More than 100,000 U.S horses are sent to slaughter each year for their meat. The meat is then shipped overseas to Europe for human consumption. Horse slaughter is a big issue in the equine community. Many people in the equine community say it’s inhuman by the way the horses are killed, but many equestrians also say its moral due to population control. so which is it, is horse slaughter bad or good? This report will look at what horses usually go to slaughter, how the U.S and other countries view horses, how different people view horses and what would happen if slaughter ended.
What Horses Usually Go To Slaughter
Many horses are slaughtered but certain breeds are more likely to be sent to slaughter. Thoroughbreds and mustangs are just two breeds
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that are often sent to slaughter. Director Diana Pikulski, of Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation says "Some horses come off the track but that doesn't mean they don't have a life ahead of them”(Maese). Some Thoroughbreds are sent to slaughter if they don’t race well . Thoroughbreds have to race well to have the best chance at life ;although, some horses don't have any chance. Thoroughbreds aren't the only breed that is usually found in slaughterhouses mustangs fresh from the wild are sent to their death. Mustangs years ten or older are pasted the likely age for adoptions are targeted by Sen. Conrad Burns (Lum). Mustangs are taken from the wild to control population. The mustangs are first put up for adoption but the leftovers go to slaughter, but how do others see the horses that go to slaughter How The U.S. And Other Countries See Horses One of the positives of ending horse slaughter is horses find new homes as pets but every country sees horses in a different light. John Sweeney, Rep from New York, has spent a last few years slowly creating support for House Bill 857. The bill for banned slaughter or horses of meat for humans to eat. Although he doesn't want judgment on cultures who believe it's okay to consume horse meat, thou he doesn't see any reason of the U.S. to join in. "The huge majority of the American people and most states have made the decision that the horse has a special place and should not be slaughtered for human consumption," John Sweeney said. (Rick Maese). Sweeney has worked of years to ban horse meat. People in the U.S. usually see horses as pets; other countries see horses as food Upscale Americans see horses as companions says Temple Grandin; whose an animal behaviorist. To poor countries like mexico; they see horses as a great source of protein (Dorell). Not all counties see horses the same why the U.S. does ; Although, not all U.S. citizens see horses as pets either. How The Equine Community Views Horse Slaughter U.S.
citizens have different ways they see horses. Citizens see horses as worker; food; pet and companions. Activist believe horse slaughter is barbaric; and believe congress's actions will lead to the reopening of slaughter houses in the U.S. (“Horse Slaughter May Return”). Many equestrians and breeders are against horse slaughter, but what happens if the people against slaughter actually caused the problem.
Breeders are against slaughter but they maybe the ones causing the problem. Race horse breeders breed multiply foals a year but not all race will and those rejects either find a home or go to slaughter but even champion race horses aren't safe as said in the article Thoroughbreds Washed Up in Racing Often Land at Slaughterhouse “Five Star General will be sold on this day and shoved into a pen with two dozen other horses. Then he'll be loaded into a trailer and shipped 1,500 miles to a small plant just outside Fort Worth, Texas. He will be slaughtered there, racing dreams packaged and shipped overseas. His processed remains will be exported to Belgium or France, where the meat will be prepared in a kitchen. This is horse racing's dirty little secret--the one those in the industry traditionally have ignored and outsiders barely hear about” (Mease). Breeders over breed and end up with to many foals. Not all foals are granted a home the left over to to slaughter and so do old race horses their to much money to keep
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around. What Would Happen If Slaughter Ended What if horse slaughter ended would it be good or would it be bad.
To keep mustangs from over populating Conrad Burns has made it his goal to not let wild mustangs starve to death. Cattle ranchers says the wild horses mess with their operations on public land they lease (Lum). We only have a few ways to control the horse population and horse slaughter is a big one, and if we don't new problems could come up. From the article Activists Fight Horse Slaughter because of low economy and a raise in feed cost prices for the cheapest horses at auctions dropped 21%. This has be found to be a contributor to the raise is abuse and horse neglect as well as abandonment (Dorell). Ending horse slaughter could lead to more horse abuse, but what is the positives of ending horse
slaughter. There are many bad results if we end horse slaughter, but there are positives. A spokeswoman Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Celia Boddington said "We have 10 sanctuaries, and the horses receive a high level of care in them," she said. "We're doubling our efforts to find them good homes” (Lum). Without slaughter more horses could go to good homes and live full lives as pets or companions. Conclusion The research shows horse slaughter isn't a hundred percent necessary. Horse slaughter could be avoided if breeders didn’t produce so many foals a year. Slaughter does have positives and negatives. A positive is the horse population is controlled. A negative of slaughter is that many horses are killed a year. As a society we need to determine what is moral and what isn’t.
However, due to retaliation from animal rights groups, the BLM has not taken any measures to eliminate any excess horses. The bill forces the Bureau of Land Management “to sell "without limitation" every captured horse that is 10 or older or has proved unadoptable” (Murr, 51). Howard Crystal, a lawyer for the Humane Society, adds that "[the bill] consigns thousands of horses to death," prompting horse advocates for a more humane solution to the overcrowding of horses in current government management. Also, to manage the excess horses, the BLM also has debated whether to induce euthanasia on the horses.
This type of sport gives people the chance to show off their skills at handling wild livestock. Each cowboy or cowboys do an event, and are scored based on their performances. Then the team or individual with the most points wins. Rodeos even have events for the younger generations. Of course, the kids don’t rope cows or ride broncs, but they do sometimes get to catch pigs or chickens to win money. Tremendous amounts of time, and work go into rodeos, and they are extremely entertaining to watch. However, some people believe rodeo is nothing but torturing innocent animals. They believe animals are thrown into an arena without anyone caring what happens to them. Some people also believe after bulls, and horses can no longer be used in a rodeo they are sent to slaughter. A big reason people are so determined that this is animal cruelty is because they believe that the cowboys are purposely hurting animals to make themselves look like a good
There are many pros and cons to horse slaughter that accompany the pressure groups on each side of horse slaughter. Another big controversy with horse slaughter is the argument of legalizing horse slaughter and what those details will entail in the law. There are numerous pros for horse slaughter and to legalize these factories. One reason being wild horses cause damage to property and eat crops and forages saved by the people for domestic animals. According to the On Fate of Wild Horses, Stars and Indians Spar article by The New
Animal activists and various animal rights/animal welfare support groups have been publicly declaring their beliefs against rodeos since the late 1800’s. Rodeo abolitionists believe PRCA members and contestants have always and always will mistreat their livestock. To support their opinion, activists use information such as the injury/death rate, veterinarians ignoring injured animals, and the belief that wranglers torment the animals into performing. The injury/death percentage is very low in PRCA rodeos. “PRCA has continuously called upon on-site, independent rodeo veterinarians at PRCA-sanctioned events
There are many factors to the problem as a whole and unfortunately, there is quick answer with how The Jockey Club should handle this decision. I still stand with my decision when I say it is immoral and unfair to the creature that raced his own lungs off for you for him to be inhumanely slaughtered. With every stride down the back stretch, the animal tried to bring you glory with all that he could. You brought him into this world and gave him this life. Yet, you took it away with not even one warning. The problem of overbreeding and horse slaughtering should be addressed and given the recognition that it needs before it becomes any harsher than it already is to these poor
The controversy that surround that surrounds The BLMs oversight of the wild horses has could effectively be reduced with careful consideration and planning. A integral part of solving the issues faced by the wild horses is the identification of concepts that are most appropriate for use by the BLM in managing the wild horses. Any plan(s) used must maintain a balance between what is best for the effected species, and the overall health of the environment, which ultimately has an effect on every
Grand champion! I was riding Fancy, a paint horse, at the Dallas County Fair in the Horsemanship class. In this class, I had to complete a pattern and it was judged on how well each horse and rider completed the pattern. The judge felt that Fancy and I performed best and awarded me with a big purple ribbon and a trophy with a horse on top. At the end of the fair, all of the grand champions were announced before the races. That was the final reward for successfully showing a horse in competitions.
There is a very important distinction when dealing with animal welfare and animal rights. After learning to tell the difference between the two, it is easier to distinguish the organization that wants to help animals and the people who wish to end the use of animals. Even though there are different groups that support different agendas for the sport, both should have the same goal. Animal rights are organizations that seek to end the ownership and use of animals. The largest of those groups are The Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. There is a ‘Pro-Rodeo’ organization under the guise ‘Friends of Rodeo.’ They claim to be the only organization solely devoted to protecting and promoting the sport of rodeo, all of rodeo regardless of association affiliation. “What rodeo proponents fail to acknowledge is that rodeos harm animals that are forced to perform in a competition that is essentially a display of human domination over other species” (The Rodeo 1).
Throughout the last century the concern of animals being treated as just a product has become a growing argument. Some believe that animals are equal to the human and should be treated with the same respect. There are many though that laugh at that thought, and continue to put the perfectly roasted turkey on the table each year. Gary Steiner is the author of the article “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable”, that was published in the New York Times right before Thanksgiving in 2009. He believes the use of animals as a benefit to human beings is inhumane and murderous. Gary Steiner’s argument for these animal’s rights is very compelling and convincing to a great extent.
"Animal Cruelty and Human Violence : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. N.p.,
For many people across the United States rodeo is how they make a living. Weather its competing, selling, or just working behind the sense, they depend on rodeo for a job. Not only do humans depend on rodeo for a job, but so do all types of animals. Not all horses are cut out for the same job just as all humans are not. Many animal rights groups use words like animal cruelty and unsafe to describe a rodeo, but underneath the tough exterior strict rules combat the use of these words by cutting down on the unsafe and cruel events. Rodeo, despite being a dangerous sport, benefits a community in many ways and does not condone animal cruelty in any way. It is a place where a community of people can show their skills, sell their products, and find friendships with people just like them.
Day to day horses are abused, people start a long downward spiral into horse racing gambling addiction, and less and less people are watching horse racing. But we can stop it all, by one simple step. Shutting down all horse racing. You can get involved by telling more and more people about this, or with “Horse Racing Week” and let’s stop all the horses that are born and have nowhere to go but the slaughterhouse. All the people’s families who are worried sick all the time. Let’s help. We cannot let one more horse die while running a race for the greedy, selfish horse racing industry.
The ugly truth is that animals are dying at the hands of their owners everyday, some in very violent ways that can be avoidable given the right solution. Slaughterhouses, puppy mills, dog fighting, and so on, are just a few examples of how animals are being treated badly by people. Animal cruelty is a form of violence which, un...
Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...
In conclusion I hope to have shed some new light on just what animal cruelty is and what it consists of. I hope that with this information people will be more open to what they see. Hopefully this information will cut down on animal abuse and will make people watch out for mistreatment of animals. I hope that people will think twice before abusing animals. Animals DO have feelings. They may not be able to talk and tell us where it hurts, but they do feel pain just like humans. There are laws to protect animals just like humans. I do not feel as though the laws are strong enough nor are they enforced the way they should.