http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=163x1051
I know many of you and many of you know me. I know many of you to be very good, honest, decent people and it saddens me to see the lies that are being spread about the issue of horse slaughter. We are all entitled to our beliefs as we are entitled to share & stand up for our beliefs. I feel the need to clarify some absolute lies that have been circulating via email.
If you are in favor of horse slaughter, you are entitled to that, but please know some truths. The pictures and videos are real. They are not made up or sensationalized. The wounds, broken legs, foals born in feed lots, pictures of shod horses, pictures of peoples pet horses in feed lots and at slaughter, videos of horses being repeatedly hit with the captive bolt, overturned cattle trucks with 60 horses mangled..Those things are real; they are not made up or sensationalized. Please just accept that fact for what it is. Horse slaughter and its journey for the horse is not humane. If you are OK with that treatment of the horse, that is certainly your choice, but it is sad to me when I hear people deceiving themselves by saying that they are sending their horse to slaughter because it is humane. If I offered to buy your horse and guarantee you that I would haul it and treat it inhumanely then kill it in an inhumane method, there is no way that many of you would sell your horse to me. But that is what we are doing when we drop off our horse at the sale ring and walk away with a small check and a rosy thought in our mind that our horse went to some green pasture with a good owner, mind you, many horses do get this good end, but many do not and to close our eyes & just hope it all works is sad because reality is, the slaughter horse is destined for a very bad journey.
I am tired of the emails circulating that say PETA is sensationalizing, blah, blah, blah. The truth is PETA is NOT at all involved. The people who are spreading that rumor to incite anger are really being ridiculous. I have been a very involved person against horse slaughter; I know the opponents and I assure you PETA is not involved. I also assure you that other rumors circulating are false as well. There is not an abandoned horse problem, the Montana Grass Roots Horse Coalition has done a county by county survey and the rumors are false. Additionally, the allegations have been studied on a national level and have been proven false. It is a ridiculous argument anyway because the reality is that there is still a loose horse market, horse slaughter is still going on so if there were abandoned horses, the people who would do that would do it regardless of access to a slaughter facility as there is still access to horse slaughter. This false rumor is being spread by proponents to incite fear.
Furthermore, the Montana Grass Roots Horse Coalition is simply a group of Montana horse people who are against horse slaughter. In fact, some of the people started out leaning towards being more in favor of slaughter, then the more they researched & studied the issue, they failed to see how or why horse slaughter is a good thing. Not one person who is at the core of the group is a member of PETA, not one person is a vegetarian, not one person is an animal activist and they are all really nice people from around the state who live year round in Montana. Most of you would really like them if you were to ever meet them (or, if you do know them, you already know them to be good people). It is shameful for Linda Grosskopf, the editor of Western Ag Reporter and Stan Weaver to say that the group was made up by Animals Angels. The thing that is made up is the email Stan circulated. That organization does have a website and I personally have downloaded and distributed some of their stuff, but that organization is in no way connected to the Montana Grass Roots Horse Coalition. The reality is that Linda and Stan out & out lied to you about this issue. One of the people in the Montana Grass Roots Horse Coalition does have that email address and she did email around fact sheets. It is ironic that so many of the emails Stan Weaver is sending have so many false things in them and are sent in such a way as to try to elicit fear. Fear of who is involved and lies to create fear. If you are a horse slaughter proponent, you are certainly entitled to that opinion but please make your decisions on facts, not lies or fear.
It is true that the opponents have hired a lobbyist to fight HB 418, but it is also true that AQHA has spent well into 6 digits on their own lobbying for horse slaughter. Additionally, there are MT organizations that have also hired lobbyists in favor of horse slaughter, I assure you, this is no fear that proponents should have, they have more lobbyists than the opponents. Additionally, it is very confusing how AQHA can campaign for us to have horses as partners, family members and pets and yet promote horse slaughter. No wonder so many people don't want to face the reality of how cruel horse slaughter is. The AQHA is totally advertising a double standard.
Another thought, the horse slaughter industry wants young, healthy animals. It is a human meat consumption industry, they do not want the old, thin crippled horses. This is not a way to get rid of old horses. The average age of the horse slaughtered is 7. This is reality, so it really should be asked, do you want to raise horses as food animals. That is really the issue and that is what beliefs should be based on. Certainly there are people who will say yes to this and people who will say no but let us argue about that fact, not fears and lies.
There are horses that are unsafe, horses that are ill, people that cannot afford their horses. What would happen if all of us great minds in the horse community came together to deal with these things as a community. What happens if the lobbying money (assuredly, proponents have spent far more than opponents) was used to help programs develop. To help create euthanasia funds, spay and gelding programs, rescue programs, educational programs, feed programs to help people through a short term crisis with their horses, scholarships to help fund equine programs, and lots of other positive things that haven't yet been thought of.
Furthermore, we have learned so much about the care of older horses that still have great value in the horse community. Their value in human rehab programs, human therapeutic programs, teachers to young & silly colts and teachers to young and/or inexperienced horse people. There is a lot of work that can be created around these old horses, jobs and money that can stay in our communities and in our industry. Horses of all ages need farrier work, veterinary work, dental work, massage & other body work, feeds, caretaking jobs, etc. All of this is part of the horse community and supports that community. Slaughter plants simply take their profits overseas. Except for the sale rings and killer buyers who make money on slaughter horses, but they do have a food animal market to make money on. They can still make their money there.
Why not come up with good, positive ways to treat our horses humanely and create good and honest work in the horse community. Why not go back to our western roots of helping each other when in need.
We are all good, intelligent people who can do amazing things if we will work together.
In closing, please be passionate about your beliefs, but please base your beliefs on truths not on fear or on lies.
Thank you for your passion and for your efforts,
Dr. Lisa Jacobson
Equine veterinarian
Clyde Park, MT
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The True Economics of Horse Slaughter
http://www.horsebackmagazine.com/breakingnews.htm
From Caroline M। Betts, Economist, USC
Letter to the Editor
Dear Horseback Readers,
I feel compelled to respond to the rash of state efforts (Montana, Illinois, and North Dakota to name just a few) to re-introduce the slaughter of horses in the United States of America. As a professional economist, I find the arguments spouted nationwide to re-invite foreign owned horse killing facilities onto American soil confusing and without merit.
To paraphrase a horse rescuer I know, why is it that upon the observation of an abandoned dog or cat, people jump up and down to preserve the life of that animal, while upon the observation of an abandoned horse, some politician jumps up and down and yells that we need to slit its throat and bleed it out on American soil so that a wealthy connoisseur in Europe or Asia can have a nice horsemeat snack?
According to USDA data, approximately 20 percent more American horses are being exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter now than were being slaughtered in the US prior to the closure of the foreign owned slaughterhouses in 2007. It is clear that the option to slaughter is readily available: you simply drop off your horse at the nearest auction or make a quick call to the local “kill buyer” and he will be dispatched through the pipeline to a foreign owned slaughter house in one of our NAFTA partners. Any abandoned horse, one would have to presume, is abandoned NOT because there are no slaughter plants in the US. To add to my confusion, there is nothing but anecdotal evidence that horses are being abandoned at a higher rate now than before the closure of the US slaughter plants, and that is because no better data exists: there is no data collected at the state or national level on horse abandonment or neglect. Even if a single year’s observation were available, which it is not, it would not constitute a sample that any statistician would take seriously. And the few independent scientific studies that have been conducted over the years all illustrate the very same result: rates of horse abandonment, neglect and abuse are completely uncorrelated with the availability of local slaughter facilities.
In some of the debate concerning the proposed bills, the idea is even being perpetrated that somehow inviting foreign horse killers back on US soil is part of the solution to the severe recession currently devastating the US economy; the invitation is touted as “economic development” in, for example, Montana। A sort of bizarre economic stimulus package, for states suffering job losses. For those unaware, Americans don’t eat horsemeat. The foreign owned slaughter houses formerly on US soil paid next to no taxes here. All profits were repatriated to the foreign owners in Europe. And agricultural output and employment in America represent 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent of GDP and employment respectively, tiny fractions of aggregate economic activity, as in any industrialized nation; indeed, that is the hallmark of a mature, post-industrial, service based economy such as the United States. You aren’t going to resurrect the US or your own state economy by killing 100,000 horses, an American icon, to satisfy the palette of some French or Japanese gourmand.
The agricultural and breeding interests that finance these new state political efforts want equine slaughter reintroduced on US soil because a) they fear that social and cultural rejection of equine slaughter might actually somehow induce American citizens to stop eating animals that ARE consumed as food here, b) they want to continue to breed for income and US slaughterhouses provide a more convenient venue for routine culling of the scores of less than perfect and commercially non-viable equine products of that breeding, and c) they represent the interests of a small percentage of US citizens who believe they have the right to dispose of their own animal however they choose, even if that involves a socially and culturally unacceptable act which is abhorred by over 70 percent of the US population according to any survey I have ever read.
My understanding is that optimal policy design requires that incentives be altered, if you are going to shift the allocation of economic resources away from the privately profitable but socially undesirable, and towards the socially and culturally desirable. In my opinion the only way that you will halt irresponsible and excess breeding of equines, and irresponsible ownership, is to completely eliminate the slaughter option. While the horse slaughter industry EXISTS because foreigners want to eat horsemeat, it provides an easy reward for those who want to breed as many horses as they choose and dispose of the excess in the manner that they want to, and for owners who will not take responsibility for their horse’s care. Take away that reward with a federal ban on slaughter and export for slaughter, and slap a good tax on the product of any equine breeder, and the politicians currently yelling that we need to kill a bunch of horses may find it much harder to spot one that is abandoned.
We are currently being inundated with arguments that the reintroduction of equine slaughter on US soil is "necessary"। The only thing it is necessary for is to fill the pockets of the big breeders and their agricultural associates, and perhaps the pockets of a “bought” politician or two. Apparently the senators and representatives of Montana who just passed a bill to introduce a new horse slaughter plant there care more about fulfilling those needs, than the fact that 85 percent of their own state citizens strongly object to the proposal. Suppose the devastated US economy is making it tough for horse owners and breeders to maintain for their animals in some states? Why is the solution to re-introduce a culturally and socially unacceptable practice with a horrendous USDA record of humane transportation violations? Why, instead, aren’t these states considering the establishment of temporary state funded horse rescues, with jobs in them that provide tax revenue, until the economy recovers and the horses can find homes? Why aren’t they providing additional funding and jobs for Humane Societies and Animal Control agencies to cope with whatever is being claimed that they are having to deal with? Why not do something that BENEFITS HORSES as well as creating some jobs? And why not impose a state tax on horse breeders to help fund it all?
Caroline M। Betts, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
University of Southern California
From Caroline M। Betts, Economist, USC
Letter to the Editor
Dear Horseback Readers,
I feel compelled to respond to the rash of state efforts (Montana, Illinois, and North Dakota to name just a few) to re-introduce the slaughter of horses in the United States of America. As a professional economist, I find the arguments spouted nationwide to re-invite foreign owned horse killing facilities onto American soil confusing and without merit.
To paraphrase a horse rescuer I know, why is it that upon the observation of an abandoned dog or cat, people jump up and down to preserve the life of that animal, while upon the observation of an abandoned horse, some politician jumps up and down and yells that we need to slit its throat and bleed it out on American soil so that a wealthy connoisseur in Europe or Asia can have a nice horsemeat snack?
According to USDA data, approximately 20 percent more American horses are being exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter now than were being slaughtered in the US prior to the closure of the foreign owned slaughterhouses in 2007. It is clear that the option to slaughter is readily available: you simply drop off your horse at the nearest auction or make a quick call to the local “kill buyer” and he will be dispatched through the pipeline to a foreign owned slaughter house in one of our NAFTA partners. Any abandoned horse, one would have to presume, is abandoned NOT because there are no slaughter plants in the US. To add to my confusion, there is nothing but anecdotal evidence that horses are being abandoned at a higher rate now than before the closure of the US slaughter plants, and that is because no better data exists: there is no data collected at the state or national level on horse abandonment or neglect. Even if a single year’s observation were available, which it is not, it would not constitute a sample that any statistician would take seriously. And the few independent scientific studies that have been conducted over the years all illustrate the very same result: rates of horse abandonment, neglect and abuse are completely uncorrelated with the availability of local slaughter facilities.
In some of the debate concerning the proposed bills, the idea is even being perpetrated that somehow inviting foreign horse killers back on US soil is part of the solution to the severe recession currently devastating the US economy; the invitation is touted as “economic development” in, for example, Montana। A sort of bizarre economic stimulus package, for states suffering job losses. For those unaware, Americans don’t eat horsemeat. The foreign owned slaughter houses formerly on US soil paid next to no taxes here. All profits were repatriated to the foreign owners in Europe. And agricultural output and employment in America represent 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent of GDP and employment respectively, tiny fractions of aggregate economic activity, as in any industrialized nation; indeed, that is the hallmark of a mature, post-industrial, service based economy such as the United States. You aren’t going to resurrect the US or your own state economy by killing 100,000 horses, an American icon, to satisfy the palette of some French or Japanese gourmand.
The agricultural and breeding interests that finance these new state political efforts want equine slaughter reintroduced on US soil because a) they fear that social and cultural rejection of equine slaughter might actually somehow induce American citizens to stop eating animals that ARE consumed as food here, b) they want to continue to breed for income and US slaughterhouses provide a more convenient venue for routine culling of the scores of less than perfect and commercially non-viable equine products of that breeding, and c) they represent the interests of a small percentage of US citizens who believe they have the right to dispose of their own animal however they choose, even if that involves a socially and culturally unacceptable act which is abhorred by over 70 percent of the US population according to any survey I have ever read.
My understanding is that optimal policy design requires that incentives be altered, if you are going to shift the allocation of economic resources away from the privately profitable but socially undesirable, and towards the socially and culturally desirable. In my opinion the only way that you will halt irresponsible and excess breeding of equines, and irresponsible ownership, is to completely eliminate the slaughter option. While the horse slaughter industry EXISTS because foreigners want to eat horsemeat, it provides an easy reward for those who want to breed as many horses as they choose and dispose of the excess in the manner that they want to, and for owners who will not take responsibility for their horse’s care. Take away that reward with a federal ban on slaughter and export for slaughter, and slap a good tax on the product of any equine breeder, and the politicians currently yelling that we need to kill a bunch of horses may find it much harder to spot one that is abandoned.
We are currently being inundated with arguments that the reintroduction of equine slaughter on US soil is "necessary"। The only thing it is necessary for is to fill the pockets of the big breeders and their agricultural associates, and perhaps the pockets of a “bought” politician or two. Apparently the senators and representatives of Montana who just passed a bill to introduce a new horse slaughter plant there care more about fulfilling those needs, than the fact that 85 percent of their own state citizens strongly object to the proposal. Suppose the devastated US economy is making it tough for horse owners and breeders to maintain for their animals in some states? Why is the solution to re-introduce a culturally and socially unacceptable practice with a horrendous USDA record of humane transportation violations? Why, instead, aren’t these states considering the establishment of temporary state funded horse rescues, with jobs in them that provide tax revenue, until the economy recovers and the horses can find homes? Why aren’t they providing additional funding and jobs for Humane Societies and Animal Control agencies to cope with whatever is being claimed that they are having to deal with? Why not do something that BENEFITS HORSES as well as creating some jobs? And why not impose a state tax on horse breeders to help fund it all?
Caroline M। Betts, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
University of Southern California
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Congress Must Act Now: Draconian Horse Killing Bill Equestrian News Release
CHICAGO, (EWA) - A vote in the Montana House Thursday on a Draconian horse killing bill demands immediate action by the Congress. The Equine Welfare Alliance urges immediate passage of the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009.
State legislation that has been introduced and passed in Montana and elsewhere to build horse slaughterhouses on US soil are in direct violation of federal law. Illinois, in particular, is attempting to completely remove veterinarian inspections. This is a clear message stating that the US does not care what drugs the horses have ingested, what diseases they carry and more importantly, what the consequences will be to the consumers of the horse meat.
In Montana, the bill was written to prohibit citizens from bringing suit against the building of a plant based on environmental issues unless a fee is paid equaling 20% of the construction cost. This is a violation of the constitutional rights of every American citizen to have access to the courts in a fair, equitable and above all, affordable arena.
Congress can no longer ignore that the basis of the campaign unleashed by pro horse slaughter supporters and organizations is fraught with lies and scare tactics. Organizations and individuals promoting horse slaughter have not provided one piece of solid evidence that justifies or supports the need for horse slaughter. Their constant media blitzes consist of false articles portraying a tsunami of abandoned horses and dismissal of irrefutable evidence provided by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The documentation of unspeakable abuse and cruelty extracted reluctantly from the United States Department of Agriculture proves the need to forever prohibit killing horses for human consumption in foreign markets.
The media campaign is misleading at best, and downright dishonest, at worst. The spin includes calling horse slaughter processing, harvesting, humane euthanasia and recycling, in an attempt to transform the reality into something more palatable. These words belie the reality that living creatures are strung upside down, as their throats are cut for a slow death, while hooves are sawed off from their bodies. The horse is still living and often conscious during this “humane” process.
Anti slaughter advocates are accused of being employed by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) or being city “folk” that don’t understand the horse industry. Nowhere does the reader see one fact or any type of data to support the claims.
Increasingly, supporters of horse slaughter squawk that anti-slaughter advocates are vegans determined to end animal agriculture in the United States. Noting could be further from the truth.
Horses, mules, and other equines built the Capital building in Washington where their fate will be debated. These beasts of burden carried lumber, brick and mortar, to build the White House where we implore President Obama to sign the act.
The American Veterinarian Association (AVMA) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) classifies horses as companion animals, not livestock. Law enforcement rides service animals, hardly food stock animals. Livestock do not participate in the Triple Crown. Livestock are not used in therapy to help returning soldiers with head injuries, regain their balance. Livestock do not participate in presidential and military funerals. Every function horses perform in our society is that of a service animal.
It is time for Congress to take a stand and say enough is enough. Equines should be recognized as service animals and Congress must enact HR 503 immediately to end the cruelty and abuse American horses endure to satisfy European diners. It is time for Congress to remove the reward for irresponsible breeding and the owners that do not take responsibility for equines they chose to own or breed.
We urge caring Americans to pester your Legislators relentlessly until they pass and President Obama signs legislation putting an end to the obscene cruelty of horse slaughter.
State legislation that has been introduced and passed in Montana and elsewhere to build horse slaughterhouses on US soil are in direct violation of federal law. Illinois, in particular, is attempting to completely remove veterinarian inspections. This is a clear message stating that the US does not care what drugs the horses have ingested, what diseases they carry and more importantly, what the consequences will be to the consumers of the horse meat.
In Montana, the bill was written to prohibit citizens from bringing suit against the building of a plant based on environmental issues unless a fee is paid equaling 20% of the construction cost. This is a violation of the constitutional rights of every American citizen to have access to the courts in a fair, equitable and above all, affordable arena.
Congress can no longer ignore that the basis of the campaign unleashed by pro horse slaughter supporters and organizations is fraught with lies and scare tactics. Organizations and individuals promoting horse slaughter have not provided one piece of solid evidence that justifies or supports the need for horse slaughter. Their constant media blitzes consist of false articles portraying a tsunami of abandoned horses and dismissal of irrefutable evidence provided by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The documentation of unspeakable abuse and cruelty extracted reluctantly from the United States Department of Agriculture proves the need to forever prohibit killing horses for human consumption in foreign markets.
The media campaign is misleading at best, and downright dishonest, at worst. The spin includes calling horse slaughter processing, harvesting, humane euthanasia and recycling, in an attempt to transform the reality into something more palatable. These words belie the reality that living creatures are strung upside down, as their throats are cut for a slow death, while hooves are sawed off from their bodies. The horse is still living and often conscious during this “humane” process.
Anti slaughter advocates are accused of being employed by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) or being city “folk” that don’t understand the horse industry. Nowhere does the reader see one fact or any type of data to support the claims.
Increasingly, supporters of horse slaughter squawk that anti-slaughter advocates are vegans determined to end animal agriculture in the United States. Noting could be further from the truth.
Horses, mules, and other equines built the Capital building in Washington where their fate will be debated. These beasts of burden carried lumber, brick and mortar, to build the White House where we implore President Obama to sign the act.
The American Veterinarian Association (AVMA) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) classifies horses as companion animals, not livestock. Law enforcement rides service animals, hardly food stock animals. Livestock do not participate in the Triple Crown. Livestock are not used in therapy to help returning soldiers with head injuries, regain their balance. Livestock do not participate in presidential and military funerals. Every function horses perform in our society is that of a service animal.
It is time for Congress to take a stand and say enough is enough. Equines should be recognized as service animals and Congress must enact HR 503 immediately to end the cruelty and abuse American horses endure to satisfy European diners. It is time for Congress to remove the reward for irresponsible breeding and the owners that do not take responsibility for equines they chose to own or breed.
We urge caring Americans to pester your Legislators relentlessly until they pass and President Obama signs legislation putting an end to the obscene cruelty of horse slaughter.
Monday, March 23, 2009
85% of Montana’s Constituents Are Opposed to a Horse Slaughtering Plant
Representative Wanzenreid has responded to all my (and many others fighting to end horse slaughter) communications recently requesting opposition to the Montana Horse Slaughtering Bill, HB 418. Sadly, the bill was passed on Friday afternoon and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature.
Even more sad is the fact that he notes that 85% of the calls he got opposed the allowing of a horse killing plant in Montana. Apparently many of his colleagues (and I use the term loosely) aren’t listening to their constituents.
Horses are NOT products or produce. They were never meant to be harvested or processed. There should not be a “salvage” cost for these loyal animals that we partner with, compete with and recreate with.
Here is an email from Representative Wanzenreid। You’ll also find a link below to a YouTube Video created to oppose HB 418. It is not graphic or offensive in any way. Please forward generously, as the legislator asks us. Thank you for being a good, and responsible man, sir.
###############
It has been my great privilege to become acquainted with you (some better than others) during our battle to defeat House Bill 418, which authorizes the formation of investor-owned equine slaughtering facilities.
My, but, that sounds antiseptic, doesn’t it?
Now, that the bill has passed the Senate and is on its way to the Governor, I want to take a minute and share a few thoughts.
First, thank you for your conviction to fight what amounts to a horrible, horrible idea. Because of your commitment and willingness to engage, your voices were heard. Your convictions and principles resonated.
Second, thank you for your patience in educating those of us elected officials who share your concerns and horror of sanctioning such an inhumane, disgraceful idea. We newcomers to this issue benefitted immensely from your ideas, data and willingness to answer questions (in some cases, more than once).
Regardless of what happens now, I am afraid that the damage to Montana’s renowned grandeur and rustic elegance is done. But, the damage, that is likely to follow, will not occur because the opposition was silent or subdued. As a team, we gave it our best effort and came up short. I’ve been through more skirmishes than I care to recall. But, honestly, I never remember being as proud as I was with the effort put forth by every team member on this one.
So, thank you.
Next steps
The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for administrative processing and then on to the Governor.
The Governor has three options: sign; veto; allow the bill to become law without his signature. (The Governor could make an amendatory veto, but I doubt the Legislature would approve it. Besides, a horrible idea like this cannot be made less egregious with the infusion of new words.) I recommend that each of you send an e-mail or contact his office requesting a veto. The contact information is listed below. Then, write a letter to the editor expressing your opinion and ask your friends to do the same.
If the Governor signs the bill or it becomes a law without his signature, Montana’s constitution provides an initiative process, by which the electorate may gather signatures asking for a vote to repeal a law. The last time this was done successfully was following the 2003 Legislature, when several legislators headed a successful initiative effort to repeal an ill-advised energy law.
If the Governor signs the bill or it becomes a law without his signature, Congress could pass HR 503, which would ban this type of operation in the United States.
In closing, I would like to share some data.
I log each of my contacts. Every e-mail, every phone call, every letter.
I received just under a thousand contacts on House Bill 418.
The supporters expressed argued that outside, sinister forces were behind the opposition. Nothing could be further from the truth. I received 82 contacts from out of state, 61 in support and 21 in opposition. The remainder of the contacts was from Montanans and roughly 85 percent were in opposition to the bill.
Facts are indeed a stubborn thing.
Please continue to keep in contact with me and please notify me if I may be of assistance.
Respectfully,
Dave Wanzenried
Senate District #49
903 Sky Drive
Missoula Montana 59804-3121
Even more sad is the fact that he notes that 85% of the calls he got opposed the allowing of a horse killing plant in Montana. Apparently many of his colleagues (and I use the term loosely) aren’t listening to their constituents.
Horses are NOT products or produce. They were never meant to be harvested or processed. There should not be a “salvage” cost for these loyal animals that we partner with, compete with and recreate with.
Here is an email from Representative Wanzenreid। You’ll also find a link below to a YouTube Video created to oppose HB 418. It is not graphic or offensive in any way. Please forward generously, as the legislator asks us. Thank you for being a good, and responsible man, sir.
###############
It has been my great privilege to become acquainted with you (some better than others) during our battle to defeat House Bill 418, which authorizes the formation of investor-owned equine slaughtering facilities.
My, but, that sounds antiseptic, doesn’t it?
Now, that the bill has passed the Senate and is on its way to the Governor, I want to take a minute and share a few thoughts.
First, thank you for your conviction to fight what amounts to a horrible, horrible idea. Because of your commitment and willingness to engage, your voices were heard. Your convictions and principles resonated.
Second, thank you for your patience in educating those of us elected officials who share your concerns and horror of sanctioning such an inhumane, disgraceful idea. We newcomers to this issue benefitted immensely from your ideas, data and willingness to answer questions (in some cases, more than once).
Regardless of what happens now, I am afraid that the damage to Montana’s renowned grandeur and rustic elegance is done. But, the damage, that is likely to follow, will not occur because the opposition was silent or subdued. As a team, we gave it our best effort and came up short. I’ve been through more skirmishes than I care to recall. But, honestly, I never remember being as proud as I was with the effort put forth by every team member on this one.
So, thank you.
Next steps
The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for administrative processing and then on to the Governor.
The Governor has three options: sign; veto; allow the bill to become law without his signature. (The Governor could make an amendatory veto, but I doubt the Legislature would approve it. Besides, a horrible idea like this cannot be made less egregious with the infusion of new words.) I recommend that each of you send an e-mail or contact his office requesting a veto. The contact information is listed below. Then, write a letter to the editor expressing your opinion and ask your friends to do the same.
If the Governor signs the bill or it becomes a law without his signature, Montana’s constitution provides an initiative process, by which the electorate may gather signatures asking for a vote to repeal a law. The last time this was done successfully was following the 2003 Legislature, when several legislators headed a successful initiative effort to repeal an ill-advised energy law.
If the Governor signs the bill or it becomes a law without his signature, Congress could pass HR 503, which would ban this type of operation in the United States.
In closing, I would like to share some data.
I log each of my contacts. Every e-mail, every phone call, every letter.
I received just under a thousand contacts on House Bill 418.
The supporters expressed argued that outside, sinister forces were behind the opposition. Nothing could be further from the truth. I received 82 contacts from out of state, 61 in support and 21 in opposition. The remainder of the contacts was from Montanans and roughly 85 percent were in opposition to the bill.
Facts are indeed a stubborn thing.
Please continue to keep in contact with me and please notify me if I may be of assistance.
Respectfully,
Dave Wanzenried
Senate District #49
903 Sky Drive
Missoula Montana 59804-3121
######
Good evening/ morning.
Sandy Elmore produced the attached segment making the case for a veto of House Bill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJDcLvtS_Bc
Please forward generously.
Thank you.
Dave Wanzenried
Senate District #49
903 Sky Drive
Missoula, Montana 59804-3121
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Slaughter Promotes Horse Theft And Heartache For Equine Owners
From Race Horse to Main Course
http://www।nbcwashington.com/news/weird/From-Race-Horse-To-Main-Course.html
Updated 9:36 AM EDT, Wed, Mar 18, 2009
NBC6
Dozens of horses disappearing in the dead of night only to be found stripped of skin and meat on a roadside. Other horses are discovered butchered in their stables by mortified owners.
But the culprit isn't some half-wolf, half-man abomination that preys on thoroughbreds during the full moon.
They are poachers from Miami's black market who sell the horses' meat, which is a popular delicacy among new arrivals from other countries to the area. The horse meat can go for as much as $20 per pound and based on the number of bloody horse remains and meat-stripped carcasses found on the side of dirt roads and in stables across Miami-Dade, harvesting horses for meat is a lucrative business.
The sale of horse meat for human consumption is illegal in the U.S., but that hasn't stopped the meat from being in high demand by natives of the Caribbean, Cuba and other European countries who crave horse cuisine.
Some U.S. cattle ranchers have worked around the law by exporting horses to Mexico or Canada, where killing horses for dinner is legal.
Fostering some of the boom in slaughterhouses has been the horse-racing industry and some owners of race horses. Some discard a horse after it's out-lived its racing life or is injured. They are usually sold to the first person who offers a few bucks for the animal, as was the case for Freedom's Flight, a horse rescued during a raid at a Miami area slaughterhouse.
"Freedom's Flight would have definitely ended up on someone's plate. Absolutely. And we've seen it too many times," said Richard Cuoto, who volunteers for the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Freedom's Flight's blood line includes Secretariat and Seattle Slew, two of the greatest thoroughbreds of all-time. But his wealthy owner, Herman Heinlein, gave the horse to a handler after it broke a leg in a race at Gulfstream Park. The handler, Marian Brill, sold Freedom's Flight for $500, but refuses to say to whom. Police believe Freedom's Flight eventually ended up at a pony ride show before he wound up at the slaughterhouse.
"I've already told you, I can't and I won't," she said in an interview with NBC6.
Freedom's Flight's saga and salvation is the exception to the rule, animal rights advocates said. Other race horses have had a less than ceremonial retirement.
The real horror may be that no arrests have been made in the deaths. Authorities claim it would be hard to charge someone with a crime because it's difficult to tell if a horse found butchered on the side of the road was killed by a poacher or an owner.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Pennsylvania Woman Saves Race Horse From Slaughter Death
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Safe-Haven-for-Horses/vm-ngptAoEqjxIecWdmiBw.cspx
 Cheree Esposito runs a non-profit horse rescue from her barn outside Franklintown, York County. She's got enough room for ten horses at "Safe Haven Arabians," but right now, there are only eight. This is her latest addition - a five year old thoroughbred that she rescued from an auction kill pen three weeks ago. She knew she was going there that day to save some horse's life. She just didn't know which one. "And I asked (God), 'Give me a sign for the one I'm supposed to save.' And he (Nick) just stared me down and gave me this look," says Esposito. It was a horse named Jazzercise. He was just about to be carted off ... and eventually be taken to the border, and sold for slaughter. But at the last minute, Esposito convinced the man to sell her the horse. "I (re-)named him Nick because I got there in the nick of time to save him," says Esposito. Nick's been at Safe Haven ever since ... training, recovering, learning to trust again. Esposito tested Nick by doing what she does with all her rescues - she pulled a sleeping bag into his stall one night and laid down. "He comes over and nuzzles and nudges, and the last time I did it, he actually laid down right next to me," says Esposito. Nick is just one of many success stories ... horses that other people were done with, couldn't afford, or didn't see as anything more than meat on a plate. At Save Haven, they're just allowed to "be" -- while their guardian angel finds them the perfect home. "When the people come (to adopt a horse) and you do find that match, you know you're in it for the right reasons," says Esposito. If you'd like to contact Esposito about adopting one of her rescue horses, click here।
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
Equine Vet Speaks Out Against Horse Slaughter
Equine Vet Speaks Out Against Horse Slaughter
http://www।hsvma.org/advocacy/news/equine_vet_speaks_out.htmlBy Lisa Carter, DVM
I am a horse person, a true horse person. I get up every morning at the break of dawn, put on my coveralls, boots, hat, gloves, and winter parka to trudge across the snowy yard to take care of my horses. I feed them, water them, turn them out, clean their stalls, and give them the love that they deserve.
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| Dr. Lisa Carter and her beloved companion, Black Diamond. |
The big difference between true horse people and horse owners is the long-term responsibility they take for their horses. True horse people care about their horses, even when they no longer own them or they are no longer "useful."
Taking Responsibility
I currently have a 27-year-old Arabian gelding that I showed competitively on the Class A Arabian show circuit. We won many ribbons and reserve championships. Over time, he became old and arthritic, insulin intolerant, and I was no longer able to ride him.
The easiest manner of getting rid of this responsibility would be to ship him off to an auction house where he would be sold for slaughter. I would make about $200 off the deal and be rid of this high-maintenance horse.
But I am a true horse person. I take the responsibility of horse ownership seriously and know that it is a lifelong commitment. I know that when my geriatric horse's quality of life is gone, I will humanely euthanize him by chemical injection. It is the least that I can do for this wonderful animal.
Easy Way Out
Some horse owners take the easy route to rid themselves of "useless" horses. They send their horse to an auction. He or she is left in a pen for 12-24 hours without food or water, packed up into another trailer (sometimes a double-decker cattle trailer), and hauled hundreds of miles—still without food or water—often incurring injuries during the ride due to the overcrowding.
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| An American horse enters the kill box at a Mexican slaughter plant.©The HSUS |
If they are lucky, they will only be struck in the head once with a captive bolt before their subsequent death. Most are not so lucky. Some very unfortunate horses end up in Mexico, where they are stabbed repeatedly in the neck in an effort to sever the spinal cord. These horses are paralyzed while being butchered, but still fully conscious.
Options are Available
I realize that not everyone has the financial ability to keep a horse that is no longer useful or is in poor health, but shipping a horse off to a slaughterhouse for a quick buck is simply wrong.
There are many options for people that are financially unable to care for their horses—they can relinquish their horse to a rescue organization, sell their horse to a carefully vetted private owner, donate their horse to a riding center, or have a veterinarian humanely euthanize their horse.
What You Can Do
As well as being a true horse person, I am also an equine veterinarian. I cancelled my membership to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) because I do not agree with their pro-slaughter stance. Their position on slaughter mirrors that of big money making organizations like the American Quarter Horse Association, whose members often use slaughter as a quick and easy way of disposing of "useless" horses while making a quick buck.
Currently there is a bill going through Congress, H.R. 503, known as the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which would make it illegal to slaughter American horses for human consumption overseas, as well as ban the export of horses for slaughter.
I beg all of you, especially true horse people, to contact your Congressman and urge them to pass this bill. Horses deserve to be treated in a humane manner—H.R. 503 will make this inhumane manner of horse disposal a thing of the past.
Dr. Lisa Carter is a veterinarian and avid horse enthusiast and owner.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thanks to Jim Durkin of Illinois Who Opposes Horse Slaughter
An Open Letter to the People and Legislators of Illinois Regarding Horse Slaughter:
Dear Illinois Legislator,
I am writing to implore you to vote NO to HB 583.
You see I am a volunteer at a horse rescue. I see the beautiful, sound horses we pull out of the slaughter pens. Most of these horses go on to live productive lives with people who love them.
The slaughterhouse is not a place that humanely takes care of old, sick or dangerous horses. Those are the horses the kill buyers are least likely to buy. They want the healthiest, meatiest horses they can find. The USDA reports that over 92% of the horses that go to slaughter are young, sound and not dangerous.
The trip to the slaughterhouse is perhaps worse than the cruel, slow and painful death. Many horses arrive missing eyes and limbs. Please view this link:
http://www.kaufmanzoning.net/foiaphotos.html
It will horrify you. If you support slaughter, you must look at these pictures and you must condone the horrors these horses have experienced. Do you really want to be that conscienceless?
Horse are revered and special animals. We bond closely with them, like we do our cats and dogs. The vast majority of Americans do not want horses slaughtered.
Slaughter encourages the theft of horses. I don't want my horse stolen and ending up at a slaughter house! What a horrible way for my friend and partner to die.
Please do the right thing and vote NO. Your state doesn't want the ugly reputation and environmental issues that will profit only foreign interests.
Horses deserve to die with dignity, just like our cats and dogs. Euthanasia as performed by a Vet is the humane way to let our horses leave this world.
Thank you,
Lorri Roush Shaver
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Response from Jim Durkin:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding HB 583, the bill to overturn Illinois’ ban on horse slaughter. I will vote no on this bill. We do not eat horses in this state, nor in this country.
History has shown that horses are distinct from other animals because they are respected and revered, much like dogs and cats. As such, they should not be a commodity to serve European and Asian palates.
Sincerely,
State Representative Jim Durkin
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saving "Nic" From Horse Slaughter - A Day At New Holland Livestock Auction
This is a factual account of the New Holland Livestock Auction on Monday, February 23rd, 2009. Cheree, who rescues Arabian horses in danger of slaughter plans to attend the Auction and save a horse - probably an Arab. He is her account of "Saving Nic."
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My day was off to a rough start before I even left the house. I set my alarm for 5:00 am, but didn't sleep a wink, I was up all night tossing and turning, just dreading the day ahead of me.
I left for New Holland around 7am, when I was about three miles from the auction I saw the first nightmare of the day... an Amish buggy, being pulled by a horse that just couldn't do the job: (He was a Saddlebred very obviously, but about 300 lbs too thin, and the sweat pouring off this horse was so intense it looked like he has a water hose on him. He was trying his hardest to pull the weight, but could barely break a trot, and they were literally beating him with the whip to keep him moving forward, he had whip marks all over his rear an was bleeding in some spots.... When I saw this, I almost turned the car around and went home. It was awful.... My heart was pounding out of my chest when I arrived at new Holland minutes later. It was 8:30 am.... Most of the horses that were going to run through the auction that day were already there tied up and waiting…there weren't as many as I thought there would be this week... Maybe seventy-five at most.
I was anxious for [my friend] Rita to arrive, because it was all very hectic and confusing, and I needed someone in my corner for sure... While I was waiting for Rita (who by the way is one of the most amazing women I have yet to meet) I walked around asking about local transport, as Lorraine was full. I found it, in about 5 minutes or less... so now I knew it was time to buy... Obviously I was looking for an Arab, luckily for my new guy, there were none in sight... I walked the isles over and over again.... looking at all these poor horses... Some of them nice, some very neglected, too thin, cuts, scars, and a lot of draft horses....I saw a young filly, who was obviously scared to death with her eyes bugging out of her head, pull back on her tie, as something spooked her, she was pulling back and going crazy trying to break free, and some people came and took a cattle rod to her rear, and scared her even more, and she finally reared up and flipped over cutting her back up... I left the auction halls, and went to my car to sit for a moment and get myself together....I returned about ten minutes later and saw a few more horses had arrived, been tagged and were waiting for the auction to begin, so they could determine their fate...It wasn't long before the horse I was meant to save chose me to save him... His number was 388... he was a gorgeous 16.2 hand boy thoroughbred with black stockings, his face was so pretty, I thought there must have been a little Arab blood in there somewhere, he turned around as much as he could and starred at me, locked eyes, and held it for a good 30 seconds or more even, without reading too far into, his eyes most definitely were pleading for me help... He was so nice looking, I thought for sure he'd be out of my price range, he was the nicest horse at the auction, and the locked eye contact touched me, as all the other horses were either too busy biting and kicking each other or so scared the kept their faces buried in their hay... This one was special...
Rita arrives!!! YAY!! Someone to show me the ropes, someone to share my sorrows! Thank God she is here!!!! Rita and I walked around, as I told her excitedly that I found someone to ship and I think I had found my horse!!!! She said "well let’s go see him" and so we went.... It was around 9:30ish by then, five minutes earlier my boy starred me down and asked me to save him, five minutes later, with Rita by my side I go to show her him... and he is gone.... Never being to New Holland before, I am very confused... "Where could he have gone?" "The auction didn't even start yet?!" Rita new where he had gone...he was in the kill pen... purchased privately by a meat buyer before the start of the auction.... We found the broker who brought him to the sale and proceeded to find out which dealer bought him and if he was in fact in the "pen."
We met much resistance to say the least. I had five good ol' boys at once telling me "You don't want that crazy son of a bitch, that horse will hurt you, he is CRAZY!" "I'm not gonna sell you that horse, he deserves to be slaughtered, that crazy son a bitch got loose in here, and it took five of us to catch him, we had to rope that crazy a$% horse, you do not want that horse!" I politely asked and stated "what makes him so crazy?" "If I got lose at a scary auction like this, I would run too and you could bet no one would catch me!" I then asked "is this crazy horse broke to ride?" They said "yes, he's a real nice riding horse, BUT he's crazy as sin, real head shy won't let you touch his face, if the wind blows he'll rip our arms off, again lady, YOU DO NOT WANT THIS HORSE!"Rita and I then walked back to the kill pen, and there he was... with about 25 other horses, he was more scared than any horse I have ever seen in my life, he was bleeding slightly on the face by his left eye, and has been kicked in the cheek and was all puffy, his eyes were big and blood shot, he was so scared... I gave him a treat through the bars and he snatched it up... I walked away with Rita... we were very sad....as we were walking back to the barn... the reality set in and I realized, that I had given that horse his last treat... the last treat he'll ever have.... How can I let this happen to such a young, beautiful and so called "crazy" horse??? I couldn't..... We headed back to the barn to find the meat dealer who had his fate sealed... Rita was coaching me along the way.... I was scared to death to have to go head to head with the meat dealer trying to make a deal for a horse I know he didn't give a damn about.... Rita stood back, and I approach the man point out to me. He said "Your back? You till want that crazy horse don't you?" I said "What do you want for him?" He said "How much you really want him?" I said "it's not about how much I want him, it's about what he' worth, how much?" He said "500.00" I said "NO WAY 350.00", he laughed in my face, and said AND I QUOTE "Shit no, I'll get more to slaughter that SOB, they'll give me at least 700.00 for a horse that size, then he raised his voice, his face got really grim and mean and said "NO DEAL" I looked over to Rita, she was holding up three fingers as to say "No more than THREE HUNDRED" and I agreed...I walked away....
Rita and I looked at some other horses, but I couldn't get it out of my mind... The locked eyes earlier, the scared eyes in the kill pen, did I really feed this horse his last treat? I decided I would approach him (the meat guy) again.... He had a smirk on his face this time, but was still very mean....I told Rita my plan was to poke holes in what the horse was worth, by asking it's age, and is he registered, etc.... I walk up to the meat buyer who is standing with the broker who sold him the horse... He laughed at me and said "back so soon?" I said "How old is this horse?" Broker said "5" I asked if he was registered broker said "should be, he got a lip tattoo, he's off the track, they don't race sh*# horses, although this one's crazy, and that's why he's here." The meat dealer then said "You got cash? I said "yes, but not 500.00", he said 400.00" I said "350.00" he said "375.00, let me see it" I took the money out and put it in his hand and he said to me "now look, you gotta go get the horse out of that pen, I ain’t goin' in there with all those other crazy horses, and I ain’t touching your crazy ass horse, and when this horse hurts you, I don't want you comin' up to me next auction cryin' about it, it's buy at your own risk, and you just did, ( as he shoves the money in his pocket) now go get your horse out of my pen, and good luck to you, cause you're gonna need it!" I then heard him mumble under his breath as I was walking away “crazy ass broad."
I walked away, Rita was smart enough to find the guy who agreed to haul the horse for me, who also rides at the auction, she asked him to get the horse out of the kill pen, he was nice and agreed, he went an got the "crazy horse" out, and put him in his own pen directly behind the kill pen.... He was very stressed, but....he was SAFE! Rita was my strong hold, she told me how to do it better the next time, but said she was proud of me, I held my own and I did a good job, she then pointed out, that I was shaking like a leaf... and I wasn't cold... She was right, I had just gone head to head with my # 1 enemy in the world, I could see by speaking to this man that he thought of horses like most people think of rats.... it was heart breaking, he really didn't care... Maybe he played me, maybe not. But I saved my boy, and made sure he hadn't eaten his last treat. Rita and I went back numerous times to check on him to make sure some auction worked didn't throw him back in the pen, by accident... I eventually got so paranoid, I went back and made a sign that said "SOLD! DO NOT LOAD THIS HORSE" When I went back there to put the sign on his stall, I noticed three more kill pens, three total, all full.... There were such nice horses in the slaughter pen, some had brand new blankets on, new halters...I wonder if their owners new what happened that day at the auction, and where they were headed... It was hard... to say the very least. I slipped in my pen with the new "crazy" horse, that "won't let you touch his face" and in less than a minute, I was scratching inside his ears, took his halter off to adjust the size, put it BACK ON... The horse although still very stressed, was as good as could be, his eyes softened, he listened when I spoke to him, he let me rub his face, and feel the lump on his cheek where he was kicked, I brushed him with my hands, feed him treats.... Rita walked back and said "Yeah, he seems reallllllly crazy doesn't he?" We both laughed, he surely wasn't crazy....The kill buyers thought he was a "crazy SOB" because he escaped at the auction and was running for his life, he didn't want to be caught, because he has a will to live!! To me and Rita, that's a smart horse fighting for his life, not a dangerous one...
The auction is ending... I see dead animals everywhere, a lot of cows and baby cows didn't make it :( I saw 10 BIG horned bulls in the same pen stabbing each other to death. I saw a horse being beat because it wouldn't move out of the way in the kill pen, when the truth is, there was NO ROOM for the poor thing to move. I saw babies ripped away from their mothers, and Amish horses standing for hours and hours with no water. I saw a lot of sad eyes looking back at me, and I watched horses being punished for just being horses.... I said an almost tearful goodbye to Rita, because she was such an angel and so there for me, I was truly sad to say goodbye to her.... I confirmed my address with my shipper, and I waited until most of the kill pen horses were gone to make sure they didn't try to sneak mine back into the herd and take him! I headed home.....My new OTTB was about 45 minutes behind me... he arrived, safe and sound... The most defining moment for me was when he stepped off the trailer and was heading toward the barn, and I was leading him... he let out this huge **sigh** and his eyes became as soft as they possibly could... He relaxed almost instantly... I led him back past the barn to the QT round pen, and put him in there, I went and got a blanket, tied him which the meat buyer and broker who sold him said COULD NOT BE DONE, "YOU CANNOT TIE THAT HORSE HE'LL TAKE DOWN THE BARN" I tied him to the fence of the round pen, and brushed him and put his blanket on, and he was wonderful, I put medicine on the cut by his eye, wonderful....He didn't even threaten to drag me, pull me, spook at being tied up.. He is very certainly NOT a crazy horse. I have named him "Nic" short for "Nic of time" because I literally got there just in the nick of time to save him….
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My day was off to a rough start before I even left the house. I set my alarm for 5:00 am, but didn't sleep a wink, I was up all night tossing and turning, just dreading the day ahead of me.
I left for New Holland around 7am, when I was about three miles from the auction I saw the first nightmare of the day... an Amish buggy, being pulled by a horse that just couldn't do the job: (He was a Saddlebred very obviously, but about 300 lbs too thin, and the sweat pouring off this horse was so intense it looked like he has a water hose on him. He was trying his hardest to pull the weight, but could barely break a trot, and they were literally beating him with the whip to keep him moving forward, he had whip marks all over his rear an was bleeding in some spots.... When I saw this, I almost turned the car around and went home. It was awful.... My heart was pounding out of my chest when I arrived at new Holland minutes later. It was 8:30 am.... Most of the horses that were going to run through the auction that day were already there tied up and waiting…there weren't as many as I thought there would be this week... Maybe seventy-five at most.
I was anxious for [my friend] Rita to arrive, because it was all very hectic and confusing, and I needed someone in my corner for sure... While I was waiting for Rita (who by the way is one of the most amazing women I have yet to meet) I walked around asking about local transport, as Lorraine was full. I found it, in about 5 minutes or less... so now I knew it was time to buy... Obviously I was looking for an Arab, luckily for my new guy, there were none in sight... I walked the isles over and over again.... looking at all these poor horses... Some of them nice, some very neglected, too thin, cuts, scars, and a lot of draft horses....I saw a young filly, who was obviously scared to death with her eyes bugging out of her head, pull back on her tie, as something spooked her, she was pulling back and going crazy trying to break free, and some people came and took a cattle rod to her rear, and scared her even more, and she finally reared up and flipped over cutting her back up... I left the auction halls, and went to my car to sit for a moment and get myself together....I returned about ten minutes later and saw a few more horses had arrived, been tagged and were waiting for the auction to begin, so they could determine their fate...It wasn't long before the horse I was meant to save chose me to save him... His number was 388... he was a gorgeous 16.2 hand boy thoroughbred with black stockings, his face was so pretty, I thought there must have been a little Arab blood in there somewhere, he turned around as much as he could and starred at me, locked eyes, and held it for a good 30 seconds or more even, without reading too far into, his eyes most definitely were pleading for me help... He was so nice looking, I thought for sure he'd be out of my price range, he was the nicest horse at the auction, and the locked eye contact touched me, as all the other horses were either too busy biting and kicking each other or so scared the kept their faces buried in their hay... This one was special...
Rita arrives!!! YAY!! Someone to show me the ropes, someone to share my sorrows! Thank God she is here!!!! Rita and I walked around, as I told her excitedly that I found someone to ship and I think I had found my horse!!!! She said "well let’s go see him" and so we went.... It was around 9:30ish by then, five minutes earlier my boy starred me down and asked me to save him, five minutes later, with Rita by my side I go to show her him... and he is gone.... Never being to New Holland before, I am very confused... "Where could he have gone?" "The auction didn't even start yet?!" Rita new where he had gone...he was in the kill pen... purchased privately by a meat buyer before the start of the auction.... We found the broker who brought him to the sale and proceeded to find out which dealer bought him and if he was in fact in the "pen."
We met much resistance to say the least. I had five good ol' boys at once telling me "You don't want that crazy son of a bitch, that horse will hurt you, he is CRAZY!" "I'm not gonna sell you that horse, he deserves to be slaughtered, that crazy son a bitch got loose in here, and it took five of us to catch him, we had to rope that crazy a$% horse, you do not want that horse!" I politely asked and stated "what makes him so crazy?" "If I got lose at a scary auction like this, I would run too and you could bet no one would catch me!" I then asked "is this crazy horse broke to ride?" They said "yes, he's a real nice riding horse, BUT he's crazy as sin, real head shy won't let you touch his face, if the wind blows he'll rip our arms off, again lady, YOU DO NOT WANT THIS HORSE!"Rita and I then walked back to the kill pen, and there he was... with about 25 other horses, he was more scared than any horse I have ever seen in my life, he was bleeding slightly on the face by his left eye, and has been kicked in the cheek and was all puffy, his eyes were big and blood shot, he was so scared... I gave him a treat through the bars and he snatched it up... I walked away with Rita... we were very sad....as we were walking back to the barn... the reality set in and I realized, that I had given that horse his last treat... the last treat he'll ever have.... How can I let this happen to such a young, beautiful and so called "crazy" horse??? I couldn't..... We headed back to the barn to find the meat dealer who had his fate sealed... Rita was coaching me along the way.... I was scared to death to have to go head to head with the meat dealer trying to make a deal for a horse I know he didn't give a damn about.... Rita stood back, and I approach the man point out to me. He said "Your back? You till want that crazy horse don't you?" I said "What do you want for him?" He said "How much you really want him?" I said "it's not about how much I want him, it's about what he' worth, how much?" He said "500.00" I said "NO WAY 350.00", he laughed in my face, and said AND I QUOTE "Shit no, I'll get more to slaughter that SOB, they'll give me at least 700.00 for a horse that size, then he raised his voice, his face got really grim and mean and said "NO DEAL" I looked over to Rita, she was holding up three fingers as to say "No more than THREE HUNDRED" and I agreed...I walked away....
Rita and I looked at some other horses, but I couldn't get it out of my mind... The locked eyes earlier, the scared eyes in the kill pen, did I really feed this horse his last treat? I decided I would approach him (the meat guy) again.... He had a smirk on his face this time, but was still very mean....I told Rita my plan was to poke holes in what the horse was worth, by asking it's age, and is he registered, etc.... I walk up to the meat buyer who is standing with the broker who sold him the horse... He laughed at me and said "back so soon?" I said "How old is this horse?" Broker said "5" I asked if he was registered broker said "should be, he got a lip tattoo, he's off the track, they don't race sh*# horses, although this one's crazy, and that's why he's here." The meat dealer then said "You got cash? I said "yes, but not 500.00", he said 400.00" I said "350.00" he said "375.00, let me see it" I took the money out and put it in his hand and he said to me "now look, you gotta go get the horse out of that pen, I ain’t goin' in there with all those other crazy horses, and I ain’t touching your crazy ass horse, and when this horse hurts you, I don't want you comin' up to me next auction cryin' about it, it's buy at your own risk, and you just did, ( as he shoves the money in his pocket) now go get your horse out of my pen, and good luck to you, cause you're gonna need it!" I then heard him mumble under his breath as I was walking away “crazy ass broad."
I walked away, Rita was smart enough to find the guy who agreed to haul the horse for me, who also rides at the auction, she asked him to get the horse out of the kill pen, he was nice and agreed, he went an got the "crazy horse" out, and put him in his own pen directly behind the kill pen.... He was very stressed, but....he was SAFE! Rita was my strong hold, she told me how to do it better the next time, but said she was proud of me, I held my own and I did a good job, she then pointed out, that I was shaking like a leaf... and I wasn't cold... She was right, I had just gone head to head with my # 1 enemy in the world, I could see by speaking to this man that he thought of horses like most people think of rats.... it was heart breaking, he really didn't care... Maybe he played me, maybe not. But I saved my boy, and made sure he hadn't eaten his last treat. Rita and I went back numerous times to check on him to make sure some auction worked didn't throw him back in the pen, by accident... I eventually got so paranoid, I went back and made a sign that said "SOLD! DO NOT LOAD THIS HORSE" When I went back there to put the sign on his stall, I noticed three more kill pens, three total, all full.... There were such nice horses in the slaughter pen, some had brand new blankets on, new halters...I wonder if their owners new what happened that day at the auction, and where they were headed... It was hard... to say the very least. I slipped in my pen with the new "crazy" horse, that "won't let you touch his face" and in less than a minute, I was scratching inside his ears, took his halter off to adjust the size, put it BACK ON... The horse although still very stressed, was as good as could be, his eyes softened, he listened when I spoke to him, he let me rub his face, and feel the lump on his cheek where he was kicked, I brushed him with my hands, feed him treats.... Rita walked back and said "Yeah, he seems reallllllly crazy doesn't he?" We both laughed, he surely wasn't crazy....The kill buyers thought he was a "crazy SOB" because he escaped at the auction and was running for his life, he didn't want to be caught, because he has a will to live!! To me and Rita, that's a smart horse fighting for his life, not a dangerous one...
The auction is ending... I see dead animals everywhere, a lot of cows and baby cows didn't make it :( I saw 10 BIG horned bulls in the same pen stabbing each other to death. I saw a horse being beat because it wouldn't move out of the way in the kill pen, when the truth is, there was NO ROOM for the poor thing to move. I saw babies ripped away from their mothers, and Amish horses standing for hours and hours with no water. I saw a lot of sad eyes looking back at me, and I watched horses being punished for just being horses.... I said an almost tearful goodbye to Rita, because she was such an angel and so there for me, I was truly sad to say goodbye to her.... I confirmed my address with my shipper, and I waited until most of the kill pen horses were gone to make sure they didn't try to sneak mine back into the herd and take him! I headed home.....My new OTTB was about 45 minutes behind me... he arrived, safe and sound... The most defining moment for me was when he stepped off the trailer and was heading toward the barn, and I was leading him... he let out this huge **sigh** and his eyes became as soft as they possibly could... He relaxed almost instantly... I led him back past the barn to the QT round pen, and put him in there, I went and got a blanket, tied him which the meat buyer and broker who sold him said COULD NOT BE DONE, "YOU CANNOT TIE THAT HORSE HE'LL TAKE DOWN THE BARN" I tied him to the fence of the round pen, and brushed him and put his blanket on, and he was wonderful, I put medicine on the cut by his eye, wonderful....He didn't even threaten to drag me, pull me, spook at being tied up.. He is very certainly NOT a crazy horse. I have named him "Nic" short for "Nic of time" because I literally got there just in the nick of time to save him….
Monday, February 23, 2009
End Sacia's Foolhardy Attempt to Bring Horse Slaughter Back to Illinois
Even if you aren't from Illinois, if you care about horses please make these calls! Horse slaughter is a national issue. We don't want our horses stolen and ending up in a slaughter house!!
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URGENT AWI eAlert:
Illinois Horse Slaughter Advocate Trying to Overturn Ban - Again
Dear Humanitarian:
On Tuesday, February 24th, the Illinois General Assembly’s Agriculture and Conservation Committee will consider H.B. 583, a bill designed to overturn the state’s ban on horse slaughter. The ban, which went into effect in 2007, closed the country’s last remaining horse slaughter plant – Cavel International (based in DeKalb, IL) – which was foreign-owned, marking the end to an utterly cruel practice that the majority of Americans oppose.
The sponsor of the pro-slaughter bill, Representative Jim Sacia, has a long history of fighting to keep horse slaughter alive despite strong opposition from the majority of Illinois residents and the American public. Rep. Sacia is out of step with public opinion and his effort is in vain; having sat empty for almost two years the former Cavel plant recently opened to slaughter non-equine species. Further, the U.S. Congress is currently considering the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which is anticipated to move quickly, and will prohibit the slaughter of horses here as well as their export for slaughter abroad.
What You Can Do
If you are from Illinois please click on the links below and call each member of the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee, except for Rep. Sacia who also serves on the committee, and politely ask them to oppose H.B. 583. Contact information for committee members is shown below. Remind them that:
- You oppose H.B. 583 because horse slaughter is a cruel and unnecessary practice.
- The Illinois General Assembly banned horse slaughter by an overwhelming majority in 2007, and urge them to reject Representative Sacia’s bill, H.B. 583.
- There is no evidence to support Rep. Sacia’s claims that Cavel’s closure has led to an increase in horse abandonment.
- Ending horse slaughter stopped an overt form of animal cruelty and has only been good for the horses. The state ban is important.
- Rep. Sacia complained that closing Cavel would put local workers out of business despite the cruelty of the industry. The building that formerly housed Cavel has recently re-opened to slaughter non-equine species, thus bring jobs and income to the local economy. His argument is even more irrelevant given this development.
- Please also let them know that you support passage of the federal Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which is expected to move quickly this Congress. The bill will prohibit the slaughter of American horses throughout the United States as well as their export abroad for the same purpose.
Agriculture & Conservation Committee - Members 96th General Assembly
Chairperson: Brandon W. Phelps
Vice-Chairperson :Patrick J Verschoore
Republican Spokesperson: Jim Sacia
Member: John D. Cavaletto
Member: Shane Cultra
Member: Lisa M. Dugan
Member: Robert F. Flider
Member: Mary E. Flowers
Member: Julie Hamos
Member: Donald L. Moffitt
Member: Richard P. Myers
Member: David Reis
Member: Dan Reitz
The hearing for Rep. Sacia’s bill is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24th. Please call every committee member and make sure they are aware of the facts on each bill.
Be sure to bookmark http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/whats_new.htm updates on this hearing and other horse slaughter campaign information.Please share this eAlert with friends, family and coworkers, and urge them to weigh in with the Illinois state legislature to ensure that horses continue to receive the protection they deserve. As always, thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
Chris Heyde
Deputy Director of Government and Legal Affairs
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The face of death
#396, A kind, gentle Thoroughbred
All that is left
I will never forget him...I promise. I am so sorry, #396...I don't even have a name for you...
Why would you take my life? Am I a food source animal?
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