Dairy Cows Abused Routinely - And Unnecessarily

Animals Angels has done another investigation – this time into the fate of dairy cows. I have to say the article really hit home with me. Every week at New Holland Livestock Auction you can see dairy cows on their way to the slaughterhouse. The very painful part of seeing them is that they are carrying huge, milk laden udders and no one offers them a bit of relief. They obviously suffer horribly on their way to slaughter. Isn’t there a better – a humane – way?

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(From the above line)

A few personal words

I remember quite clearly my first encounter with a so called "spent" Dairy Cow. I looked twice to see, was she really a cow? She was bony, and yet an absurdly huge udder mounded up from where she lay. It was July 2006 and she was panting heavily, unsheltered in the hot 98 degree sun in a far corner of the auction property.

She looked like nothing was left of her yet she was alive, her eyes expressive. Her bones poked up from her skin like tent poles. She was foaming from the mouth, her knees were bleeding, and milk dripped from her enormous udder.

She suffered quietly, like all "Dairy" Cows do. The auction workers joked about her appearance and referred to her as "Cheeseburger." One worker said to me, "These are all going to -----," naming a national fast food chain. I gave her water. Later that night, she was relentlessly shocked with an electric prod to make her rise and struggle horribly to get to the sale ring where she sold for $50.

Hours later, as sick as she was, she was loaded onto a double deck truck to be, I am sure now, injured further as she was shipped for immediate slaughter. It is exactly 4 years later. She was not unique but the first of hundreds to be encountered at auctions nationwide. But she was the first and in my mind she stands out unforgettably.

Since July 2006 Animals' Angels has worked to alleviate the suffering of "Dairy" Cows. We can achieve much better treatment and conditions for all of these animals. Much of the investigating, documenting, filing of complaints, first & second rounds of meetings, is already done or in full swing. We have the ability, a good body of work and certainly the will. The time to dedicate a High Priority Campaign to "Dairy" Cows is now.

This month's newsletter focuses on the "Dairy" Cow, her life as it is and how we can bring about the widespread and enduring change needed to make right conditions for these animals.

Yours truly,

Sonja Meadows

Pro-Horse Slaughter Propaganda Abounds As So Called Journalism

What happened to journalism in America? Is Pro-slaughter paying these "journalists" and "newpapers" to print this stuff? Does anyone do any research these days?

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090112/GJNEWS02/701129950/-1/CITNEWS

My response:

Dear Editor,

I am shocked by this poor example of journalism. The fallacies listed here are huge. People are reading this stuff and believe it’s been researched and that is it the truth.

I am a volunteer in horse rescue and I am well versed on the issue of horse slaughter.

Congress did not pass HR 503 last September. There is NO federal ban on horse slaughter. The House of Representatives did pass HR 503 in September of 2006 with the 109^th Congressional session. However, the Senate adjourned without addressing the bill, and it died with the session. Another bill was introduced, HR 6598, in July of 2008, but did it not come to a vote and died with the 110^th Congress. The good news is that today, Representative Conyers re-introduced the bill and hopefully the Senate and the House will address it during the 111^th session.

So, as I noted, there is no federal ban on horse slaughter and it is still very much an option. Anyone, at any time, can visit a local livestock auction and sell their horses to meat buyers. The horses are trucked into Canada and Mexico, suffering intensively along the way and then are inhumanely killed for high end restaurants overseas. You’ll find kill buyers almost everywhere – New Holland in PA, Sugarcreek in OH, just to name two of the big auction houses.

I attend livestock auctions regularly, and the kill buyers are happy to cough up a couple of hundred bucks for horses they can take to slaughter. If you are conscienceless, this is the way to go.

Euthanasia is the humane alternative, and it is not prohibitively expense. It costs about $350 to have a horse euthanized and the body removed. This is about what it costs to keep a horse in food, farrier and vet care for one month. So, if you can afford to care for your horse for 30 days, you can afford to have him humanely euthanized.

This is screaming to be corrected: Congress passed H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, last September. Previously nearly 100,000 American horses were slaughtered annually for foreign palettes. You need to let your readers know that HR 503 was not passed. I’m shocked that this was not researched before the article was printed.

Additionally, not only are horses still going to slaughter, but more than 100,000 were slaughtered last year. I believe the total comes to about 120,000 for 2008, although the numbers are still rolling in.

There is a well known kill buyer in California named Manny Phelps who recently stated that January of 2009 will be a banner month. According to Phelps, more horses will be shipped to slaughter this month than ever before. He is quite literally, making a killing. And so are his many counterparts.

(See Jan 5^th post: http://synthia1.proboards99.com/index.cgi?action=recent)

You also quote someone saying this: "It's really a problem. There is no salvage value at the end of the line." Why should there be a “salvage value” on a horses life? Horses are not viewed as food source animals in the USA. 80% of American’s are opposed to horse slaughter. Most horse owners view their horses as members of the family and would never knowingly allow their horses to be slaughtered, especially for overseas human consumption.

There is no “salvage value” on cats and dogs. Perhaps we should start slaughtering them and supplying their meat to countries in Asia and the Pacific that enjoying dining on dogs and cats. It would sure solve the shelter problems that are also rampant with the poor economy.

Sound appalling? It certainly is. And it’s no different for the horses.