terribly, you can look it up online, but I won't post it, it is very gory. The only humane way to put a horse down is when it would die naturally anyways and it is in pain. Then it should be done by a vet, with an injection. (the same goes for dogs, cats, goats, donkeys, etc.)

People say cows, chickens, etc. are slaughtered too. They are, and this is also wrong. Yes, we need them for food, but they should not be kept in large enough numbers that they are trampled and become mutated from inbreeding. Nothing should have to suffer like that.

The difference between horses and other animals? I don't know ANYONE who would eat horse. So these animals are killed without reason. That is what makes it so inhumane.

Answer 5

Yes this is very inhumane. Whether they are going to a glue, dog food, or a resturant. Some places don't even kill them humanely. And some of them suffer a lot. And no one has the right to end a life that is not their own. Especially when there is nothing wrong with the horse or animal. Shelters will take them in. And if it is because they are too old or not useful any more, it is still wrong. There are people that will gladly take them in. No one should be allowed to do this it is morally wrong.

Answer 6

Personally, I think it is disgusting and very inhumane.

I am a big horse person. Just the thought of innocent equines being killed to make the very glue a kindergartener is using to make a cute little gift for his mother makes me want to vomit.

One needs to think of the animals, not only horses, but all of the species of animals being killed for their pelts, tusks, meat, or God knows what else. Imagine if people were hunted down for our hair or meat daily! Would you want to endure such torture and fear? I sure wouldn't.

The world has become quite a disgusting place with all the slaughter of the innocent beasts. It makes sense if the animal is mere inches from death, but to take the life of a strong, healthy animal with a wonderful future ahead is just wrong.

Back to horses--
I happen to own two grade Quarter Horses. (Which means that they are unregistered). Many people believe that the grade horses are best for slaughter rather than the registered ones. There is a stereotype that grade horses can't rake in as much money or do as well at shows as a registered horse can. That's untrue in some respects. I'm not saying that grade horses OR registered horses are great for slaughter, but I think it's unfair and wrong that most people sell their strong, healthy grade horses to be starved and slaughtered rather than dropping some money to have them trained and broke. Some people don't know what they are really doing.

I think that we need to really cut down on the amount of slaughter in our world. The majority of the slaughtered animals could have a long, healthy life as a pet of someone's rather than hitting the slaughterhouse.

*~Bri~*

Answer 7

I sense from the wording of this question that you only want to hear from those on agreement. However, I do not think slaughter in inhumane. Death is death whether the final result is for burial or reprocessing. I will get on board with the fact that the methods of transport, housing and handling are inhumane. It's what happens to the animal during it's life not after it's death that matters.

Slaughter is a tough issue. I would love to be against it. However the realities of the overproduction of foals and the lack of options for people in over their heads with horses force my opinion. There are horses that are dangerous, unsuitable, lame, etc. to be of use. If you put them down the result, to the horse is the same. (Again, assuming there needs to be major reform in the related industries) Consider for a moment, all of the people who are involved with the campaigns to deal with the overpopulation of cats and dogs, animals that have a minimum housing requirement of a few square feet. Horses are livestock by design, pets by emotion. For every person that loves their horses as a member of their family(myself), there is someone that views them as a commodity. There is no humane society to take them to, most rescues are stuffed to the gills, and depending on the horse, good luck even trying to give one away. They are simply big, hungry animals for whom care requires a great deal of knowledge, experience and money.

Answer 8

No. There are worse fates than death. There are too many unanswered questions about the disposal of the 50-100,000 (depending on what statistic one believes) bodies pumped full of life ending chemicals - no one knows what that will do to water supplies. There are - in a study by CO State some time ago - documentations tracking what horses arrived at slaughter plants - the majority were unregistered quarter horse type horses mature with no training or behavioral issues. A few were injured. There are many who fall through the cracks - someone can't afford to keep a horse and after months of looking no one wants him so he goes to auction to the highest bidder. Sometimes that's a killer buyer.
I *don't* agree with the way many are transported.

Do I LIKE it? No. Would I eat a US horse? No - not because of the issue but because there are too many things we use in our horses that are labelled "not for use in food animals".
There's too many horses being mishandled that sends them down the path to a kill plant. There's too many producing foals (not BREEDING) with no papers and no plan for using them just to have a foal then they don't train the foal so he has no future.
The irresponsible people will not become responsible. When you have a limited amount of time to move a horse and no way to do so there's limited options. It sucks...but life isn't perfect. There's too many 2 generation grade horses being bred just to have a foal. Paints bred to apps with no hope of registering the baby and no *breeding* involved - meaning a specific plan what to do with the foal other than the paint mare was available.
One can buy a foal less than breeding one. Actually scratch that - one can buy a broke 4 year old to show less than the cost of breeding, raising, training, caring for etc it from conception to 4 years old. The horses that don't cut it in one area and have no options to do something else what to do with them? Turn them loose? (and how many starve to death when that happens - and it will).
The question is phrased that no one dare disagree - but there's two sides to every issue. There's resports in CA of horses being tied and abandoned at "humane society" dog kennels...now how good is that for the horse? :-( There's unsound, sorry looking yearlings coming through almost very auction - that are young but unregistered, conformation that indicates it'll never stay sound enough to ride. People don't THINK long term. And when the kill pens fill they blame TBs and purebred breeders. There's some of those but anything with value to do something else will have a home - it'll go beyond what killer buyers will pay. What about the many others. People say send them to rescues but the fact is many rescues are overloaded now...could they stand another 1,000-2,000 head in each state? Probably not. Not in addition to what is already there.

Answer 9

ok. some of the ways shown at animal rights websites are inhumane. BUT-- you have to ask yourself, is this normal day to day activity or was it a bad day? think- if you go into a resaurant on a bad day, you may have someone sneeze into the hamburgers 20 times per hour or not wash their hands between register and food. BUT-- if you go in on a good day, the employees may do everything above the health code standards. those people that shoot the horses in the head multiple times may themselves be sick or may have just been divorced and be off track or something.

as for what horses are slaughtered- in my opinion, the only people who know what horses get slaughtered are the ones who buy them. we cannot say they slaughter only perfectly good horses. the horses kept in the yard or on the trailer may have an underlying medical problem like a brith defect where they cant poop or something, or they may have an unseen behavioral problem like they hate all humans and went to auction because of that. there may have been dozens of trainers working on that horse before it went to auction, you never know. people who really care about selling their horses to nice caring homes do not take their horses to auction. unless they are unruly or not a benefit to humans i.e. does not do well with humans or other horses or in pasture etc etc.
there are just too many variables for me to wanna say "END HORSE SLAUGHTER". heres a scenario:
i have an old mare, bessy. She gave birth to a foal last month, and has since tried to murder the foal, and she ripped inside and out from the birth. bessy has been kapt in a stall because she cannot handle a herd, worked twice a day, unless she gets too tired, and fed very nutritious food. now, she is lame. i also just lost my husband and had a house fire. the fire caught onto the grass in the pasture and killed every single one of my horses, except bessy. where can i go? ive tried all the shelters in the 5 state area, and theyre all full, and i cant transport any further. i cant afford euthanasia because i dont even have a home! i lost everything!!! dallas is the only option left.

i know, its overdone but still, you get the point: too many variables.

i love horses, and i own one, but sometimes, people wanna do somethin, and theyre gonna do it. think about all the horses that are wild and untrainable, and all the foals birthed for PMU. which helps humans.

this is the life we live people, get used to it. we slaughter cows for food... and much more inhumanely too... we slaughter little lambs and other things. in asia, they slaughter dogs to eat. people there own dogs as pets, and they dont seem to raise a big fuss.
americans do things in excess. we raise herds and realize were in over our heads and sell the herd at auction, where they go to slaughter. we use animals for drugs, but dont need the animal anymore, so it goes to slaughter. were crazy!!

Answer 10

Yes I am against it. The killing part, if done quickly and humanely, isn't the worse part. It's what the poor horses go through before the killing. Crammed into trucks meant for shorter animals, going for days with no food or water, being injured in the process and just left.....the list goes on. To make matters worse is that the price of horse meat is high, so many beloved pets are being stolen. It's really a shame when such a proud and regal animal has to go through such cruelty.