Horse owners support N.M. horse slaughterhouse

(AP) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A group of horse owners and clubs is urging the governor to support a proposed horse slaughterhouse in Roswell, saying the closing of domestic facilities five years ago has caused "needless suffering under the cruelest of conditions."

The New Mexico Horse Council, which represents more than 200 horse owners and 30 horse clubs, sent the governor a letter, saying an informal survey of its members showed 94 percent favor humane slaughter.

"Horses deserve better than to be abandoned, starved, or transported long distances in overcrowded trucks to slaughter in foreign countries," the letter from council President Rusty Cook said, noting rescue facilities are unable to care for all the unwanted horses.

Gov. Susana Martinez and a number of equine and animal humane groups have been vocal opponents of the plan by a businessman to open what could be the first horse slaughterhouse in the country since Congress restored funding for inspections of such plants. Another application is pending for a plant in Missouri, USDA officials said.

Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said the governor received the letter, but her opposition to the facility has not changed.

Meantime, Valley Meat Co. owner Rick de los Santos said he has hired an attorney and is working with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., to push for action from the USDA on his application to convert his former cattle slaughterhouse into a horse slaughter plant that would package meat for sale overseas.

He said the USDA initially told him last year that it would move quickly on his application, but he has since been told that because of the controversy over domestic slaughter, the agency won't make a decision until after the election. His business, he said, is now sitting idle because horses cannot be slaughtered in the same facility as other animals under USDA rules.

"They have turned it into a political game instead of food safety," he said.

The USDA said its Food Safety and Inspection Service is currently reviewing the applications from New Mexico and Missouri.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement it "has determined that despite the congressional decision to lift the ban, the agency will require a significant amount of time to update its testing and inspection processes and methods before it is fully able to develop a future inspection regimen."

Cook estimates some 1,000 horses are shipped through New Mexico to Mexico every month for slaughter south of the border.

She said the proposed slaughterhouse in Roswell should be supported.

"Not only would it help to solve the current overpopulation of horses, but it would provide considerable economic benefits to our state in the form of jobs and production of usable products such as meat, dog food, and glue for sale in both domestic and foreign markets," she wrote to the governor.

[btyrr14]

"Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said the governor received the letter, but her opposition to the facility has not changed."

Thank you Governor Martinez for recognizing that horse slaughter will not solve anything. Senator Bingaman has always supported horse slaughter; not because it is necessary but because he works for the special interests. If he and Representative Pearce bothered with the facts, they would know that in a year EU regulations will require all US horses being sent to slaughter to have a medical passport which documents all the medications they have been administered during their lifetime. Most US horses have been given permanently banned substances and will be rejected for slaughter. If horse slaughter supporters looked beyond the convenience of horse slaughter they would realize that opening horse slaughter plants in the US and sending horses to slaughter in foreign countries is going to become cost prohibitive. Where does Senator Bingaman and Representative Pearce plan on getting the money to implement a national tracking ID system and hire more inspectors to enforce the more stringent EU regulations especially since there isn't enough funding for inspectors to keep the food we do eat in the US safe? As usual Senator Bingaman and Rep Pearce ignore the fact that Valley Meat Co. has been under a suspension of inspections for violations related to the inhumane treatment of food animals during slaughter. So they think that he will humanely slaughter horses or that the slaughter of horses will be more loosely regulated? It has become obvious that the push to reopen horse slaughter plants in the US and especially in Roswell, NM is based on short-term convenience rather than common sense. What is all the talk about "humane" slaughter anyway because there is abundant, well-documented evidence of all the violations that occurred as horses were transported to slaughter, at feedlots, auction houses and at horse slaughter plants when they were open in the US and they are still occurring as horses are shipped to foreign countries for slaughter. Reopening horse slaughter plants in the US will not result in a different outcome. I believe that trying it all over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

[MorganLvr]

Both the posters above are right on target. Most horse owners like myself find slaughter abhorrent and would never knowingly send a horse off for such an awful death.

Those who want to build horse slaughter plants might well attend what I'm about to post ~ First, the amendment to again defund the USDA inspections is now in the House, just waiting for a final floor vote. It likely will pass. This doesn't seem to be a bi-partisan issue any more, so the chances of it passing the Senate are good. But, even if it doesn't you have less than a year before the new European Union regulations become effective - July 31, 2013 the EU will stop accepting our unregulated, non-food animal horses for slaughter unless we have implemented a complex and expensive passport system comparable to the one they use for horses. I only speak for myself, but I strongly object to my tax money being spent for something like this. Here are the regs: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/chemicalsafety/residues/docs/requirements_non_eu.pdf

[terryw41]

Here's a quick and easy way to see if you support horse slaughter, read this latest investigative report -

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=whxo74bab&v=001wqUa7FwuvM4qoXXDfIwgqar8EkYcS-0iOD_4Ia9qVRG96SJaohBuRHTVzp4SzZ7dN1KH7KDmAg2tcTY7ccksYDNLOYmupPu7dm3zQyTPFPvbzYimJ4jrxG9ZMJ99sJAx98Eou1UJI8hp8TdBiKjbcnvxrH8xorjHraeRY4bZgKLYG4H4g1CU2Tm0zIvSl1SSKjdwLDt-f6On1QBm-Ze7lrhbQu0BkubP5MstSixIuU40xGLmiy7uhLFj99QEW8YCsUAwO7gP5N0%3D

The auctions, right here in the good ol' USA, is the one of the many completely unacceptable aspects of horse slaughter. These auctions are where "slaughter" for horses begins. If this "industry" can't do better than this, do you honestly think a slaughterhouse treats these horses any better? This is what your state's horse council is supporting and promoting. Take a good hard look.

[terryw41]

A couple of things, how many horse owners in NM are members of the horse council and how many horse owners aren't members? State horse councils have consistently been pro-slaughter taking direction from the American Horse Council, which has nothing to do with horse welfare but horse "business". The other thing, doesn't the state horse council keep up to date on news from the EU regarding horse meat from North America? The EU does not care to have its consumers ingesting banned medications that we in North America routinely give our horses, since in North America horses are not designated as "food-producing animals" - as they are in the EU. We may be seeing total rejection of US horse meat very soon by the EU, the main importer of horse meat. Time is now up for compliance.

Besides US horse meat having drug residues not allowed for human consumption, dog food manufacturers haven't used horse meat as an ingredient in decades and animal glue comes from hooves and hides - well provided for by cattle.

If you want to address an overpopulation of horses you might start with pro-slaughter breed associations, such as the AQHA, who offer extensive "breeding incentives" to their members. Quarter horses and thoroughbreds are the majority of horses that end up at slaughterhouses. Something for the breed associations to be proud of?

The former 3 horse slaughterhouses in the US were never humane and horses were cruelly transported across the country to these slaughterhouses as many miles as they're transported now to Canada and Mexico.

Horses are also stolen and sold to slaughter where the evidence of the crime is quickly dismembered and exported.

You have a lot of people claiming to represent horse owners, but the reality is they really don't. In hard economic times horse owners need help and options, not slaughter = death.