what do you guys think r the pros and cons 4 MN closing all slaughter houses 4 horses?

Question

as i assume that most of you are aware that all mn slaughter houses have been closed down for the purpose of most people are going , buying horses and slaughtering them for many cruel reasons.

my pros and cons are
pros- horses can not be baught for slaughter any more.
cons- as for the other horse that truly need them, because they are sick is truly unfair because the farmer now only has the choice of putting it to sleep and hireing a rendering company (which would b to much money.), leaving their horse to suffer and die on its own (way to painful!) or shooting it! (which is way to cruel!)
i say that they should open a few in each state that can humainely slaughter them by recomadition of a vet. this way it is fair for the horse and owner.

so my q is,
what are your guys pros and cons on them closing all slaughter houses 4 horses?

i think that it is ttly wrong that people would buy horses just to slaughter them!

what i mean is that it would be a bit more humaine and less expensive for the farmer. i did not mean to eat.

i think that i have educated myself well enough to understand that it is a good and bad thing.

Answer 1

I see no pros for closing the slaughter houses either in terms of equines benefiting or the workers for that matter.
The country has been in a drought all year and this winter promises to be quite brutal. That combined with the hay shortages and high prices and the already out of control horse population, closing more plants is a humane disaster waiting to happen. When the already over burdened and over stressed rescue centers are faced with high feed and high prices, how can they reasonably be expected to take on more horses? If some responsible horse owners are already considering giving their horses away because of the economic situation, what hope is there for finding suitable homes for horses previously destined for the slaughter house? It's a ridiculous situation and those people that campaigned for the closings and pat themselves on the back so proudly for their achievement should start thinking about putting their hands in their pockets and helping out - perhaps buy their local rescue a ton of hay. Of course, that won't happen because they have no idea of the implications of what they have done and have already moved on to their next political campaign!

Answer 2

Personally I agree with Lisa and Sasha. And Kristin, have you ever seen a horse put down "humanely" by a vet? It is not "float way peacefully" like a dog or cat. They do not just go to sleep. Their muscles contract and they thrash about for several minutes after the injection. It is not a pretty sight. As for $400 to put one down. You forgot to mention the cost of having one hauled away to a rendering plant, since you cannot bury them most places anymore. And right now in Florida, horse are being turned loose in the swamps for the gators, since the owners can not longer afford the upkeep. Do you not think that these horses are not dying alone and terrified? What have you done to ease to overpopulation? Donated? Rescued? Tried educating people on the reasons not to overbreed? Be part of the solution. not pat yourself on the back for thinking that the "torture" has stopped. It has just taken on a new form.

Let me add this: Maybe if the horse owners were required to haul their own horses to slaughter, show proof of at least 6 months ownership, and require the houses to keep on file a photo and description or a copy of the papers of each horse and a photo ID of the seller on file for a minimum of a year. This would eliminate the killer buyer and having horses shipped on cattle trucks. This could also help with horses that are stolen. Just a thought

Answer 3

Lisa, I agree that you are right about the drought- where I am, it is VERY DRY, and it has been so all summer. Talk about global warming and climate change- I have been living with its effects almost all year !!! Your point about there not being enough hay to go around is well taken, because I know from personal experience( we have had trouble getting hay ourselves this year) that this is all too often the case with rescue organizations. Slaughterhouses WERE inhumane, yes, and I hate them as much as the next person, but I ALSO recognize that they are necessary evils of modern life and society. Now that horse slaughter is ILLEGAL nationwide here in the US, it's not going to be long before we start to see a huge backlash from it. There are already problems in the racing industry because there is currently no place for all the overbred, inbred, often injured and crazy ex-racehorses to go anymore. These are the animals which would previously have been sold for meat, but with the ban on slaughter, they can't be. Putting all these animals down is NOT an option- that would cost far too much, and then there are the logistical problems associated with trying dispose of so many carcasses at one time. As for the plants in MN, I wasn't aware that there WERE any slaughterhouses there. As far as I know, the only remaining ones in operation were in IL, or in Texas, and those have been shut down for some time now. The Texas ones have been trying to get permits to reopen on a limited basis, but so far they have been out of luck. As a result, horses are now being sent to places like Canada and Mexico, where the laws which govern slaughter are even worse than what they were here.

BTW, the great majority of pleasure and competition horses in this country are NOT owned by farmers- they are owned by working professionals who have jobs, are married, and have families and lives outside of the industry. These are the people who are the most likely to be affected by the slaughter ban, because they can no longer dispose of horses which are too old, ill, lame or mentally deranged to work any more. It also means that with the ban, these people must pay the costs of euthanasia and disposal when a horse cannot be kept alive anymore. Some can't afford it- and the only alternative left to them, as Lisa and Sasha mentioned, is often to abandon the animals to their fate. This is hardly an example of a humane way to destroy a horse. If there really are slaughter houses left in MN, work to keep them open- and make them more humane !!! Do away with the bolt guns in current use at these places- that is outdated technology which desperately needs replacing. There are better ways to put animals down which don't taint the meat. Educate the inspectors and slaughterhouse workers about normal horse and animal behavior, so that they will be able to handle the horses in a more humane manner. Stop the cruel practice of separating mares from their foals, and keep animals waiting their turns OUT of the immediate area of the kill pens. If the slaughterhouses would clean up their act, people might be more willing to tolerate their existance without so much fuss. Transport animals humanely- they don't need to be crammed into trucks so tightly that they can't move or breathe. Would YOU want that to happen to your horse? If you say no, imagine how THEY feel. There are lots of ways that the slaughterhouses could become more humane- it's just that no one wants to make the effort to make them so. Enough said.

Answer 4

I don't think this has one bit to do with "keeping the horse market high". That's not the issue, nor are people who are too poor to take care of their horses. My main beef is the way horses are being slaughtered now that the US is no longer operating any plants. Foreign plants do not use a big metal spike through the horse's head to stun and kill them like the US did (yes, that sounds bad and it is, but it's a lot nicer than bleeding the horse to death with a machete.) Bottom line is, it's got to be done because there's a demand, and all the bleeding hearts in the world won't curb people's appetites/needs for horse products. The US killed horses in a much less cruel manner than the foregin plants are now doing. I just don't understand why no one thought of this consequence BEFORE the bill was passed. Duh. An example of very well-meaning horse lovers that simply weren't informed beyond the idea that the term "horse slaughter" sure sounds nasty to them and why, of course we ought to stop killing our pretty pets! Ignorance is not bliss...

Answer 5

I have no time for ignorant people who will send their old or lame horse to a slaughterhouse. I am sorry, but I have had to have two horses put down, one had a bad accident in the pasture due to my neighbors carelessness, and the other was a rescue who I just couldnt save. BOTH of these horse were humanely euthanized by a veterinarian and it cost less than it does to have your dog euthanized. I paid less than 50 for one and 60 for the other to be put down , and then I hired a backhoe to come dig a hole and we buried them right there in the upper part of the pasture where the horses didnt graze. I am sorry, but thats how I treat the horses I love. Its not that expensive to do it the right way, and I can sleep at night, too.
The other thing, do you know what percentage of horses that go to slaughter are TBs? Racehorses who didnt win and make lots of money? (1,000s of these TBs are taken by the truckload to slaughter everyday) Or showhorses who turned up lame and didnt win anymore? Horses who for whatever reason, just didnt make a buck anymore for their owners, seem to be the ones who end up in the slaughterhouses the most, or horses who had the nerve to get too old to ride, or had the nerve to require food and vet care and other expensive things.... It makes me sick! All of these problems are a direct result of our society's greed. When we stop betting on racing, and stop making money for the racehorse owners, maybe they will stop producing so many horses that end up dead because they arent the best. And thats just a drop in the bucket! Thats only a start. But its a pipedream, cuz it will never happen...........sadly enough, it's human nature to exploit animals and even each other, for profit of some kind.
For what its worth, I visited several slaughter houses with a group from my area and they are not humane. They want you to think they are, but lets face it, they are in it for the money, they need to get it done quickly, and the last thing they care about is the horses "feelings"- or yours. They do the bare minimum just to keep us horselovers' mouths shut. That is a fact. I dont think we will ever NOT need the slaughterhouses, in reality, we do need them. But they need to be monitored more closely and the standards need to be higher, and the laws need to be enforced. End of story.
One more thing...what somebody said earlier too, is true. What we wont do here in the states can get done elsewhere. I think that all horses should have to be licensed, just like dogs and you should have to have some sort of death certificate drawn up stating cause of death and how it was euthanized or where it was slaughtered. No US horseowner should be able to sell horses for slaughter outside of the US.

Answer 6

I never knew people actually ate horses, but then again it was a shock to hear that people in Vietnam eat cats. First of all it's wrong, certain animals are not put here for meat. I'm not anti-meat but somethings are just overboard. Like dog, cat, horse ... you don't just cut something up because it has meat - humans have meat, and do we have slaughterhouses for them to be sold in packages? No. It's BS.

As for slaughtering them for when they're sick, yeah it's wrong. I don't know how they do it & I don't care to know but there are no pros. They just need to be closed down. And acutally shooting your horse is NOT cruel it's the fastest easiest way to put a horse out of it's misery. It sucks having to do it I'm sure but euthanizing them like we do smaller animals just doesn't work sometimes. Unless you made the euthanasia stronger so it works on an animal as big.

I don't think you totally understand what Horse slaughter is so wikipedia it. I still agree with you on some points.

Answer 7

All you anti-slaughters...listen to what is being done to our horses in Mexico
"Horses are 'stunned' with a sharp knife aimed at servering their spinal cord. This leaves the horses paralyzed and unable to breathe, but still sensible to pain as they are dragged from the kill box, hoisted up by a chain and their necks slit"
Does this make you feel all warm and fuzzy now??
How about "Federal records show that 10,736 horses were shipped south of the border during the first 19 weeks of the year, up from 2,744 for the same period in 2006, nearly a 400% increase. Canada saw nearly 31% increase. Should this trend continue, nearly 56,000 American horses will be processed by Mexican and Canadian plants in 2007"
Way to go!! Good job all that voted for the anti-slaughter ban. Our horses suffer UNDUE PAIN now!!

This is the cons for closing the slaughter houses.

There are no pros.

Answer 8

Unfortunatley though, something has to be done with the sick and ill ones. Slaughter has to go on to help regulate population, to have a place to dispose of sick and ill horses BUT Iam against the inhumanity of the process. I have done estensive research on this, and its such an arguable topic. Something needs to be done with the manner in which these horses are slaughtered and people need to be better informed about what they are getting themselves into upon purchasing a horse. Just disposing of them to auctions and slaughter is cruel. Maybe more strict breeding regulations? Laws against capturing the last few wild horses there are? Laws towards the inhumanity of slaughter processes?
Its such a controversial topic....

Answer 9

Fact: Less than 1% of horses have ever been slaughtered per year in America. The current number of horses exported for slaughter is even less than when the slaughter houses were up and running.

Fact: 90% of horses slaughtered are healthy and sound, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's own records. They are not crippled, sick, or skinny. The horse slaughter industry is not a public service to put down horses. It is a meat processing industry that pays by the pound.

Fact: The reason they don't kill the horses by injection, which is more humane, is because it makes the meat taste funny. They want to sell the meat overseas for high prices. Poor people can't afford it.

Fact: The average nationwide cost of vet administered euthanasia and carcass disposal for a horse is about equal to one or two months of feed for that same horse. If you can't afford that, then you never could afford to own a horse in the first place.

Fact: The horse slaughter industry, by providing a ready market for any horse in good weight , has created the oversupply of horses we see now. When the profit incentive of selling a horse to slaughter is gone, then the market will adjust to accomodate the less than 1% of horses that are slaughtered or exported to slaughter. It is Economics 101--supply and demand.

Fact: The current bills in Congress, HR503 in the House and S311 in the Senate will ban horse slaughter and the transport of horses to slaughter. They will not ban an owner from having his own horse put down or transported anywhere, as long as it isn't to slaughter.

Fact: A former Chief Inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture was ordered to conduct a study by his department to determine if the slaughter process for horses in America was humane. His results showed that it was not humane. This study is a matter of public record.

There have been a lot of answers to the original question that are clouded by hysteria and unfounded fears. Please look at the hard data and the facts and doubt any articles in the media based on one or two people's personal stories.

The majority of Americans, in every poll taken, want horse slaughter and the transport to slaughter to end. Since we still live in a democracy, that alone should end this discussion and assure that our Reps. vote for HR503 and our Senators vote for S311 before the end of this session of Congress.

Answer 10

Pros - Good horses have a second chance to find a real home instead of a slaughter junky.

Cons - Way too many to list.

The market is flooded with horses bringing the price of a good horse down - more idiots can buy a good horse cheap and ruin it.

The horses that are better off being slaughtered have to suffer until either someone puts them out of their misery or they die on their own.

The best thing would be for vets to be able to intervene on backyard breeders that have a stud running around with mares making unregisterable its. I have a grade horse and I love him to pieces but lets face it bloodlines sell. That would start to decrease the unwanted horse population.

The sad thing is - you can't save them all. The important thing to remember is to not stretch yourself thin trying - bad karma won't beget being realistic with your means - bad karma will beget the *** that put that horse in the situation it's in in the first place.