A Good Week for Horses
(AP)
That’s the bad news in the horse world. The good news is that it has been a remarkable week for opponents of the barbaric practice of horse slaughter in this country. From Texas, where two slaughter plants were forced to remain closed, to Illinois, where Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law a measure making it illegal in that state to slaughter horses for human consumption. The new statute in Illinois effectively shuts down the third and last plant in the country that dedicated its operations to killing our horses to sell as food for humans in other countries.
Neither the United States Supreme Court, which turned down an appeal by the Texas slaughterers, nor the Texas legislature, which tabled a bill that might have allowed the plants to re-open, was willing to ride to the rescue of a practice that seems out of a different time and certainly out of place for a nation founded, for the most part, on horse back. And even from Congress the recent news is good. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was voted out of committee in the Senate—last term it passed in the House of Representatives—and should actually become the law of the land before the current legislative session ends in 2009.
Advocates of the plants have said for years that abandoning the practice would lead to a cruel surplus of horses, which in turn would lead to abuse and neglect. But nothing in the Illinois law, or the Texas law, or the federal measure, would preclude an individual owner from having the right to put down his or her horse for any reason (or, really, for no reason at all). And those few hundreds bucks per horse that the slaughterers were paying for stock? Well, maybe the fact that this blood money won’t be available any more will actually create a disincentive for horse breeders to breed more horses than they need. California, for example, banned horse slaughter for human consumption years ago and the sky has not fallen on the Golden State.
It is about time that lawmakers and judges and lobbyists coalesced around the cause of stopping our horses from being brutally killed and then sold as meat to foreign consumers. What people were doing to those horses in those plants—what our government in our name was allowing those people to do- was beneath us as a nation. Hyperbole? Maybe. But did you see the Preakness preview on Saturday about the legacy that the great Barbaro has had on horse rescue efforts in this country? It was proof enough for me that there are more people who care about horses than there are those who don’t.
So a bad week for Street Sense, and a bad week for Triple Crown enthusiasts, turns into a great week for other horses everywhere. That’s a perfectly sound trade-off if you ask me. And I bet that even Street Sense’s connections would have to agree.
Speaking as a professional trainer and owner of thoroughbred racehorses, who for over four years, has worked hand in hand with thousands of Illinois horse owners and horse lovers to pass this vital legislation in our state, I think its safe to say that today, Illinoisans are extrememly proud and deeply grateful to the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Blagojevich for taking us forward toward more humane treatment of our nation's horses.
Horse slaughter in the United States is at long last over. And now, the American people call upon Congress to immediately take action to ensure that NO U.S. horse is exported for slaughter to foreign lands.
Now more than ever, it is essential that Congress move swiftly to enact the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503 & S 311). Illinois and Texas have spoken and done their part to end this barbaric industry within our borders. It is now up to Congress, to do their part by ending the horrific suffering inflicted upon horses while being exported for slaughter to Mexico and Canada.
Please call your US Congressman and US Senators and ask that they enact this important equine protection legislation with all due haste.
Our next IMPORTANT step is to pass the two bills in Congress, HR 503 and S 311 to stop the TRANSPORT of horses to Canada and Mexico.
There are NO MORE EXCUSES for Senators and Representatives not to COSPONSOR these two bills!
The American Mustang is a symbol. I think they mean many things to many people. To me, they represent freedom, strength amidst adversity, and such a rugged beauty.
America was built on this horse, we harnessed their power to build our houses and we also used their speed and agility to defend our forts. In hard times, they were used as food. Unfortunately, lately they have become more of a controversy to ranchers over grazing and are likely target practice victims by heartless people. Whole herds have been found decimated in one incident.
(CONTINUED)
I believe the responsibility for overpopulation lies also with the back yard horse owner who is not educated enough and randomly breed their mare and add more to the population. Unless there is a NEED or purpose for another horse, there should be more responsibility to future horses we create otherwise we are adding to the problem of overpopulation. Unfortunately, families do not realize when they take their %u201Cpet%u201D that they don%u2019t want anymore to the auction that there are %u201Ccanners%u201D waiting to buy their horse by the pound, not for how many ribbons they have won.
Now if we can get more or control over the PMU farms and protect the foals that are born instead of having them thrown in the gutters to die and their mothers, after the pregnancy is over, then taken to the auctions for the canners to fight over the bidding, I would call that a victory. But let us take one victory at a time where we can and smile when we can. The Bible gave us charge over the animals to manage them, not to destroy them. Let's give them the due respect as we will someday reap what we sow.
Brenda in NM
I can't believe this has been happening to our horses! And now they will be treated even more brutally in Mexico and Canada unless our Congress stops it. It's unbelievable they have let this occur this long. Has it been a secret???
Thank you for your article. The American public needs to know what this practice is all about and contact their legislators to support HR 503 (in the House) or S.311 (in the Senate) - The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act - to end this dreadful operation which, as you said, is truly beneath what America is suppose to be about.