Can anyone givbe me any reasons why horse slaughter should be banned?

Question

I am a 14 year old doing a speech on horse slaughter and i need reasons why YOU think horse slaughter is bad and why it should be banned in this country.

Answer 1

In this country, horses are companion animals, we do not raise them for meat. Could you imagine sending Fido off to be slaughtered so some rich guy in France could enjoy him for dinner? It's the same way with horses, people have emotional attachments to them. Since I don't have kids, my horse is like my son. I love him to death and I will do everything in my power to keep him safe and healthy. Horses have had a huge impact on our society. Some Native American tribes even believed horses were sacred, and anyone caught killing one would face the same punishment as someone who killed a fellow man. Until we target the irresponsible and "backyard" breeders in this country, we will continue to have an over population problem and slaughter will continue to be a sad part of the horse world.

Answer 2

Well, if a horse goes to an auction or is going to be sold, a person from the horse slaughter company is there trying to buy the horse at a low price, because they know that they can sell the horse to slaughter for more money. www.saveamericashorses.com is a good website to learn about slaughter. It should be banned because perfectly good and beautiful horses, healthy and young, are ending up on a dinner tray in places like France and Spain. It is animal cruelty! The horses get shocked in the head, and then hung by their legs, and.... it isn't a good sight. That is why there are a number of organizations trying to STOP horse slaughter, though there are only 3 slaughterhouses in this country, all foreignly owned.
I hope I helped you and Good Luck!

Answer 3

Horse slaugher is such a tough topic. There are plus's and negatives to this story. If there wasn't slaughter, there would be 100,000 of thousdands of unwanted horses that would just be a burden to our economy. An average horse costs about $2,000 a year to care for. That $2,000 being put into an unwanted horse, could very well go to the child at St. Judes. If we could get those huge TB and quarter horse farms, shut down, then we could shut down the slaughter houses. Those farms,each farm, breeds 100's of foals a year, then when they don't sell to people who will raise them and such, they are sold to slaughter to make room for next years incoming foals. It is morally wrong to think of horsemeat because horses now, are just like dogs and cats. They are pets and family, not just a mode of transportation. We now have cars for that and most horses are strictly an expendsive hobby. We definately have plenty of meat in America and most people in America don't eat horse meat. Horse meat is an export for the most part, we sell it to country's less fortuneate than we are. But it is now illegal to buy, sell, or transport horses intended for slaughter. Many people still do it, because the factories were not shut down, and they seldom get pulled over. The means of transportation for the horses are sorry as well. Many are injured and even killed on the way to the factory. They are cramped up in trailers like cattle, which is dangerous for horses because they panic eaiser and are touchier than cows, and kick out when their legs are touched, so often they kick eachothers knees out. I feel bad for the horses that go to slaughter, and I wish I could give them all a good home, but I can't and no one else can, so slaughter is better than them standing in a lot, starving, until they die. Slaughter is quick, and the horses don't suffer. The best anyone can do, is go to the auctions and save the life or a few, of a yearling that just didn't sell as well as his brothers and sisters, just because he didn't have the "bloodlines" or the color.
There is no bad color for a good horse.

Answer 4

Sorry, I can't give you a reason. I love horses but have to say that the knacker man does an excellent job. If an economical way to dispose of all the ill, unwanted, and unfortunate horses did not exist, there would be a great deal more suffering. I do, however, object to horses being transported over long distances to end up as meat. They should be transported on a hook, not the hoof. And I would support the regulation of the breeding of horses. There are far too many horses born with no future...

Answer 5

The sole reason that slaughter exists is because the foreign owned slaughter houses can buy horses on the cheap here and turn a huge profit overseas. There is no other reason. And the number of horses slaughtered has nothing to do with population. We have as many horses in the US now as we did fifty years ago, yet slaughter has decreased to the point that there are only 3 plants in operation here.

Some people may think that it's hypocritical to oppose slaughering horses when other animals are killed for food, but there is a definate difference between the two. Horses are not bred for food in the US. We raised them to be sport and companion animals. The horses we've seen killed are former race horses, carriage horses, horses from riding stables and summer camps and people's pets that just were unlucky enough to be sold at a cheap price. More than 90% of them are young and in good health, so it's not the old and broken down being killed.

And the process is cruel. First horses are loaded up into cattle trucks that have roofs too low for them to stand properly. Stallions are packed in with ponies, pregnant mares with geldings. They are tranported for days at a stretch, without food, water or rest. Often horses that fall are trampled by the others because they have no room to move. Horses are severely injured because they will kick at one another with no room for the other to get away. Mare that are pregnant will spontaniously abort their foals. And there have been cases where the upper level of the double-decker trailer will collapse from the weight of the horses loaded up top, crushing the ones beneath.

At the slaughterhouse, the process is no less inhumane. Unlike cattle and sheep, which we don't exactly breed to be alert and frisky, horses are very attuned to their surroundings. We breed them to know what is happening around them and to respond to it. What they see and smell are the horses going before them being killed.

In the kill box, the slaughterhouse tries to stun the horse first, but this is easier said than done. Unlike cattle with short necks, horses can whip their heads around very quickly (anyone who's tried to put a halter on a horse than wasn't in the mood can certainly understand this). Multiple blows are sometimes needed and even then, horses are often not stunned effectively. They are hoisted up by one back hoof and then have their throats cut to bleed them out.

The slaughter industry spent decades trying to hide the practice from the American public. They told the lie that the only horses killed were the old and broken down. They told the lie that slaughter was a humane alternative to veterinary euthenasia. They lied when they insisted that slaughter saves horses from abuse and abandonment. That lie falls flat when you consider that when California banned slaughter and the transport of horses for slaughter, their documented thieft and abuse cases decreased by 30%. Texas, which has 2 of the 3 remaining horse slaughterhouses in the US has one of the highest rates of equine thieft and abuse cases.

Many in the horse industry insist that slaughter is a necessary evil, that without "the buyer of last resort", there would not be enough homes for all of the horses bred every year (appox. 250,000 annually). Several breed organizations, such as the American Quarterhorse Association have come out against a slaughter ban in order to protect the profit margins for breeders, ignoring the problem in that too many horses are bred in the US. Instead of breeding only the exceptional, any horse that has won a single race or won a single ribbon at a show can be bred as a "champion" to as many mares as possible (or even through artificial insemination as the AQHA permits). End result... too many unexceptional foals that will end up at the slaughterhouse at some point in their lives. While some veterinary organizations oppose the ban because it could possibly lead to more abuse and abandonment cases (the thinking being that when slaughtered, at least the process is over in a few days whereas a horse left to starve could take months to die), most vets insist that slaughter is not an alternative to a horse being euthenized by a veternarian.

The solution to the issues that feed into slaughter are simple. Curtail breeding. Reschool and rehome horses that can no longer do the jobs they were originally trained for. Enforce humane laws so that abuse cases are properly investigated and prosecuted. And teach horse owners that part of responsible horse ownership is seeing to the humane end of life for their horses, not just dumping them at auction when they are no longer of use.

We do not kill our cats and dogs for human consumption even though we breed far too many of them because these are animals we regard as pets. It doesn't matter that other nations view them as a food animal. We don't eat horses in this country.

http://www.fund4horses.org/

Answer 6

Horse theft is the biggest reason. Before the slaughterhouses started up, very few horses were stolen. Now people steal them because it is quick money and once the horse is slaughtered, it's impossible to trace. If you want the amount of horses stolen (and believe me, it's a LOT!!!) go to www.netpossee.com website. They have the current amount that has been reported. I have heard of some reports of minature horses being stolen, but this went unreported to the police department or notification to them. Instead, it showed up on another website.

Answer 7

It's cruel and unusual! Horses are beautiful, wonderful creatures, and their humans really bond with them. I had a friend who had a horse since she was a little girl. When the horse died, she wore a necklace with the horse's name on it for YEARS! And that was after the horse died of natural causes, I believe. Imagine what she would have been like if her mom had said, "Honey, we have to put your horse down." She probably would never have forgiven her parents. Horses are like any other lovable pet, except that you can ride them. They are beautifu creatures that deserve to live as much as we do! I don't see news bulletins like: Wild horse kills five men in downtown Seattle! They are innocent creatures with big, understanding eyes that could melt Ebenezer Scrooge. Also, with all the technology today, it's stupid to say that once a horse is injured, he can't be helped. I understand years and years ago, when they broke their legs and they didn't have equipment to hold the horse up, or set the leg super fast, they would have to put them down- but even then, they could have rigged something to try to save it first! AAAArrrgh! It makes me SO ANgry! It's so wrong to kill them just to get rid of them. What's the point? If there are extra horses around, sell them cheaply to people who can't afford them. For example, the same girl whose horse died a few years ago is finally deciding to get a nwe one, but she's saving up all the money on her own. That's a lot of cash for a een without a job, but she's working hard. So, instead of killing these unwanted horses, sell them cheaply to people like her, who desperately want and love horses. I'm sure there's more than one girl out there who's in a similar situation! The horses will be loved and cared for until they die of old age.

Good luck with your speech, I hope you make everyone cry and want to do something about this!! If you do, you should set up a "save the horses" fund, to build, like, a huge shelter or something for them, where people can go and take care of them and maybe buy them. I'm talking like a 50,000 stall barn complex!

Answer 8

There are thousands of unwanted, unneeded horses that are sent to slaughter every year. Without this outlet, there would be thousands of neglected, abused and abandoned horses whose owners could not afford to care for them, and could not afford euthanasia and disposal of the remains (neither is cheap). Some of these horses can't even be given away because of health or behavioral problems. So as unpleasant as it sounds, without horse slaughter, a lot of horses would suffer. By the way, a lot of the "mustang herds" that live loose in various parts of the US include a lot of abandoned horses that owners didn't want any more. Unwanted horses usually get sold cheaper and cheaper, and sometimes they end up in dreadful homes and die of abuse or neglect. With the slaughter option, the owner makes a few bucks selling the horse, and that's a more attractive (and more humane) option than letting the horse starve to death for lack of funds, or die a terrible death for lack of veterinary care. It's not pretty, but it's better than some of the alternatives. The people who think they would never want to get rid of a horse, or that we should just set them all free when we are done with them, are foolish and naive- that would be like setting all the unwanted dogs and cats free to fend for themselves. Most would die. Many retired horses require more food and more care than working horses because of problems they have developed over the years. Lesson barns, race barns, etc, can't afford to care for these horses and still maintain their business, since the retired horses aren't generating any income. And most of us have limited space, and can only keep a limited number of horses, so the horses we have, have to earn their keep.

Some of the reasons people would like to ban it is that it seems as cruel as having dog or cat slaughterhouses, the meat is pretty much all shipped overseas, and there are serious humane issues in transport and slaughter. Horses have catastrophic injuries or fatal colics when they are crammed into trailers meant to ship cattle and driven for several days to a slaughterhouse, sometimes without food or water. It seems harder and more inhumane for horses, esp if they are used to having leg wraps, water stops, bedding, etc when they were transported during their working lives, than it does for cattle, who are generally not pets. The horses are killed with a Cash Knocker, which slams a piece of metal into their forehead. Done correctly, it renders them unconscious immediately. If the killer misses, horses end up with broken eye sockets, fractured skulls, etc- terribly painful injuries. They usually fall in the chute, and it can take along time to be able to get to and kill a horse who is painful and thrashing. The horse who is next to be killed is walked onto the slaughter floor, where he sees what happened to the horses who went before him, and that has to be truly terrifying for them. I think the biggest issue is the emotional one, esp from people who see horses as pets, not as a business. I think these issues need to be addressed, but I would NOT advocate banning horse slaughter.

Good Luck on your speech-- I hope having both sides of the argument helps. You might also look at AVMA.org (American Veterinary Medical ***'n); AQHA.org (American Quarter Horse ***'n)-both of whom are against the ban, and for a really radical approach, PETA, who is obviously against any type of slaughter, anywhere, any time. If you Google horse slaughter, a lot comes up, so check that out too. And remember: be confident, project, and make eye contact with your audience. Speak slowly, loudly, and clearly so everyone can hear you!

Answer 9

Like most animals horses are actually intelligent and thoughtful. They will remember you as a threat or a friend years later and we trust them with our lives by just being around them. One kick, buck or charge could kill us but do they choose to? No.
Horses deserve to live a long healthy life and I strongly disagree in killing a horse however if the horse is in untreatable pain it should be helped in a NICE way.

Answer 10

becuase a LOT of the chemicals we use on our horses (fly spray, dewormer, that pink ointment stuff, etc.) have warning lables on them that say to wash your hands right after use and that they arent' supposed to be used on horses intented for slaughter because they are poisenous(sp?) to humans.

Good luck with your speech.