Horse Slaughter In Canada
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karenKaren
I've never shipped horses to slaughter but I've shipped thousands of cattle to auctions where they are purchased for slaughter and I care very much what kind of treatment they receive and I expect the people that ship horses to slaughter also make every effort to insure the horses arrive in good condition..
It's not only humane but it's good business.
griff
I've never shipped horses to slaughter but I've shipped thousands of cattle to auctions where they are purchased for slaughter and I care very much what kind of treatment they receive and I expect the people that ship horses to slaughter also make every effort to insure the horses arrive in good condition..
It's not only humane but it's good business.
griff
"We has met the enemy and he is us" [Pogo]
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skywatcher
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Just though i would clarify a couple of thoughts that were raised in this thread
there are in fact a couple of places in Alberta where horses are raised specifically for the meat market...and they certainly haven't slowed the number of horses that were originally intended for other purposes ending up doing the "tour de France" in a can.
Most of the horses slaughtered here in Canada are shipped overseas, there is a small market locally for the meat, most of it in Quebec.
Shutting down the slaughterhouses in the US didn't really stop American horses from being slaughtered...all that was achieved was they now have an extra long ride to their final destination. And in the case of those poor creatures that go south to Mexico, they get butchered alive without benefit of a stunner...If you shut the plants down in Canada, the industry will continue but it will continue in places where there are NO regulations regarding handling
I'm not pro-slaughter by the way, I just think that we need to look at what the consequences are going to be before we close Canadian plants down.
IMO the best way to help horses right now is to make tougher laws against inhumane treatment. Demand that our gov't enforce current transportation laws (I don't know about the rest of Canada but Alberta has some good legislation) and create tougher laws if required.
Demand that the people who enforce these laws start attending auctions and start seizing and fining on the spot violators. The horse meat industry is about money...if you start making it very expensive for those involved to mistreat these animals then you will see changes.
there are in fact a couple of places in Alberta where horses are raised specifically for the meat market...and they certainly haven't slowed the number of horses that were originally intended for other purposes ending up doing the "tour de France" in a can.
Most of the horses slaughtered here in Canada are shipped overseas, there is a small market locally for the meat, most of it in Quebec.
Shutting down the slaughterhouses in the US didn't really stop American horses from being slaughtered...all that was achieved was they now have an extra long ride to their final destination. And in the case of those poor creatures that go south to Mexico, they get butchered alive without benefit of a stunner...If you shut the plants down in Canada, the industry will continue but it will continue in places where there are NO regulations regarding handling
I'm not pro-slaughter by the way, I just think that we need to look at what the consequences are going to be before we close Canadian plants down.
IMO the best way to help horses right now is to make tougher laws against inhumane treatment. Demand that our gov't enforce current transportation laws (I don't know about the rest of Canada but Alberta has some good legislation) and create tougher laws if required.
Demand that the people who enforce these laws start attending auctions and start seizing and fining on the spot violators. The horse meat industry is about money...if you start making it very expensive for those involved to mistreat these animals then you will see changes.
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karenkarenn
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Sylvie Hebert
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some of those horses ending at meat places are in such bad shape that even the meat man is appalled...so tougher legislation on care of all animals and especially stiffer penalties are needed.but if you only get a couple of years for abusing a child what do you think you will get for a horse,goat,cat...we have no real laws on criminality here and it is at all levels.
The sport and industry survive not only because of the champions that are remembered forever but also because of the losers that are so easy to forget...
Re: re:
seahorse wrote:http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=15458
That is a good article. I don't think anti slaughter people realize how many people have a horse or two in their yard that is almost impossible to market should they fall on hard times. This article covers the reality of when they can't afford to feed it anymore. People are overly idealistic and optimistic if they think there are scores of great homes for any horse let alone racehorses who might be hard keepers, or need more than a pleasure rider to handle.
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Fairplayfarm
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this is always and will always be a heated subject. Living in a cold climate state in the US we see all to well everyday the effects of banning slaughter in the US. Starving horses in backyards, people calling almost everyday asking us if we would purchase to take in their horse they can no longer care for...having heart strings tugged because we do as much as we can...how we can while still scraping out a living in the horse industry. Its really really sad out there now. I too am very interested with what people really think we can do to make some sort of change (pro or anti slaughter)...speaking with my vet on a recent visit our state has now changed their laws to make it unlawful to bury any animal over 500lbs! So then what are the options now?? Composting...ok where to do so and how to get the animal there...and just how many owners want to think of their beloved horse sitting in a compost pile on a dairy farm etc, Large animal fresh food...one local zoo-type place charges $100 to donate free meat to their animals...basically securing a lawsuit if anything were to happen to something eating the meat, a rendering plant, coyote bait...needless to say the options are getting fewer and fewer and gone are the days of freebies...what may still be a free thing today will sooner or later become income for another person in some manner...big farms will charge for composting, someone will charge for pick up and disposal etc.
On the livestock kick horses are indeed livestock...as a basic definition is an animal kept on a farm for use, pleasure or profit...
to the argument that no one eats cats and dogs andwe humanely euthanize them...has that really made a difference in the unwanted population??? if you create low/no cost euthanasia and disposal of large animals what exactly is keeping the breeders then from breeding, as low/no cost will then be used as just shelters are used for dogs and cats... and on top of that just who pays for it?? its not the donations to HSUS, PETA etc that goes to feeding euthanizing etc no 99% of those moneys go to lobbying ads etc where as when we register our dogs, do a coggins on our horse etc a portion of that money helps pay for local shelters and animal welfare as well as tax dollars and local donations...so in the end we pay no matter what...nothing is ever free let us not forget this.
as a community we are getting far to far away from reality someone put it best rural vs city you take a culture that grew up around animals vs one that has no clue what a chicken looks like in person...we are slowly getting to the point where every animal on earth will no longer be owned but we will become their "guardians"
and as far as people saying cattle pork and poultry slaughter is any less humane those individuals imo are clearly just looking the otherway and not doing their research...they all go thru a horrible terrifying experience much the same as horses...horse slaughter has just been a heartfelt topic and therefore emphasized on by animal rights activists etc.
In the end all this will lead to is more and more laws telling us what we can do with what we own and more so what we cannot do. does everyone out there really want to have to go thru a govt process to get approval to breed their pleasure mare that was successful locally to a nice stallion to get another personal horse? do we want everything to involve huge fees, inspection of your private property at anytime EVEN your home...some say this is exagerating but look back in the 80s when people thought what we have now was just an exageration...its reality now...
im tired and all over the place i appologize I just like simple things, simple rules and seeing them enforced...i watch locally as horses starve, dont recieve vet care etc and then i have aco at my door when i have horses out in the rain, wind, snow or sun even if they have access to shelter etc...
IMO and i think someone mentioned it in an earlier post we should have MORE slaughter houses and feedlots...less travel for the animal, more jobs (slaughter house, auctions, drivers, inspectors, shippers etc), and if you have more locally you would have more people who could go and save the unwanted horses from the feedlots because they wouldnt have to travel 1000+ miles etc...so imo horses would have more of a chance to find a better home...the market would be more stable, fewer horses who could not be given away would no longer starve in backyards etc not to mention those that would be abusive would be more likely to lose their jobs or straighten their acts due to community pressure...and i also agree with an above statement regarding dog food and it being imported....why not put that potentially euthanized and ruined meat to good use for something and be able to regulate it inside our country (s)
i just find it sad and scary to see what this world is coming to.... no one appreciates freedom until we no longer have it.
[/list]
On the livestock kick horses are indeed livestock...as a basic definition is an animal kept on a farm for use, pleasure or profit...
to the argument that no one eats cats and dogs andwe humanely euthanize them...has that really made a difference in the unwanted population??? if you create low/no cost euthanasia and disposal of large animals what exactly is keeping the breeders then from breeding, as low/no cost will then be used as just shelters are used for dogs and cats... and on top of that just who pays for it?? its not the donations to HSUS, PETA etc that goes to feeding euthanizing etc no 99% of those moneys go to lobbying ads etc where as when we register our dogs, do a coggins on our horse etc a portion of that money helps pay for local shelters and animal welfare as well as tax dollars and local donations...so in the end we pay no matter what...nothing is ever free let us not forget this.
as a community we are getting far to far away from reality someone put it best rural vs city you take a culture that grew up around animals vs one that has no clue what a chicken looks like in person...we are slowly getting to the point where every animal on earth will no longer be owned but we will become their "guardians"
and as far as people saying cattle pork and poultry slaughter is any less humane those individuals imo are clearly just looking the otherway and not doing their research...they all go thru a horrible terrifying experience much the same as horses...horse slaughter has just been a heartfelt topic and therefore emphasized on by animal rights activists etc.
In the end all this will lead to is more and more laws telling us what we can do with what we own and more so what we cannot do. does everyone out there really want to have to go thru a govt process to get approval to breed their pleasure mare that was successful locally to a nice stallion to get another personal horse? do we want everything to involve huge fees, inspection of your private property at anytime EVEN your home...some say this is exagerating but look back in the 80s when people thought what we have now was just an exageration...its reality now...
im tired and all over the place i appologize I just like simple things, simple rules and seeing them enforced...i watch locally as horses starve, dont recieve vet care etc and then i have aco at my door when i have horses out in the rain, wind, snow or sun even if they have access to shelter etc...
IMO and i think someone mentioned it in an earlier post we should have MORE slaughter houses and feedlots...less travel for the animal, more jobs (slaughter house, auctions, drivers, inspectors, shippers etc), and if you have more locally you would have more people who could go and save the unwanted horses from the feedlots because they wouldnt have to travel 1000+ miles etc...so imo horses would have more of a chance to find a better home...the market would be more stable, fewer horses who could not be given away would no longer starve in backyards etc not to mention those that would be abusive would be more likely to lose their jobs or straighten their acts due to community pressure...and i also agree with an above statement regarding dog food and it being imported....why not put that potentially euthanized and ruined meat to good use for something and be able to regulate it inside our country (s)
i just find it sad and scary to see what this world is coming to.... no one appreciates freedom until we no longer have it.
[/list]
People keep their animals alive for purely selfish reasons, most of the time, also igornance(sp) really is bliss, they can't take responsibility or seperate emotion from logic. It really is a difficult call for everyone and vets should have a greif consulor on call some where to help get them to make the right choice. By the way PETA helps no one but their own bottem line, it's a business that preys on peoples emotions for profit.