Horse Slaughterhouses May Reopen After Five Year Ban

This move is long overdue. The feel-good ban made no sense whatsoever, as the subsequent “unintended consequences” from the ban have unfortunately demonstrated.

Despicable!

Hmm, lift ban on dogs too, Shih Tzu a l’Orange

For Shih Tzu
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (5- to 6-lb) Shih Tzu puppy (also called Spot)
1 juice orange, halved
4 fresh thyme sprigs
4 fresh marjoram sprigs
2 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 small onion, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup duck stock, duck and veal stock*, chicken stock, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 carrot
1/2 celery rib

For sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 to 2 oranges)
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons duck or chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fine julienne of fresh orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler

……… cooking instructions, follow duck instructions …….

fine example of how the gov gets involved – passes some PC law and totally screws up a whole industry, sends the jobs down the tubes and causes incomprehensible pain and suffering on the very group they claim to be helping

There should stop and not be reopen because it will hurt the horses population and they don’t need to get slauter them and torched them if they can be health horses. I don’t want any animal to get slaughtered for there mentor anything that they have not done it should stay closed and never reopen ever if we where an animal would we like it I belive not so don’t reopen this it is horror to the people that try to save there life’s from this SHAM ON PEOPLE THAT WANT TO SLAUGHTER INOCENT ANIMALS !!! Slaughtering should not be open for anything it’s not good and not fair I disagree with them trying to reopen.

Can anyone please explain to me what’s wrong with eating horses? What specifically sets them apart for other animals? Same goes for dog. I had dog when I was stationed in South Korea, it was pretty good.

For all who cry “despicable”, do you eat beef? Pork? Chicken? Duck? Why is eating horse meat despicable? Horse meat is still a majority meat in several countries in Europe and Asia, and there was never a time when it wasn’t there. My wife is from Eastern Europe and has eaten horse meat. according to her, it’s much sweeter and leaner than beef, making it a very healthy and tasty protein. The only reason you are put off by it is cause the society you grew up in doesn’t have it in the culture, that doesn’t make it despicable.

What’s wrong with horse slaughter, people ask? SIMPLE: It makes it way too easy for slimy, desperate to steal people’s prized horses, beloved pets, and sell them them easily for a quick buck at a slaughter house, with virtually no way to track the crime or recover the horse !!!!!!!

There are many alternatives to horse slaughter the govt or anyone could look into. such as say govt funded equine rescues. opening some of our federal park land for rescued horses. or even allow legalities for those that can no longer care for their horses to take them to these said parks and land to turn them over legally of course, no questions asked. just a simple breed age sex form. tag the ear and let them go be horses.

The thing is would you take a celebrated athlete and slaughter them for food once they are past making money? no. you wouldnt. yet horses that have been celebrated and cheered for and adored and loved by millions of people (and making their owners millions in the process) are.

Instead of slaughtering these beings, we need federal regulations on the Humans that overbreed them leading to abandonment neglect and abuse. why should the horse even dog or cat have to suffer for a humans greed? they shouldnt. no living being should. there are just simply to many sane alternatives to slaughter.
I have seen a horse be slaughtered in a slaughter house I bawled my eyes out after being violently sick. I have also worked in animal control and have witnessed dogs and cats being put down, let me tell you this it is FAR FAR different. yes i felt bad about the dogs and cats having to die because a human was neglectful or abusive or just plain didnt care anymore, but my reaction was far far less emotional and i was far less sickened witnessing my 1st dog and cat being put down.
We need to take a better look at ourselves before we start punishing beings that will love us unconditionally, do what we ask of them, and trust us to care and love them even a fraction of how they love us. i not only speak for horses but any “pet”. be it feline canine equine fish snake rat etc. any pet wants what you do, love affection, trust, and care. But slaughter is not the answer. more agressive spay/neuter regulations need to be in place. breeding programs need to be looked into and regulated. breeding incentives need to stop.. if anything the slaughter of horses not only threatens our horses but can lead to overbreeding for the sake of slaughter.
im not a vegetarian by any means i enjoy beef chicken pork etc. but i cannot condone the slaughter of such a noble creature that has served beside us to make this country great, i cannot condone the slaughter of a creature that serve as military personel and police officers.
Also horse theft goes up with slaughterhouses being reopened. my own mothers horse was stolen and guess what finally tracked down to guess where? a slaughterhouse. now i dare any of you to tell me that is right. i dare any of you to tell me that a well loved well cared for animal deserved that horrific fate. but that is the truth. Horses will be stolen from loving caring families that love them like a human being.
slaughter solves nothing. we must as intelligent human beings find alternatives to this horrific thing.
yes times are tough right now, and if my own mother who is on a very fixed income and considered in the poor bracket can care for an abandoned horse (she was given another horse not long ago) then I think more people could as well. Open your hearts a bit people and dont worry so much about your wallets. you might find a friend for life.

I dont really care if americans may or may not consume of have a culture of consuming horse meat in the US, it is completely inhumane to slaughter pets just because some other foreign people like it. Are we going to open canibal slaughter houses even though we dont eat people here?

I would much rather horses be slaughtered in a humane way, yes. The way that it is done in Mexico is absolutely appauling, and i doubt people would change anything just because its done in a different country. People are looking for the cheapest most efficient way to slaughter and package the meat and not really caring about the animal’s well being. I think the comment is highly innaccurate that people had to abuse and neglect their animals because they couldnt legally send them to a slaughter house. Has anyone been to a horse auction? I have. Has anyone seen people buying a mass amount of horses and shipping them “south” or “north?” I have. It was still possible, and incredibly inhumane, but that is just a cop-out for people to say they couldnt properly care for their animals. You sell them or give them away. Oh well, you’re out a couple hundred dollars because the market is crappy, but you dont have to pay to house them or feed them! you dont re-open a ban on horse slaughter just because.

This is ridiculous and insane, and i know the Humane Society is going to have a hay-day with this one.

Glad to see how many people on here would like to dictate others eating habits by their own preferences. If I want to eat horse meat that is my business, not yours. if 70% of americans didn’t eat beef, would it be inhumane to slaughter cows? Don’t base morality and acceptable behavior solely on majority action, it doesn’t work that way.

Currently we are sending our horses by train to Mexico to be slaughtered. I am sure the Mexicans are being very humane with them but hey, out of sight, out of mind. That was a brilliant plan.

…For all here that are baying about jobs, greed, and money: this section of the bill isn’t passing for the money, it’s passing because of the horses (so no Laura, not a Republican greed-scheme.) Millions of horses have been left ownerless and uncared for, and thousands are going feral (people turn them loose, there is no venue to support the amount), destroying natural environments in our country and elsewhere. The United States would literally be covered by horse sanctuaries and riding therapy centers, and new ones would have to be opened all the time if all these horses were to be kept. And regarding eating them? It’s good meat. Horses are not any higher on a equality scale than cows or pigs. Where economics does come in, however, is that having slaughter houses will create more jobs as a byproduct, which is helpful economically, wouldn’t you think?
-A lover of horses and an avid horseman

So for all the people who are against this….did you even read the article? This is nothing new. They BANNED it five years ago and the HORSE INDUSTRY had a “slew of unintended consequences” which did nothing good for the horses. In fact they ended up being worse off. Just because you may not want to eat horse doesnt mean there are millions of starving people out there who would. Get off your high horses, if you are against this you must be for abandoned, sick and maltreated horses.

STOP AND THINK… Cows are pets, pigs are pets, chickens are pets, etc… Can anyone give me a LOGICAL reason as to what makes horses any different??

I completely understand that there is a large problem with more and more abused dogs, cats, and yes…even horses left to fend for themselves by their owners; however, this is not the way to fix it. First, as someone above mentioned, horses are a very large part of American history. They have carried soldiers centuries back through wars and movements. Also, there are so many programs that are so slow to arise that help people that are sick. Hippo-therapy is something that I have seen personally that enriches thousands of lives. Horses help inmates find themselves again, children with autism, they are great for people with impaired motor skills, and even therapy for the soul.
I have seen not only the PETA videos that (yes I admit, I do believe at times they make their videos much more harsh than they are cut out to be) but there are several other ways to see what was being done to these animals.
Also, the job opportunities for the factory workers will be just as awful as half of the jobs from major corporations that are hiring anyone that will work for as cheap as possible and working under unsuitable conditions.
I feel as though Obama should have came out with this tender subject before to get the feedback, opposed to pissing off tons of animal loving americans.
I know something needs to be done but I feel as though our government is taking the easy way out, and IF this is passed it should be under open conditions and assured that these animals are being sold, picked up, transported, and euthanized properly.
((The same videos can be found with cows…at least 3 cows die on the trip to be slaughtered and tons are removed from the truck, broken bones and all, and shoved into the factories with skid steers.))
Where is Temple Grandin when I need her?

Well horses right now are worth nothing. Maybe if they open up the slaughter houses they will finaly be work something. Now i have 3 horses and i have to say that they are not cheap and if people are selling there horses because they cant take care of them it is ok to take them to a slaughter house. Now if we were to put them down it would cost more to where a dog wieghs between 50-100 lbs. and a horse 1000-2000 lbs??? now for dogs and cats you can take them to a vet if you have a horse you normaly would have to call them so they can come to your hourse or barn. not only do you have the to call the vert you also have to call a truck to come and pick up the animal. if you dont call a truck to come and get the carcass you have to dig a hole, it is not like digging a hole for a dog you have to go far into the ground, so you will have to use a tractor and that costs money to ship the tractor top your house unless you have one. Also you will have to pay for gass becuase it isnt as easy as 1,2,3. So what would be cheaper? If you also loook at it, it will open new job openings for people, which people are complainging that we dont have enough jobs. COws are not pets, they are for us to eat same with pigs and chickens. I am 17 and i am all for this, horses are FINALLY going to be worth something now and i would rather have my horses killed humanly then straving, dehydrated, and malnourished or abused. why would you turn your horse loose so they can be free and wild, when they have 80+% chance of being killed??? think about it people. if you consier farm animals your pet, then you should be a vegetarian. think about it people!!

This soooooo disgusting and totally unnecessary. What is wrong with Obama ….Mr Organic? He is so full of it.

Why is everyone so up in arms over this? We were doing it in 2005. Defunding plant inspections was QUANTITATIVELY PROVEN to have cost jobs and money in the agricultural sector. Since the ban, horse abandonment and abuse has skyrocketed.

All of this information is IN THE ARTICLE, yet people are still blinded by ignorance. Why even read an article if you aren’t going to absorb the information?

I understand about cows, chicken pigs that were slaughtered for many years for thier consumed but HORSES??? ur OUT of MIND !!! we don’t eat horse meats~ No Thanks!!! Horses don’t DESERVE to be put in slaughterhouse period because Those horses that have sense of fear, smell, feelings, They are very very loving, trains for shows, horses races, carriager ride, backriding, kids pet them, running free… I am helping them out and get all of those people to get petitions, hopefully pass 25,000 then we have the POWER to prevent from slaughter horses…LEAVE the horses alone unless if someone who cant afford to feed them, transfer to someone who can!!!!…Help them in care and in good heath and show thier loved!!!

Quite happy about the ban being lifted! At least our horses can be slaughtered in dignity in the USA rather than in Canada or Mexico. Hopefully less abandoned horses. While there needs to some regulations on what age, condition etc. the horse is in, hopefully it will be a good thing.

Jerry, Dignity?? You haven’t watched the US foreign owned plant video’s! Only the poor illegal aliens will do this butchery, and the towns water systems are compromised. You need to do some research. The GAO was highly influenced by the pro slaughter group and if you would read the GAO you would see that they ride the fence on almost every thing they state! They also say that there was NO increase in abandoned horses since the plant closed, and there were still the same amount of American horses slaughtered last year in MX and CAN as there was when the US foreign owned plants were operating. Now you may want to support “foal milling” after all horses are a luxury animal, and if they’re not then why have I and millions of American horse owners been paying taxes on all their supplies. The foreigners paid 5.00 in taxes on 4 million profit in 05, ref to kaufmanzoing.net. I will NOT pay for “foal milling”. Cattlemen ride ATV’s now days, not horses, it’s the AQHA that’s behind the horse slaughter pipeline, and they make a fortune on the blood of their horses! The TB racing world has and does use the slaughter pipeline along with the AQHA!
STOP THE OVER-BREEDING OF A LARGE LUXURY ANIMAL!!!

The way out of this mess is to tax each foal born, that would curb the foal milling and bring in some needed revenue!

Sending that promising young race colt, that didn’t pan out on the track, to slaughter … doesn’t make it fit for human consumption, folks! Horses, in general, are medicated as PETS and companion animals, not as future dinnerfare. The European Union has made a stand, and will not accept any horse for consumption, that can’t prove (not doctored documents) it’s medical past. So, how is opening the slaughter pipeline going to help the starving, neglected, unwanted horses … when they are unfit for slaughter, according to the consumer?

Therefore, the following statement is a logical fallacy …

” While we have a long way to go, responsible processing represents a vital first step in reversing the unintended consequences to blame for the dismal state of neglected horses and their frustrated caregivers across our country,” Smith said in a statement. “Reinstating a humane, accountable, and legal management tool is good for horses, good for owners, and is good policy.”

Some of you have no idea about agriculture. You are looking at this as being mean to pets…not true this will benefit horses and the indistry. Way to go Obama!

i have been in the horse industry all my life, i have been rescuing horses for many years, but people there comes a time when we do need the slaughter houses, i do NOT agree with KILLER BUYERS coming to sale barns and buying them just to make a dollar, we need slaughter houses for the ones that are in such bad shape that nothing can be done. i myself will NEVER have a vet put another horse to sleep for me again, if you think that slaughter houses are so terrible then you should have been there the day i myself had a rescue come in and i had called my vet to come put her down because her back leg had infection and could not stand at all, the vet put a tranquillizer shot into her waited 10 minutes she was gasping for air then he decided to put the pink fluid into her to make her stop breathing it didnt work he then added 3 more large doses to her, i have never in my life known a more cruel and abusive way to put a horse to sleep, and then he still to this day has the nerve to ask me to pay him for what he done to her, this was the sickest thing i have ever seen in my entire life. NEVER AGAIN WILL I HAVE A VET PUT A HORSE DOWN, NEVER

Ok so im just saying just because you dont want your hose doesnt mean you get to send them to go be eaten by some other person. I know my horses very well and they have feelings just like every other animal in the world, they can feel love and pain. I can see in their eyes that they are in pain and when i do i try to do everything possible to make them better. And there is plenty of food to go around for the horses its just that people that work in the slaughterhouses could really care less about feeding them if they are going to die…that is the only reason they are skinny or they have stupid owners…I think all this arguing is stupid the fact of the matter is that the way they kill the horses is truely terrible! It is really hard to kill a horse and if they mess up the first time they do it over and over again till they have done the dirty deed. sweet aint it. I couldnt stand stabbing a horse in the back to parlyze them then once they are down trying to shoot them in the right spot in the head to kill them.

no no no no

I can’t believe people are still opposing this. How can you think that starving a horse to death is better than slaughtering it? It’s not like people are going to be raising horses strictly for slaughter, or people are going to be excited about slaughtering them. It will be a last resort type if thing. There just needs to be somewhere take horses that are not useful to their owners or anyone else. I don’t see how people can’t understand that.

the way horses are slaughter is someone shots the horse with a stun gun. trying to get the hea, but even if they do mangde to shot the horse in the head it doesnt kill the horse. then they tie the horse up by its hind legs and cut its throat. they let the horse slowly bleed to death. then they skin thhe horse. and somethings the horse is not dead when they skin it. is this what you want to happen to your horse? the same one that has been there for you throughout the years?

I am assuming most of you do not own horses. Those of you who are saying that if “you can afford to buy them then you can afford to keep them” or “other people will adopt them” or “there are plenty of rescue places” obviously dont know the situations. I own a horse. I personally would never sell her to slaughter, but I get my hay for free and I am also fortunate enough to have free board as well. So that leaves me with just the cost of grain (about 20-50 dollars a month), trimming her feet (40 every 6 weeks), and the additional salt blocks dewormer and various other not so essential things (about another 40 a month). For me the cost is quite small compared to others who might have to pay up to 600 dollars a month for boarding fees. and with hay going up that means if you had enough money to afford the horse 2 years ago when you bought it, you might not have enough now! Secondly, I almost had to give up my horse in august of last year. I search for months trying to find a sanctuary to take her, or another horse owner to adopt her. Those didnt ever happen. All the sanctuaries in my area are not taking horses because they already have to many, and no one else can afford just one more horse. You obviously havnt done your research if you think there are a ton of other options. and How many times did you here about someones prized horse getting stolen when slaughter houses used to be open anyways???

I personally would much rather have this going on here where our government is regulating it and making sure everything that is going on is humane, rather then our horses being shipped to mexico and possibly suffering and going through the most horrifying death you could think of. If its going to happen let it be here.