Minimizing Horse Slaughter Starts at the Source
posted by citizen.K on Monday, April 28th, 2008 / 
Print & Hang in the Barn
I have been aware of horse slaughter since I was a kid. It was a well known fact Thoroughbred ex-race horses that came through the barn had one shot to make it in the hunter/jumper ring (as riding horses). If a horse didn’t stay at the barn, we knew the horse would end up back at dealers, and dealer returns meant the horse was going to slaughter.
As a child, horse slaughter was simply a fact. Now, it’s almost a necessity. I don’t agree with slaughtering horses, nor do I want any horse to end up at a slaughterhouse, but our society produces far too many unwanted horses.
I receive emails on a weekly basis from several different horse industry and horse welfare news streams. Every time I read one of these legislative “updates”, I wonder: When is horse slaughter legislation going to start with the cause of unwanted horses?
Though anti horse slaughter groups have successfully shut down horse slaughterhouses in America, horse breeding has only increased. If horses at auction don’t wind up at slaughter, where are all the “unwanted” horses going to go? As with the millions of unwanted dogs and cats who are euthanased every year, it would be nice if we could say unwanted horses are “humanely destroyed.” But, horses are just not that easy to put down. Besides being big, difficult to transport, to house, and to feed, horses cost several hundred dollars to put down. For “humane” treatment, horses need not only feed, water, and vaccinations, but also farrier care and often special nutritional, veterinary, and stabling.
When is horse slaughter legislation going to start with the cause of unwanted horses?
Horses end up at auction if they can’t be sold privately, can’t be cared for, or are (simply) unwanted. If a horse owner sends an “unwanted” horse to auction and the horse doesn’t sell, what happens to the horse? If the previous owner can’t or won’t care for the horse, who will?
It’s the same with the overpopulation of dogs and cats. It’s better to have a humane society take an unwanted pet and euthanize it than have a pet return to a home where it isn’t wanted or cannot be cared for. But again, horses are extremely difficult and expensive to care for. Some say re-homing unwanted horses is not a big deal since the total number of American horses slaughtered per year “only” equals about 1% of the total American horse population. Based on current horse populations (about 9 million in the US), 90,000 “homeless” horses is still a lot of horses. With hay prices up, gas prices up, and affordable land becoming more scarce, most horse people in any part of the country will tell you; “you can’t even give ‘em away these days.”
Some anti-slaughter activists like to claim horse “kill buyers” are outbidding nice families in search of a pet. Really? If a “nice family” is only willing to spend $100, maybe a $150 on a horse, will they be willing to spent another $150 on vaccines once the vet comes out? What about hoof care every six weeks? Hay, grain, shavings? Proper fencing? Does the nice family have money set aside for emergency transport and thousands of dollars worth of colic surgery? Kill buyers, yes, may be out bidding families (occasionally), but this does not mean the family has means to care for the long term health of the horse.
To minimize horse slaughter and unwanted horses, we need a better plan.
Currently, there are no horse slaughterhouses operating in the United States. Despite anti-slaughter group efforts, American horse slaughterhouses have been successfully shut down, but now horses are just sent over the border to Mexico and Canada where the treatment and killing of animals is even less humane than under American standards.
In many ways, the U.S. slaughter ban has already hurt horse welfare.
For reference, American slaughterhouses used retractable pneumatic bolts to render horses unconscious (in theory) before slitting their throats. However, in Mexico, it’s common practice to stab horses in the back repeatedly until their spinal cord is severed. Watch this video from the Humane Society of the United States for more info on Mexican horse slaughter.
In many ways, the U.S. horse slaughter ban has already hurt horse welfare. Now, anti-slaughter groups are attempting to ban horses exported for slaughter altogether. Despite the fact this new law could be easily circumvented by horse “kill dealers” simply labeling horses transported across the border as “for riding” instead of “for slaughter”, we need to first think about minimizing the unwanted horse population before tackling the issue of horse slaughter.
Lets look at some facts:
- According to the USDA, 45,000 horses went to slaughter in Mexico in 2007, and another 26,000 went to Canada (total, 71,000+).
- According to the Jockey Club, 56,000 Thoroughbred mares were bred in 2007.
- According to the Thoroughbred Times, Thoroughbred race horses averaged 25 starts per life in 1950; by 1994, the average Thoroughbred ran just 14 races.
What does this mean? More Thoroughbreds running less races equals more waste. Due to over breeding of the Thoroughbred, not only does the Thoroughbred Times conclude Thoroughbred races horses are less sound than 60 years ago , but also, they are less used.
Moreover, why have we not had a Triple Crown winner in Thoroughbred horse racing since Affirmed in 1978? Could it be that the only requirements for breeding a Thoroughbred horse are a papered mare and money for a stud fee?
I imagine, even in 1978, horse breeding and racing wasn’t an incredibly easy or cheap “hobby”. Then, not every backyard horse owner could afford a.) a papered Thoroughbred mare, or b.) a 500 mile haul to the stallion. Today, cheap, seedy racetracks are numerous and vastly outnumber the celebrity packed racing events profiled on T.V. It is perceived as “easy” now for anyone to think they can breed the next Kentucky Derby winner. For $250, someone can pick up a lame and unproven (and possibly even unraced) Thoroughbred mare and breed her to an equally lame or unproven Thoroughbred stallion for as little as $300. Boom! For less than a beater car, you too can own the next derby champ!
Wrong.
Of course, many Thoroughbreds going for meat are actually well bred, expensive horses. Some may have stud fees of $500,000 or more. By and large, racehorses don’t retire to green pasture if they don’t win. They mostly go to auction. Even when trainers try their best to find a new owner and a new job for the horse, Thoroughbreds off-the-track are not just for anyone. Most of them need experienced handlers and trainers.
With the 2008 Kentucky Derby ready to hit the starting gate on May 3rd, what is the average American going to see of the racing industry? Horses worth millions of dollars? Shiny, lucky horses cared for better than most people?
I wish happenings at an average American Thoroughbred Racetrack were televised. Horses running at tracks not called Churchill Downs, Belmont Park, or Pimlico don’t have the luxury of being considered anything but expendable or replaceable. And besides, with reality TV all the rage, is there anything more cut throat [pun intended] than watching broke down horses running in races that are paying out $500 with the losers highly unlikely to get another chance?
The large majority of horses who will not see the glamorous camera lenses pointed at them (beside closed circuit monitoring) are only bred to be good for a year or two. These “modern” Thoroughbreds, the ones at your average, dirty, shady, tracks, aren’t bred to run the Kentucky Derby; they are bred to MAYBE, MAYBE win their owners and investors a couple thousand dollars. The main purpose of the average Thoroughbred is to honor the owner with the distinction of owning a racehorse. Thoroughbreds, by their nature, are bred to be hot, a trait which does not to serve them well outside of running. They are no longer bred with long lines, or big strides even. They are bred to run and move flat, fast, and that’s it. Outside of the few races they MIGHT run, Thoroughbred racehorses serve limited purpose.
Interestingly enough, even Kentucky Derby winners aren’t safe from slaughter. With the 2002 slaying of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand at a Japanese slaughterhouse, the horse racing industry has proven time and time again it does not even value it’s most prize assets.
Thusly, even well bred but only “medium” caliber racehorses, such as those bought and sold at the Keeneland Auction for an average of $100K, may not ever win, even at a small racetrack. With the hopes of “cleaning up” at the ghetto tracks, these “Kentucky” bred horses still are without value unless the winnings come in early and frequently.
The main purpose of today’s “modern” Thoroughbred is to honor the owner with the distinction of owning a racehorse.
Luckily, there is a good chance a Kentucky bred Thoroughbred horse could posses some very nice athletic attributes that could result in a nice hunter/jumper, dressage, or eventing home. Still, the original breeders, owners, and trainers of racehorses are generally unconcerned with where the horses end up. The racing industry wipes their hands clean of losers without regard for the welfare of the horses. Slaughter, new career, loving home - who cares! Whatever gets them off the training and boarding bill, its fine by the racehorse owner.
As an American horse community, we need to start looking at a way to fund “unwanted” horses that are considered “garbage” with either euthanasia, or when applicable, retraining programs. Or more importantly, let’s limit racehorse breeding to owners and trainers who only commit their funds to providing for a horse throughout the duration of its life, regardless of its winnings. If the racing community had to fork over money for the lifetime care of its horses, the unwanted horse population would dry up.
The horse industry needs a plan, a good plan, to help lower unwanted horse numbers. Stopping horse slaughter is only going to be beneficial once we stop having too many horses. In order to stop horse slaughter, the Humane Society of the United States should do one of two things:
1.) Provide the shelters and means necessary to retrain or humanely euthanize unwanted, unadaptable horses
2.) Take giant steps forward to limit the breeding of all horses, not just racing Thoroughbreds
In addition, the HSUS should go after the racing community for some money to start covering the humane destruction or lifetime care of the horses it produces. Now that the Kentucky Derby is underway, why don’t some of these trainers, owners, breeders, and jockeys making BIG money in horse racing industry give some money back, to the horses themselves?
If the racing community had to fork over money for the lifetime care of its horses, the unwanted horse population would dry up.
Let’s stop breeding low quality Thoroughbreds, shut down the seedy racetracks, and start a rehab and retraining humane society that can help with these unwanted horses either through re-homing (realistically), or humane euthanasia.
And frankly, lets stop breeding low quality horses of any kind. The Thoroughbred racing industry is not solely to blame for horse slaughter or unwanted horses altogether. However, Thoroughbred horse racing is the highest grossing and highest profile entity of the horse world. For naysayers of horse slaughter, Thoroughbred racing is an easy target because of its money, power, and fan base, but there is no better time than to call out an institution on it’s dirty little secrets than when shone national media spotlight (rest assured, if Premarin horses ended up with global coverage on the Oxygen network, we’d be all over that too).
Please, lets organize a cause with a better, more logical, long-term answer for unwanted horses than taking on American horse slaughter. Though the last three horse slaughter plants were shut down in 2007, bottom of the market horse welfare has not increased. Once we gain control over the source of the unwanted horses, only then will we produce effective measures against combating horse slaughter.
18 Responses to “Minimizing Horse Slaughter Starts at the Source”
Leave a Reply
Comments moderated only for couth. Spam filters will delete html inside comment body. Okay to link toward your site under "website". Add a picture to your comment, here.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I think though, just to treat the immediate population of horses bound for slaughter, animal pharmeceutical companies should provide a humane form of euthanasia drugs at a free or reduced cost for vets who are called to euthanize a horse bound for slaughter and owned by people who qualify for federal aid or are living below the poverty line.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
YES YES KAY! you have the right idea! now we must convince the rest of the BACKYARD BREEDERS to do the same,…..and then we can see just what it takes to clean up the mess WE HUMANS have made one horse at a time…….I LOVE my horse more than anything but i was educated on WHAT IT TOOK to own one, maybe rescues and barns might want to think about HORSE EDUCATION so to speak before IDIOT people think they can handle a horse correctly and more important SAFELY!……i really feel people just get OVERWHELMED and they short cut the needs of the horse, i see this at my barn 2 friends have horses that REALLY have NO BUSINESS with them but they hang on and hang on because they THINK they are doing the right thing! THANK YOU! LORI
April 30th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
interesting perspective, which I agree with some. I do not think we should not focus on slaughter until we have resolved the unwanted horse population. i have a draft essay on this topic, ping me if you want to see it, but taxing the breeder is something i think is necessary.
also, i think aqha has much to answer for, and thoroughbreds, while quite possibly slaughtered at a higher percentage than any other breed, are not the largest group of horses slaughtered.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:42 am
I agree that we should stop breeding low-quality horses, but that is every breed, not just Thoroughbreds. The majority if “unwanted” horses are Quarter Horse, backyard types, not Thoroughbreds. Stop harping on the Thoroughbred breeders and start harping on all people who breed horses that should not be bred. Get the law involved. Make it mandatory for all breeders (even of cats and dogs) to pay a breeders’ fee every year. The vets can help keep track of this. If you own a male intact animal, you must pay the breeders’ fee or have the animal neutered.
Ensure that all breed registries have standards for animals that they accept — the parents must have won so many awards or so much money racing, etc. The animals must prove themselves as athletes. Definitely stop breeding for “looks” in hopes that a horse can win a halter class or a dog can win a dog show.
The problem is PEOPLE. Heaven forbid the government should tell them to neuter their dog or that they can’t breed an animal that they own.
Actually, I think the government should get involved with which humans are able to breed! Good luck with that one.
Funny thing is, I’m a complete liberal, but the offspring I see running around, whether horse, dog, cat, or human, are ruining evolution!
PEOPLE need to start being more responsible. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen in my lifetime.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:49 am
I don’t have time to go into everything, but many groups are doing what you and others recommend here. There are fabulous horse rescues out there that focus on owner education and that screen potential adoptees. I don’t know a horse rescue that doesn’t, but I’m involved with the bigger operations. These facilities also euthanize horses that can’t be adopted and can’t live out their lives at the shelter.
Many horse organizations are involved and trying to help. Look at organziations like the Unwanted Horse Coalition. There is only so much they can do. It starts with education, but some people just can’t be educated. (The same ones who shouldn’t have offspring of their own.)
Irresponsible people are the problem, but they always have been and always will be.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I think Shannon has a great idea but it may be a logistical nightmare to try and keep track of every intact breeding animal in the country. As of now, people are supposed to license their dogs and cats so that animal control can keep track of populations of intact and sterile pet animals. There is supposed to be a penalty for not licensing your dog or cat. HOWEVER, the only way to penalize someone for this is if their animal gets loose and is picked up by animal control with no license and the owner actually shows up at the shelter to look for the animal. If someone just keeps their animal on their property and never takes it to a vet or off the property at any time (which happens to a surprisingly large amount of pets), animal control will have no way of keeping track of that animal and that animal could be intact and breeding for it’s entire lifetime. The only thing I can think of is to do a naitonwide door-to-door search and census of EVERY household and inch of property in the country and remove ALL intact animals and put them ALL under government control–which sounds ideal but would require enormous funding and many lawmakers just don’t care about animals that much because their interests lie in education, welfare, national security, energy, healthcare and taxation.
I think a better idea is to find a way to make it financially cheaper to do the right thing for an unwanted animal. At least dogs and cats can be signed over to a shelter to be put to sleep humanely. Horses get hung upside down and bled to death in a 100 degree factory in mexico. It is quite possibly the hardest thing ever to watch an animal die and know that the decision to take their life away was yours. I had to put my horse down in January after a long battle with EPM. I watched him die. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. But it was the best thing I could do for him and I wanted to make DAMN sure that, in his last moments on earth, he was not in any pain. Horses that are sent to slaughter suffer unimaginable pain on the way and then die a painful death when they get there. All so their former owners can make $500 off their “investment”.
I know that eauthanasia is costly, but if we could find a way to make it an easier financial decision, I think that would provide incentive. That way, when people say “well, I just couldn’t afford to put him down” we can say “yeah you can. It’s free.”
May 1st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Good point, Kay.
BTW “kill buyers” are usually paying much less than $500 at auctions for unwanted horses.
Since hay prices have gone up, a lot of horses go for $100 or $150.
[sigh]
May 11th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Excellent thoughts from everyone. I’m happy to meet all of you. This is the most reasoned discussion of this topic that I’ve ever seen.
I AM against horse slaughter, but, as has been pointed out, it’s just not that easy. As long as people - TB breeders, back yard breeders, owners rich or poor - don’t give a d**n about what happens to their horses once they’re “done” with them, there will be a huge problem.
I’ve always thought the it would be a great help to somehow make euthanasia so cheap that no one would have an excuse not to do at least that for their horses. I’m not sure how to accomplish that though. Thoughts, anyone?
May 19th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Well, I don’t know about TB tracks but at Standardbred tracks the experienced trainers can administer a shot to put a horse down for about $60. That doesn’t stop them from leading their horses out to the meat man. Money out or money in, most times they will choose money in particularly if they’re so accustomed to doing it that it doesn’t bother their conscience. My horse was literally taken out of a kill buyer’s pen at an auction on the East coast. She was 18 months old and never even had the opportunity to prove herself bc she was one of 34 horses that had been confiscated by the IRS when the farm owner stopped paying his taxes. Everything he owned was seized including the horses in his stalls. In the end, only 4 of the 34 horses seized by our own government were accounted for. All 4 of those were found at the same auction. It’s assumed that the other 30 were also sent to auction but no one is saying for certain. My horse is now 5 years old and is one hell of a horse.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Great site! I just saw the Real Sports piece on HBO, “Hidden Horses” about the slaughter of ex-racehorses. Pretty gruesome . . . There were two women who ran rescue operations that took donated funds to try to outbid the “kill buyers” at auctions — I just wondered why they couldn’t allow these ladies to buy them directly from trainers at the track for $200 like the “meat man” who showed up every week. Certainly there should be some free enterprise outcry for at least that. Maybe he has an exclusive contract to come on the track . . . or maybe it’s just because that’s the way it’s always been done . . . When the dramatic death of a horse like Eight Belles on TV brings such poor press to horse racing–imagine how sick all those people who saw her at least humanely euthanized would feel if they were aware of the fate of horses slaughtered for not being fast enough.
June 7th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
As someone who works in the trenches of horse rescue, I firmly stand against slaughter. Every claim of what it’s “needed” for has been proven untrue.
For example, we “need” slaughter to protect the value of the low end of the market. Right now we’re in a slow economy plus hay shortages on the East coast. Horse prices are doing nothing but fall. The reality is the killbuyers buy only X number of horses to fill the need of X horses at the processing plant.
They say we “need” it to prevent abandonment and without it, it’s our fault if horses starve. The thing is that some American horses have been abandoned, starved, and neglected since the beginning of our country’s history. The most severe neglect cases often turn out to be hoarders (mentally ill) or dealers with no business sense; in either of these cases, they would not ship their horses to slaughter.
Did you know killbuyers are not required to buy all horses at a sale nor are they required to buy any particular horse (eg to put it out of its suffering). They come to buy X number to fill a load, and it’s irrelevent if there are far too many horses at a sale. If a horse doesn’t meet certian criteria, even if it should be put out of its suffering, they will NOT buy it. I watched firsthand when none of them would give anything for an ancient grey pony some asshat dumped at the sale instead of putting her down. She had bad bad melanoma. I had to pay $60 to aquire her and another $200 to have her put down humanely. Mr Killbuyer is not the angel of mercy.
How about this: if these horses are so “unwanted” why did I have to bid against Mr Killbuyer at New Holland to buy my last horse? Why does the bidding go as high as $500 for the younger ‘meatier’ ones if nobody wants them?
And consider this: slaughter rewards the most irresponsible members of the horse community. Some of these people are driven only by greed and convenience and the only way to curb them is to hit them in the pocketbook. There are QH farms that have massive herds, not caring about quality. Those that sell well, good; those that are slow to sell may end up at meat-horse auction. And of course there are TB owners who want to dump something quickly. Lazy owners who can afford to buy an expensive animal and spend $200-600+ a month to care for it but “can’t afford” $200 to *humanely* put him down. Stolen horses often end up resold at low end auctions or right to killbuyers, and killbuyers are not required to get proof of ownership. Slaughter lines the pockets of the most irresponsible & greedy.
One last thought: if we step back and view the bigger picture, can we really sleep well at night knowing we’re denying our ponies a humane peaceful end? Is a 1000-2000 mile crowded truck ride, a feedlot, and eventual dispatch using methods designed for cattle really humane? If captive bolt is so humane, why doesn’t my vet carry one? Yes, there are problems in the horse world, but how does condemning some horses to this end make it all ok?
Thanks for considering a different point of view on this.
June 8th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Funchy,
Thank you for your post. It is sure to inform people. You seem to be well-versed on this topic. I hope others read this post to become more educated on the topic. I completely agree with you that horse slaughter only lines the pockets of evil people and not the “poor horse owners with no other options” that are so often portrayed. I just think it’s sad that people always say it “costs too much” to put a horse down humanely–I just want to take that excuse away and see what happens then. I only make $1200/month and I found a way to humanely put down my horse when he was suffering from EPM.
June 11th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I understand that there are people in the world today who love horses more than others and that there are a few good horses going to slaughter but not every horse that goes through the sale barn that a killer buyer acquires actually gets killed - killers are traders. They may be buying that horse to take it home and ride 4 resale i know this firsthand because i was part of that at one time. The horses which are being slaughtered most generally have a problem, whether it be manners or physical, they do.
another aspect of the situation at hand is someone spends 3000 dollars on a horse the horse cuts his back leg so badly that he can never be used again. WHAT TO DO! well there are some people that can afford a 3000 dollar yard ornament. but I’m not one of them i also have a family to feed and clothe. So the only logical point of view for me would to take the horse to sell and regain some of my investment and also some have horse that have problems such as a manner problem. What if u payed 2000 dollars for a horse took him home and the horse flipped over on you and killed you? it happens all the time so don’t think it wont. what would your family do with that horse. . . . . . would they sell it to someone else so they could get hurt or would they keep as a reminder of what had happened too you. . . . . No they would probably sell it at auction 4 slaughter . i know because three years ago i had a horse flip over on me and crack three ribs and broke my collarbone also tore my knee to smithereens . i was one of the lucky ones some are not so lucky. that horse cost 2500 dollars my hospital bills were 5000 plus years of going to the chiropractor . i wish that people would take some of these views and thank about them just 4 a minute .
if there is so many people willing to invest more and more into an animal that is no longer capable of performing the duty’s of riding than those people should be buying the horses at the sale barn
some say what is 60 dollars? well 60 dollars could be what feeds my family for a few days. thank you for listing to my views .
June 12th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Chris, we all must be responsible for those who lives depend on us. Part of being an adult is making tough decisions between what you want to have and what you can afford to have. Just as people should not have children that they can’t afford to feed, clothe, take to the doctor and provide education for, people should not have animals that they cannot afford to provide the best lives for. Lives are not disposable–whether they be human OR animal. If a you send a horse to an auction where there is a possibility that it could be slaughtered, you must assume that the horse will be travelling thousands of miles without food or water and be killed with a dagger through the spinal chord all because of a decision that YOU made. In essence, you are killing the horse. Why not just do the horse a favor and have it put down humanely so it doesn’t have to suffer? There are MANY ways to sell a horse that don’t involve possible slaughter. You can contact rescue groups, advertise the horse on various websites and put up flyers at the feed store–all for free. If you spend a little money, you can send them to a sale barn which will sell the horse to a responsible owner and take a small percentage of the profit as commission.
Also, in terms of a financial investment, horses are almost NEVER a sound investment. Ask any financial advisor if he or she thinks investing in horses is a good idea. Mine definitely would not agree. Horses are living, breathing lives with a heartbeat and a brain and very delicate legs that can break down at the drop of a hat.
Personally, I don’t believe in giving any person or animal in my care a life that I would not be comfortable with. I was raised by cowboys on ranches and my horses growing up all came from the slaughter pen so I know that there are people out there who do rescue them–but that doesn’t speak for the ones who don’t get rescued. What about the ones that are so lame that they are unrideable? Why can’t they just be taken out of their misery? If you can sleep at night knowing that horses have been shipping and slaughtered inhumanely as a result of your decisions, then you possess a moral flexibility that I do not.
If you think you will have to make a choice between caring for your horse and caring for your family, you should not have horses. Maybe you could lease a horse from someone so you can ride or take some riding lessons–something you can walk away from without responsibility. Also, think about what lessons you are teaching your children by sending your horses to slaughter. I have been in a body cast before as the result of a horse. I have broken every bone in my body and torn ligaments in both my knees. I have been trampled unconscious. I know pain. But the cowboys that raised me raised me to always put my horse before myself. I don’t have children because I know I couldn’t afford them and care for my animals. Some day, when I can comfortably care for my animals with money to spare, then I will take on the greatest responsibility and raise another human life.
Chris, I respect your situation and that money is tight but your argument in favor of slaughter is not sound. It is not the only option and it is certainly not the most honorable option. I dare you to attempt to prove that slaughter is the only option and the most honorable option.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I absolutely support the author of this article on her call for the Humane Society of the United States, and thier little sister PETA, to pour some money into Humane Treatment of actual, living animals. If were are going to cease horse slaughter, there must be somewhere for these animals to live and something for them to eat.
I would be very proud of HSUS and PETA if they put some of thier $300 MILLION of annual contributions towards actually alleviating the suffering of some living animals instead of suing animal owners and supporting communistic Big-Brother-style animal legislation.
Please visit http://216.235.203.23/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=703&srcid=271 the US Sportsmen’s Alliance for more info on pending canine legislation. Like it or not, how go our dogs, so go our horses.
We need to reach out across disciplines, political parties, and even species to keep our rights to control our own animals. Unfortunately, almost all legislation that may prevent irresponsible lawbreakers from hurting animals will certainly impinge on the rights of law-abiding, responsible animal owners.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:56 pm
http://216.235.203.23/NETCOMMUNITY/Document.Doc?id=11 I’m not making this up.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I FOR ONE THINK THIS COUNTRY IS A DISGRACE! THESE HORSES DESERVE MORE THAN WHAT THEY GET LIKE GOING TO A SLAUGHTER HOUSE.IF THEY DO NOT MAKE THAT ALMIGHTY DOLLAR THATS WHAT HAPPENS.I CAN NOT BELEIVE ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND I DO MEAN PAIN! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE THAT DO THIS? I DO NOT KNOW HOW ON EARTH YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELF!!!!!!!
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:30 am
Horse slaughter is just wrong!!!!! I couldn’t imagine how scared they must be!!!! Most ex race horses I know are used in barrel racing. They are still hot of the track!!!