An Epidemic of Abandoned Horses Posted: 4 months ago by dollyllama
The global food and fuel crisis is resulting in more than just people going hungry. Rising grain and gas prices, as well as the closure of American slaughterhouses, have contributed to a virtual stampede of horses being abandoned — some starving — and turned loose into the deserts and plains of the West to die cruel and lonesome deaths.
Comments: 4 Score: [-] 401 [+].
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Posted: 4 months ago by TraumaMamma:
Horse slaughter supporters of course saw this coming.
Their chants were "with no viable options to get rid of their horses, they will end up with more starving and neglected horses and that horse slaughter kept those numbers in check"
Uh huh. O_o
I have seen plenty of people who neglect *any* kind of animal regardless of the "industries" available to dispose of them when they cannot take care of them anymore. (Shelters, slaughterhouses, dog pounds, rendering companies, etc).
I am not unsympathetic to people who have lost their own houses and those who are struggling with the economy.
But if you are going to set it free to starve, or send it to an auction, the least you can do is put the animal down, or a renderer will sometimes shoot it for you, for a fee of 25-35 bucks or so AND take it away. Give up the fairy tales in your heads that it is going to live on a farm somewhere and be a 4h project.
Can that be any less painful than knowing that your horse is taking a 12-20 hr trip, without rests, food or water to Mexico to have it's spinal cord severed and is still fully concious when the butchering begins????
Humans need to suck up their own pain and give that animal a dignified death at least.
Any of these people should have been prepared to kill their own horse if there was any kind of accident anyways! Sometimes you cannot wait for a vet, as it neither humane to do so or it is a danger to the public.
USDA report of ONE(New Mexico) states export to Mexico. All kinds of animals.
In year to date totals, shipment of those horses is up 10,000 already. That is JUST one state.
Score: [-] 107 [+].
Posted: 4 months ago by horsefeathers:
Ditto what TM said.
If you have an elderly horse, as described in the article, have a vet humanely euthanize it. Why allow it to suffer needlessly and cruelly on a long transport to Mexico, where it will suffer a horrendous, hideous, horribly cruel death. A vet costs to humanely euthanize is actually quite inexpensive. You own the horse and should have been providing vet care in the first place. Most municipalites will not allow you to bury them anyway, as the ass in the article says that you can't bury them all. You don't! A rendering truck comes and takes them. Here, rendering truck fee is around $60.
I am strongly against horse slaughter, and transporting them out of the country to slaughter, just as I am against the use of gas chambers in many local animal controls and dog pounds.
People need to take responsibility for their pets, no matter what they are personally suffering. They depend us for life's necessities, and we owe them at least the dignity of a kind death. They are God's creatures.
Score: [-] 93 [+].
Posted: 4 months ago by TraumaMamma:
« horsefeathers : Ditto what TM said.
If you have an elderly horse, as described in the article, have a vet humanely euthanize it. Why allow it to suffer needlessly and cruelly on a long transport to Mexico, where it will suffer a horrendous, hideous, horribly cruel death. A vet costs to humanely euthanize is actually quite inexpensive. You own the horse and should have been providing vet care in the first place. Most municipalites will not allow you to bury them anyway, as the ass in the article says that you can't bury them all. You don't! A rendering truck comes and takes them. Here, rendering truck fee is around $60.
I am strongly against horse slaughter, and transporting them out of the country to slaughter, just as I am against the use of gas chambers in many local animal controls and dog pounds.
People need to take responsibility for their pets, no matter what they are personally suffering. They depend us for life's necessities, and we owe them at least the dignity of a kind death. They are God's creatures. I have to add this as well...just as I used to raise my own animals to eat.
Any animal that is to be slaughtered for HUMAN consumption, must be drug free for a period of 30 days. Lord knows what those people are eating!
Score: [-] 52 [+].
Posted: 4 months ago by bcgrote:
The Wildlife Waystation, Shambala, The Cat House, and other wild cat rescue groups are also being affected by the current no-slaughter laws.
In LA, when a horse would die of old age or anything other than disease, you could just call one of the cat groups up, and they would take the whole animal away to feed to their cats. Now you have to pay upwards of $1000 to rent the equipment to bury it yourself, there really isn't a large animal disposal service that I've heard of!
An amendment to the no slaughter laws to allow donation of carcasses may be helpful....
Score: [-] 36 [+].
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