"For" Horse Slaughter in the US

by Jennifer
(KY)

I own and love my horses. I am also involved in the racing industry. I wish the US still slaughtered its "own" horses, and here's why. Horses that travel to be slaughtered have to tolerate sheer terror beyond the tragic fate of slaughter. They suffer dehydration, injury, starvation and untold other atrocities. Shuffling these animals off to someone else's backyard makes we horsemen no more humane, just cowardly. We own the problem of overpopulation and disposable animals, and I believe we own the ending too. The truth is if you put a human family dependent on the equine industry against a horse and the horse will lose everytime. It is our duty as horsemen to ensure at the very least a HUMANE ENDING to any domesticated animals servitude. Certainly horses deserve that respect. I would rather my own pet be humanely "processed" and be in control, ie have power to legislate regulation over the process than naively and irresponsibly hand that duty over to an unaccountable party. Google "Temple Grandin", featured in a recent HBO movie depicting her contribution to making the cattle industry more humane. I will tell you honeslty here too, that I would rather my horse suffer a "humanely" delegated slaughtering process than to starve through a winter in some do-gooders field, suffering neglect (injured? infected? for months. I have seen a lot of horses suffering and killed this way "through kindness". This may seem like a hardline but I believe in the absolute necessity of slaughter as I do in being an organ and tissue donor myself. Just as "you can't take it with you" neither can any animal for that matter. Look at the numbers in the original post. Slaughter is INCREASING. The only difference is that the suffering of these noble animals is now prolonged. Congratulations do-gooders: it's not in your backyard! Lobby for US slaughter, and then lobby you butts off for HUMANE slaughter and regulation you can be responsible for.....and then pat yourselves on the back for being responsible horsemen. And just to head off the next influx of critism: review supply and demand before the moral session begins. I am NOT for horse consumption. I'm just for moving forward one markable and realistic step at a time. You will do nothing but alienate those you want to support your cause taking only "your moral way or the highway" stance. Good luck.