After spending the last two weeks licking her wounds and attempting to fabricate some explanation for the Missouri debacle, Slaughterhouse Sue has made her triumphant return to Facebook. Since the best she could do for an explanation on the Rockville lie was to say `It’s not true’, she decided to count on the short memories of her followers along with their propensity to get distracted by shiny objects and forge ahead with her plan to torture horses. This time it is by sending an `Urgent Petition’ to the USDA and she wants everybody to get busy. She got four whole `likes’ for her post, so we should all start shaking in our boots now. She posted a ridiculous resolution from the 67th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments. (http://www.csgmidwest.org/MLC/documents/horseproces2012.pdf) Sadly, as they were sitting around filling their faces in Cleveland and writing up this crap, they forgot that the last slaughter-house closed in 2007 and not 2008. Oh well, what’s a few inaccuracies when you lie like a sidewalk all the time? I would actually be kinda disappointed if she got her facts straight and actually told the truth.
Sue addressed all four of her loyal followers with this statement: “We have just sent this to the Secretary of Agriculture, Vilsack, at the USDA, as well as to all of our networks. For those of you who are inclined to be proactive and support the horse business, this is a really good opportunity. Keep those cards and letters flying to D.C.!” Since we never like to pass up an opportunity to have a good laugh, I’m going to post up the covering letter for her `Urgent Petition” . You can check out the rest of the mess at this link: (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs024/1103685263837/archive/1110610853601.html)
“Dear Secretary Vilsack,
On behalf of the International Equine Business Association and the horse businesses of the United States I am writing to urge your agency to immediately provide the inspection necessary to humanely and safely process horses in facilities that are ready to do so in the United States. The horse industry is already severely damaged because of the lack of market and options, and now with wide spread drought and wild fire damage, the situation is truly dire.
Attached please find an urgent petition, and background information supporting this letter.”
– Nothing like a good old natural disaster to make your argument. I bet Holy Theresa thinks this means God wants them to torture horses!
“USDA stands squarely in the way of enterprises that could offer some relief and a humane option for many of these horses. It has come to our attention that USDA is promulgating directives to states that indicate the agency has no intention of providing the inspection they are required by long-standing U.S. law to provide, and are actively discouraging state departments of agriculture from implementing any kind of state inspection. This singles out one class of livestock owner for economic harm and persecution that is extremely detrimental-leaving many with no option except to destroy valuable animals, or to sell them at pathetically low prices and allow them to be hauled to other countries out of U.S. jurisdiction. In the face of widespread natural disaster, some would say this is the height of hypocrisy and completely counter to the mission of the USDA to promote and responsibly regulate agriculture in this country.“
– What Ole Suey fails to realize is that there was a $9million cut to the USDA budget this year. In order for them to provide these inspections for meat that will mostly be exported, it may well compromise the inspections of beef, pork and poultry which are specifically raised for slaughter and supply our local grocery stores. Since horses are not currently being raised for human consumption, the USDA is not singling them out for economic harm at all. I will further suggest that if these animals are so `valuable’ they wouldn’t have to be destroyed. Good horses, still sell for good money and the horse market has been on the upswing as I talked about in this entry: (https://shedrowconfessions.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-reality-of-the-horse-market/) I even gave them verifiable numbers and everything.
“Several horse processing facilities are ready to offer horse owners a fair price for the animals they desperately need to sell — or could be within days — to provide much-needed emergency relief. Markets for the product are ready to accept it domestically and internationally if the meat is USDA-inspected exactly as it was in 2007. ”
– As far as anybody knows, not a single slaughter facility has been retro fitted to offer these super-duper humane options she promised. In fact, not a single thing has been done to the Rockville facility she still doesn’t own. UH has NO money and nobody has actually retained Temple Grandin to do the designs. There have also been no permits issued on a single facility to be open for business, so not exactly sure how they could possible ready `within days’. Besides, isn’t this a rather expensive proposition for emergency relief?
“USDA should not stand in the way of much-needed, humane options for horses. Horses and horse people are uniquely suffering as a direct result of federal government inaction, and the Department’s refusal to provide the inspection services federal law requires USDA to provide.
Across the nation, states, tribes and private citizens are working hand-in-hand with the federal government to provide relief to every other breed of livestock, and every other kind of business, yet USDA stands directly in the path of the same relief for the horse industry.
This is a moral and ethical imperative that USDA must address without delay.”
– I guess the USDA should hop right to it since some batshit crazy rep from Wyoming says the sky is falling. The `horse industry’ is not a food producing industry to anybody else but Suey and her bumbling followers who don’t even make up the majority of horse people, let alone tax paying citizens. I wonder is she is aware that there is wording in the budget to shut down inspections for slaughter and that could be passed at any time. I just can’t see the USDA, on their reduced budget, throwing a bunch of money at something that isn’t even going to last a few months, let alone a year.
Strangely, the letter is not only signed by Ole Suey, but also Bill `Maggot’ des Barres (Canada) and Olivier ‘ Money Bags’ Kemseke from the EU. What do those other two asswipes have to do with US horses other than to profit from their slaughter? I guess this is supposed to strike fear in the heart of the USDA or something. I apologize for the length of this all, but I think we should actually look at the wording of the petition as well. I will spare you the boredom of reading the same three tired stories she has mined off the UH Facebook page to back up her stance. You can go read it all at the link provided earlier. Much of the petition is a rehash of her cover letter, but I want to take a look at her addressing drug residues in meat.
“The International Equine Business Association (IEBA) has been formed as a production agriculture organization representing the equine industry, and it stands ready with well-developed quality assurance programs and food safety protocols designed to exceed USDA requirements.
We understand traceability is a priority, and that another priority is the prevention of drug residues in meat. IEBA proposes allowing the association’s equine ID and tracing system – a system tested and proven in Canada – as an interim emergency measure. This system can be altered or amended later to fulfill any USDA requirements that may not be currently met, and can be updated when the Department finalizes its equine systems. IEBA also proposes its drug residue testing protocol – which uses third party laboratory testing to scientifically validate zero residues — to establish the eligibility of every horse for processing prior to slaughter. Allowing the implementation of these systems now will provide the desperately needed humane and economically viable outlet for the drought and fire-impacted horse industry.”
Canada has not even fully complied with the EU regulations that must be met by next year. She doesn’t mention how in the hell they are going to come up with the money to implement this? In fact, Canada has only been testing for banned substances for LESS than two years and their testing is hit and miss at best. If you need a reminder on how it all works, check out this entry which will also give you links to the CFIA (https://shedrowconfessions.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/anybody-want-a-bute-burger/). “Altered” or “amended” later doesn’t exactly build good faith or confidence given the Slaughterhouse Sue’s propensity for lying and bending the facts. In fact, Canada is doing such a bang up job of testing, this was just provided to me by one of the readers of this blog: (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/portal/index.cfm?event=notificationDetail&NOTIF_REFERENCE=2012.1078) Read it and weep Suey!!!
“USDA should not stand in the way of much-needed, humane options for horses. Horses and horse people are uniquely suffering as a direct result of federal government inaction, and the Department’s refusal to provide the inspection services federal law requires USDA to provide.”
I would say that a federal agency, such as the USDA, has a responsibility NOT to burn up tax payer dollars on an industry the overwhelming majority of tax paying citizens are strongly against, only to put money in foreign pockets. It especially shouldn’t do that when it will likely be shut down again within months.
I guess this is the PSAs pulling out all the stops. I have a very hard time believing that anybody is going to take Slaughterhouse Sue and her foreign henchmen all that seriously, but you never know. If you feel inclined to make your voice heard on this issue, make sure you back it up with facts and numbers. Those are two things the PSA side never provide and have working against them. It’s been a busy kinda PSA day, so more to come soon!