Today is a day that should be marked on everybody’s calendar as a victory for the welfare of all horses. As of this morning, US horses are no longer being accepted in Canadian slaughter plants for the time being. Mexico is expected to follow suit. Right now seems to be mass confusion but the fallout has already begun. The following is a press release from the Equine Welfare Alliance (http://www.equinewelfarealliance.org/). Please read it carefully.
CONFUSION REINS AS CANADIAN SLAUGHTER PLANTS STOP SLAUGHTERING US HORSES
Chicago (EWA) – US horses are no longer being accepted by Canadian horse slaughter plants, according to multiple sources. The Shipshewana auction in Indiana confirmed reports that they have discontinued loose (slaughter) horse sales for an indefinite period of time.
A spokesperson for the Sugar Creek Ohio auction also confirmed that the kill buyers were no longer taking slaughter horses because “the plants are shut down”. This was further confirmed by a Richelieu slaughter house official. An unconfirmed report from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) indicated it was the result of a European Union (EU) directive.
Canadian customs officials, however, knew nothing of the action. To add to the confusion, at least one driver stated that he did deliver horses to an undisclosed plant Friday afternoon.
The move came so suddenly that many trucks were already on the way when they learned of it. According to Lambright the issue is that the EU has banned American horse meat from being shipped for consumption in Europe. EWA has yet to receive confirmation from the EU.
Following the closure of US based horse slaughter plants in 2007, the export of horses to slaughter in Canada and Mexico increased dramatically. In 2011 the US exported over 64,000 horses to Canada and 68,000 to Mexico.
Documents showing horse meat contaminated with phenylbutazone (a carcinogen) and clenbuterol (a steroid) surfaced recently, indicating that the CFIA and the EU were accelerating their residue testing programs. These reports were followed by claims from some kill buyers that blood was being drawn from as many as half their horses (an unprecedented percentage) before they were being accepted.
Since most of the meat from both the Canadian and Mexican plants is being consumed by the EU, it is reported but not confirmed that Mexico too will curtail imports of US horses.
In 2008, the EU announced that it would require third countries to come into compliance with their standards which require horses to be micro-chipped and all their medications tracked, but few observers expected any action would come before the expiration of a July, 2013 deadline.
The most likely explanation for the sudden move is that the expanded residue testing program has yielded worse than anticipated results.
Clearly, this is a huge victory towards ending horse slaughter, but now is not the time for complacency. There hasn’t been word on how long this ban will be. The United Horsemen are, of course, claiming this as `no big deal’. D-bag Duquette claims to have spoken with a sale barn and his Canadian contacts and said “Not a big deal, it’s about EID’s and will re-open. Just a bad time for that sale so they cancelled it”. He can go right on thinking that. I’m sure the trucks that were turned around and refused at the border today may disagree with him. Of course they are also waiting for word from the USDA who had nothing to do with what happened today. Stockland Livestock Sales in Davenport, WA has cancelled their fall horse sale that was due to be held tomorrow.
“UPCOMING SPECIAL SALES:Saturday, October 13th: HORSE SALE CANCELED!!Due to unforeseen circumstances all exports of horses to Canada and Mexico have been suspended. We just became aware of this situation the morning 10/12/12. We have reached out to numerous experts and traders in the business and as a result and due to the uncertainty with the market we have decided to cancel the horse sale. We will reschedule later this fall or early in 2013. As it stands we would have no buyers and no place for the horses and would be unable to provide a service to you or your animals. We understand that this is both a frustration and inconvenience to you. We will keep you posted as more details about the exports and a future sale become available Stockland Livestock Sales, Davenport WA”
Even with that announcement, the UH loyalists remain in denial and have already begun hatching conspiracy theories….
“A play on words with no proof or actual facts.Folks this is a scare tactic,dont believe a word of it. Seriously,look who wrote it,lol.”
– Regarding the above press release…
“These horses will still need to die. These people are truly delusional if they believe they are saving any.”
– Not sure who `these people’ are, but I wonder if this person would like a mug of blood to quench her thirst until they can get the border open again?
“Its not unusual just befor a weekend to hold off on taking some across the boarders,specially if the plants are working full shifts all weekend,and get holding pens as empty as possible befor resuming across the boarder, sales resume a few days later. Chicken plants,hog,beef,they all do it once in awhile,its not permanent.”
– Then why hasn’t it happened before?
“We will have to wait to see how it plays out, I could see where all exports for any reason would be stopped for a period to prevent dealers from reassigning the load once in the other country. I could see where this move would force the usda to ban bute totally so that they will start accepting young stock again and then gradually increase the age to match how long the ban was in effet, so if you use bute you might want to get stocked up now.”
– Less than 1% of the horse population goes to slaughter. There will not be a ban on a useful therapeutic medication so that small number can be sent for human consumption. Period.
So, as of tonight there really are a lot of horses in limbo and needing help. I’m sure the kill buyers will hang onto what they have for a little while until some clarity is given on this shut down. However, with sales cancelling and effectively no dumping ground for these horses, now is the time for people to step up. Support a rescue, donate to a hay bank, and euthanasia clinics will be needed. I don’t even care what side of the slaughter issue you are on; if you care about horses now is the time to step up and help them. The reality today, right now, is that there is currently NO slaughter for American horses. Now is the time to work together for the welfare of all horses.
********Update*********
Seems that somebody told D-bag that his `no big deal’ was not an appropriate response…Puppymill has just posted this on his behalf (pretty sure she wrote it as well)
A statement from Dave Duquette, President of United Horsemen:
As many of you are already aware, there has been a major disruption today in the international trade of U.S. horses going to Canada and Mexico. This is the result of an unexpected and unannounced European Union action. Little official and accurate information is available on a Friday evening, nonetheless, United Horsemen, a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is devoted to the well being of horses and horse people, and its executive team is working through our international networks, as well as governmental and industry contacts, to get to the bottom of this situation. We will provide continual updates and information as it comes available, and work with all of you to make sure that our network has accurate and reliable information.
Bear in mind that reestablishing humane horse processing in America is a viable solution needed more than ever with the news of this situation. As always, United Horsemen continues its work to restore much needed balance in the horse markets and horse industry, while profoundly improving the state of horse welfare.
We call upon all of you, as members of United Horsemen, for your much needed support in our efforts on your behalf and on behalf of the U.S. horse industry.
Warm regards,
Dave Duquette
President
United Horsemen
I was literally blown out of my boots with this. First elation, then wondering where will the horses in the pipeline go??????? You are right about stepping up to help rescues now more than ever. The need will most likely be great.
I don’t know how long this will be in effect, but yes, most likely there will be more horses in trouble over this. Took me off guard when I heard about this today too, but I believe it to be a preview of what’s to come next year when the EU enforce their regulations….
I saw a post on FB where someone was already hearing of horses being turned loose from the KB’s trucks. Calling all rescues… This is the time to call to arms and get these horses safe, so the PSA’s cannot say “See! Unwanted Horses!”
I doubt they’ll do that just yet, but it’s coming I’m sure. Nobody knows how long this will last or enough details for them to be making rash moves like that. However, there will be fall out and we do need to be prepared to act. If the PSAs care about the welfare of horses, they will work with us to help the displaced horses. I guess time will tell…
i imagine there will be alot of PSA’s blaming everyone else but themselves. everyone knew it was coming and chose to ignore it. of course only the horses suffer.
The fuckery over on the UH FB page is just getting started. I’m constantly amazed at the collective stupidity of that group of people. Kinda irritated by their ignorance too though…
Yep! And again, they are trying to explain away bute. How do you make them understand that when a med is banned, extensive studies have been done and resulted in there being NO acceptable levels. Banned means no acceptable withdrawal time. Jeez, it’s mind boggling they can’t understand what banned means.
I also posted that article about somebody in Indonesia actually DYING from ingesting Bute recently. They have no clue at all. Now I see they are expecting the Presidential debate to address horse slaughter. They really do live in a bubble of self importance….Wow.
It also doesn’t help matters when you have Kim Houlding who is supposed to be a vet, saying there is withdrawal times on Bute.
I know…I jumped over there to see what they were spouting and found someone had come up with an equation determining the length of time it would take for bute to withdraw from a horse’s system. This equation had decimals and everything, ya’ll! However; not only does bute have a forever shelf life pretty much, it has a forever shelf life in a horse’s system, too. I didn’t see that part factored into the equation, though.
They don’t know the difference between blood and tissue is part of the problem. Yet, these are the people that think they can fix the horse industry…..Wow.
I whole heartily agree. This was coming in one form or another. Hopefully the money used to fight slaughter from both sides can now be used to rectify the tragedy that has been going on. Set things right. IMHO
I am going to be totally happy today for all of the horses who were not slaughtered today, and the advocates who have worked so hard. This is the reason that we knew would shut it down. Danger to people. It makes all of those that we explained it to, and who ignored us seem stupid. I believe that the true end is near.
I am ecstatic. I hope it lasts. We will deal with the unwanted horses as best we can. Euthanasia clinics are probably going to be a necessity. It isn’t pretty but it beats the hell out of horse slaughter.
Yes it does and let’s not forget there are a lot of horses that go to slaughter than can find homes and uses…they just never got the chance. Depending on the reasons for this shutdown, I can’t see that Canada will be in the slaughter business much longer either.
…and I still see people making such ridiculous statements as “..but what will happen to the old and infirm horses who are crippled or blind?”
How about real humane euthanasia? If they were blind and crippled, they had no legal business on a slaughter truck in the first place…
I am ecstatic, too, but less than sanguine about euthanasia clinics without serious restrictions.
We’ve learned from horse slaughter (and the millions of small animals euthanized each year) you can’t euthanize or slaughter your way out of over-breeding. Backyard and puppy mill style production breeders will keep breeding too many mares … as long as somebody picks up their tab.
Stopping the flow of horses to slaughter is the best thing that can happen for the value of US horses; I’m even more sure with the bottom feeders quacking like Donald Duck today!
We need to come together and help horses now, while asking our legislators to re-think taxpayer funded incentives for breeding (ie one year depreciation for yearlings put into training; try getting that for a business computer!!!) to life-long responsible horsemanship.
How about a tax credit for a service or therapy horse placed with a returning veteran or special needs child?
I agree, Susan…but how about a tax credit for RETIRING HORSES without that fucking profit rule?!?! The IRS, in my mind is essentially responsible for this FUCKING MESS in the first place….hmmmm, “accelerated depreciation” and “profit v. hobby” IRS coding is literally killing equines in the US. Factor in a self regulated food industry run amok because of underfunded and restrictive legislation for USDA/FDA, you have the human consumption horse slaughter industry perfect storm.
p.s. therapy animals, as part of a nonprofit do derive a tax “benefit”…as to what the nonprofit does with the animals because of health or age is another matter.
We have no confirmation of horses being turned loose. Remember most of the auctions were held today. The auctions did not run thru loose horses, they did accept saddle horses, but not loose, for slaughter horses
WOW..in shock..glad for the horses that were not slaughtered today and hope that they get to safety and are not abused along the way..(no water, feed etc..)
We thought of that right away. We called Jerry Finch at Habitat for Horses who is an expert in large rescues/seizures. He contacted HSUS and ASPCA and I also spoke to HSUS tonight. It’s not only the rescue but as you stated, hay, vet services, etc. If we have to start pulling horses, we want to make sure there is something in place to coordinate across the country. We also warned our members to be cautious of anyone collecting to pull horses. You know how scammers love news like this. I’m sure there will be other legitimate efforts underway but we just don’t know what we are facing, right now. We will be directing everyone to whatever Jerry establishes. We worked with him on 3 Strikes and directed anyone that could help to work through Jerry. He was on this as soon as we gave him the heads up before the release was sent. It’s going to take everyone pulling together and focused on the horses. Only the horses.
We knew about this mid-morning and were holding off until we had more confirmation. Little by little, the auction houses started shutting down across the country. We heard from OR, OH, PA, WA and TN and we knew something was brewing. We contacted our partners in Canada immediately and Jo-Claire, John, CHDC and I started dialing!. Then the emails started coming about upcoming sales being canceled. One KB that is huge in PA was told by the plant to sell his horses locally. We finally reached someone at Richelieu and he confirmed. Then CFIA heard from their contact at the CFIA that it was an EU directive.
Animals’ Angels just released another EU report that reflected the documentation is not sufficient to ensure compliance with EU standards so perhaps the EU has finally had enough with the US and Canada playing games with food safety. We are assuming Mexico is included because the plants that take US horses are EU regulated so they have to comply. It’s impossible to get information from them….
Please let me know once there is a firm plan in place. The more places we can post and get the word out, the better.
I would have to think that the EU will be denying Canadian horses soon too. It’s great news, but the work has just begun.
Acutally, the word was that no horse meat is being accepted from Canada or Mexico so that would include Canadian horses. They don’t have a passport system, either and have already stated they will not be ready for July 2013. That’s when ol’ Suey and the weasel desBarres said they would come to the rescue with their system but wanted the government funding. Gotta love it.
Yes, because you can just put something that complex in place in a week or so. Yet, Duquette says this is no big deal. Suey, as usual, has gone into hiding.
We’ll be posting updates on our facebook page as more information becomes available.
Puppymill Patterson just posted a statement on Duquette’s behalf. I’ve edited it in here. Unbelievable…
Thanks for elevating my blood pressure – LOL. Isn’t he a trip. Says it was one auction and no big deal. They’re all pushing to reopen the plants and like bute, they don’t understand. If the EU doesn’t want the horses, it doesn’t matter where they are slaughtered. Toxic meat is toxic meat…
And you nailed it. Always looking for a way to kill horses.
Just a bit afraid that this will hasten the reopening of U.S. slaughter plants. But then, where will that meat be shipped? Not Europe for sure. Just a scary time thinking of all those horses on the trucks and in the feedlots.
I don’t think it will speed the opening of anything with the EU rejecting US horses. They need the European investment to even open those plants and right now they are in the process of bleeding money if the Canadian horses get rejected as well. This could be the death blow for North American slaughter….we need to focus on helping these horses now.
Americans didn’t think horse meat was fit for dogs so they stopped putting it in dog food. (I remember Alpo actually had dog food labeled “horse meat”.) If you think about it, it’s pretty inconsiderate of this country to look the other way while horse meat is sent to other countries for human consumption, yet it’s not fit for American dogs. Greed makes people blind, sometimes. Why would we need horse slaughter plants here? Americans don’t eat horse meat and we won’t feed it to our dogs, either. Horse meat is not safe for consumption, period. Gelding clinics, breeding regulations, euthanasia clinics, education & awareness, rescues (there are many good ones out there)….this is the way for so called “unwanted horses”…in my opinion.
I see a lot of ugly about to happen. Horses being turned loose from trucks and feed lot…or just dying at them. Horses and people being killed when the ones roaming free crash and burn.
Just anyone snatching up horses to do “what” ever with…abuse, neglect, torture…who knows!
But I also do not see this as ending slaughter, horses could still very well go to Mexico…they do eat it there and they could ship it to Japan too. They just would not be alllowed to export to the EU.
And then let’s not forget the good ‘ole black market…I am sure you will see that happen to…And the saddest part to all of this now, will be more horses suffering and absolutely nothing anyone in this country can do about it.
A lot of ugly has already happened at slaughter houses, enroute to slaughter, at auction houses, in feed lots, in the death chute, on the kill floor, in the kill box…yes…a lot of ugly has already happened. There absolutely is something “anyone in this country” can do about it. People won’t have slaughter for a disposal so they will have to step up and be responsible for what they put on the ground. A scary thought for some who would rather slap their horse on a trailer bound for the slaughter plant. Horse slaughter is not the only answer.
Well in all the years we actually had slaughter available to us it never stopped the starvation, abuse and neglect. It just provided another venue to torture horses and contaminate the food supply. I never really understood why anybody thought it was going to be different should they bring it back. It didn’t work EVER.
You took the words out of my mouth, Daisy.
You were right, Shedrow. Doesn’t puppymill live in Missouri? This was under Duquette’s statement – about an hour ago near Wildwood, MO
Yes, Duquette is in Hermiston area….nowhere near MO. He also can’t spell or string a sentence together and last time he asked people to `bare ‘ with him, so maybe they didn’t think group nudity was appropriate for this statement?
He also likes to use apostrophes because he doesn’t know when to drop the /y/ and add /ies/.
This day just keeps on getting better. Thank you, Lord!
There are still rendering plants, for those needing humane put down they can truck live or dead to the facility better than those hellish hell holes. There is a way.. I see ads for well broke horses wanted, instead of breeding re-training and training those already here. Just a few ideas.
Don’t these people understand there is NO humane slaughter?! Burger King was caught with horrendous video of abuse. Granted it was cattle but the employees would still have the same mentality. The animal is going to die so let’s just abuse it a whole lot more.
The captive bolt doesn’t work on a equines head. And the puntila knife–don’t think I have to go there.
And Bute–well USDA isn’t going to ban it. It’s therapeutic to horses. Just makes it toxic to humans. And without a market USDA shouldn’t be called to inspect horsemeat in this country for export.
This is sudden and quite unexpected in its timing. However, we would be seeing everyone running around in circles next summer when the EU rules were to go into effect anyway.
There is no way around banned drugs. Thank EU for having the guts to do what our politicians in Washington can’t or won’t do.
And while it is sad to think that many horses may face euthansia–it’s a far more dignified death than slaughter.
We need Ann Marini to dispute that vet. She’s done extensive work on Bute and stuff. She would be a great first step to dispelling withdrawal times on Bute (doesn’t exist).
Also it doesn’t help when BLM employees tell the public that Bute does withdraw, then when you correct them they say “oh its only found in the liver”.
Banned for food source animals means banned! What part of the word do they not understand?!
Vicki Tobin is so right….now is thetime to band together nationally & take care of all these horses before US decides that the EU ban means we need horse slaughter in the US. Now more than ever, HELP the rescues already in place and we need a national network of anyone that has room to foster some horses. Open your barns & pastures to those horses needing help. We can do this!
I agree completely. I don’t see what the point in opening slaughter houses would be if there is nobody to buy the product. Money would be far better spent on euthanasia and gelding clinics as well as stocking up hay banks.
Stock up hay banks… LOLOL… you are so funny…. there is no hay to be found now…. but yet you think that you are going to stock up for a wave of 3,000 unwanted horses a WEEK…thats right.. a WEEK… that is 30 ton… A DAY….. or….$5,250.a DAY… IF you can find the hay for $175.00 a ton.. and we all know that aint going to happen… and were are you going to put 3,000 horses… (in just the first week)… rescues are full up now and they sure dont find homes for 3,000 horses a week now… so you think its going to happen over night?.. I am thinking that someone needs to find a person with a .22 that knows what they are doing.. and everyone get together and dig a very, VERY large hole.
Why are you always so angry? Your stats are ridiculous and so is your assumption that the country begins and ends within your 50 mile radius. If you care at all about horses, now is the time to work together and HELP. Otherwise step aside. For right now, slaughter is completely off the table. Be part of the problem or solution. Your choice, but whining and throwing tantrums isn’t going to change a thing.
No hay to be found? Maybe not in your area. We’ve got plenty and still cutting. Hay goes for 6 or 7$ a bale around here. Venture outside of your tiny, little world and you will learn all kinds of things.
BJ still thinks the world is flat….
BJ what planet are you on? I have seen tons of hay ads lately and prices coming down, southern states are selling hay cheaper. There is such thing as trucking it in ya know. Going on on a load saves hauling fees.
I have seen large rounds as little as $50 and squares as little as $5 on CL lately. We have had lots of rain in fact it is raining now and farmers are letting some of their supplies be sold. Sorry LOL all you want it can be done and there are sites that have alternative forages for horses. Google it.
I cruised that HGS site and boy they don’t like SC LOL well the PRO’s do the same dang thing to the Anti slaughter folk cussing, putting down etc so where does that one older chick have anything to talk about , really talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!
HGS site doesn’t like me because I called them assholes…..which most of them are. That board makes the UH and HFA people look like rocket scientists.
LOL SC how true 🙂
Also agree, Barbara, thank you.
With the time, money and energy spent outbidding kill buyers, and scrambling to meet slaughter deadlines and so on, we can focus on the horses.
Reflecting on the horses that have a chance at a new life today.. it’s a beautiful day.
Shedrow, wherever you are : ) thanks for your site and courage!!
Thank the Equine Welfare Alliance and all the others that are on the front lines working to save our horses. I just pass the news along. It is a beautiful day for sure. We just have to keep the momentum and move forward from here.
I doubt that Mexico will follow suit…they consume horsemeat and could always export to place outside the EU, maybe Japan? And I have to say going to Mexico is most likely a worse fate than Canada.
It will be a little while before we see the effects but i do not think they will be good.
The primary slaughter houses in Mexico that accepted US horses operated under EU regulations and were really no different than the Canadian slaughter houses. As far as I understand, they are no longer accepting US horses either. This was bold and serious move by the EU and I don’t believe it will be undone within a few days or weeks. People need to accept the current reality and move forward.
They should have had a shut down date and told the auction houses and kill buyers so that there would not have been any horses in transit and turned back. People just don’t know how to run their businesses anymore.
The plants there had ample warning and they could have asked for a date so that the horses could be stopped ahead of time. Yeah real concern for the welfare of horses, this should be another shining example of why it isn’t for the welfare of the horses.
It will be interesting to hear what prompted this immediate shut down. I’m thinking there is way more to this than we know, but I’m sure the falsified EID documents and all the recent adulterated carcasses, coupled with that death in Indonesia from a person ingesting Bute all played into it. Still, it seems rather sudden and no, the EU horse eaters don’t care about the welfare of these animals at all. The HSUS needs to step up an help out at this point.
European countries probably feel deceived because they’ve been eating tainted American horse meat, while “officials” looked the other way, for years. I also think people are eating less meat, period. It’s not good for you everyday, three times a day. Look at $ue Wallis. I bet she eats meat at every meal.
People are far more health conscious these days as well. We have moved so far away from heatlhy, organic food sources that our parents and their parents enjoyed, that people are taking a hard look at what they’re putting in their mouths….at least most of us are. I’m not a vegan nor am I vegetarian, but I buy cruelty free and refuse to buy factory farm produced anything. There are many people that are against any slaughter adn there are those of us that are specifically anti-horse slaughter. I do not believe there is a humane way to mass slaughter horses. You can’t even ship or keep them the same way as other food animals safely.. The fact that Sue and her merry band of morons refuse to acknowledge this speaks volumes. How anybody could think they have any concern about the welfare of horses is astounding. They have no interest in helping the horses in limbo right now. They have redoubled their efforts to kill even more.
Hopefully getting a statement from HSUS on Monday about their stance on helping out. What is so sad is the lack of helpful comments and caring attitudes from the pros. Absolutely nothing except that all of us antis’ are “vegan.” Not a word about helping these horses caught in the pipeline, and they have 2700+ members! Obviously not a working brain cell among them.
Here’s my thought on what happened. Trust me, I have NO sources for what I’m about to say. I am on the outer fringes of advocacy.
A couple of weeks ago that lady in Indonesia died. That was a wake up call.
The contaminated horse meat found in Canada last June was a wake up call.
The report by AA that indicated paper work wasn’t found to be accurate was a wake up call.
Between all the above, the change in laws about to occur next summer and the rampant drug violations made the EU’s choice simple. Put a stop to American horses for slaughter.
I care about horses from other countries. I do. But I can’t fix what’s wrong elsewhere before I help fix what’s wrong here.
I have no idea what prompted this but it would surprise me if some bombshell drops next week. Its a rather extreme measure they took with no notice, so it has to be something quite big is my best guest. I’m wondering if when it comes out it won’t shut down all North American Horse slaughter until it’s resolved. One can only hope….
As for the horses in feedlots and holding pens. I would suggest the current owners feed them and take proper care of them or they’ll be charged with neglect. A lot of cattlemen were impacted with the Xl recall in Canada and you didn’t see them turning their cows loose in the hills or threatening to shoot them all. If you are a proper steward of your animals, you take care of them regardless.
No kidding. In Sueys world you only take care of things with monetary value. She has said this time and time again. In the rest of the world we take care of things we treasure and hold dear to us- (like our horses) no matter if there is a monetary value or not. How sad a world it must be for those who only see things as dollar signs, and only find joy in killing.
If i had to guess, I suspect the answer lies in the response to the Mexican report about how they are planning on correcting the gaps between what the EU wants and the current practices. One thing is for sure, its going to be a wild ride. Lets hope the EU market has had enough of the North American Horse Slaughter industry lies.
Well said SRC! The current owners are responsible for taking care of the horses they have purchased. We have to remember that most of these horses would never have entered the slaughter pipeline if the demand for horse meat was not there. These horses are sought out and obtained through many deceptive and fraudulent means. Whether horse slaughter ends now or sometime in the future, there will be an adjustment period that we have to be prepared for. We can do it.
I love the quote, “These horses must die”!!!! WTF!! It boggles my mind that anyone would actually SAY that in print!! Anyway, I agree with what we’ve already discussed: kill buyers dumping their loads somewhere to die and the UH pushing for U.S. slaughter houses more than ever now. People who see truckloads of horses need to be sure to get the license plates. That way, if horses are dumped in the vicinity of that route, we just might be able to track down the kill buyer and prosecute him. We also have to be diligent in getting to our congress people before the UH greases their palms to ensure that the houses are not opened here. The Bute issue will remain here in the U.S. — that’s not going away unless Bute is banned (as was suggested) but that just means that the PSAs will be salivating while they wait for those young horses NOT on Bute to come through the pipeline. We also have to raise hell about our hay being sold overseas instead of kept here in the U.S. I wonder whether there’s a way to start “community hay fields”, like community gardens??? If anyone has any suggestions about that possibility — or if it’s just ridiculous — please respond. I’m thinking aloud here so throwing out anything I can think of…. (Happy dance!!!)
I doubt you will ever see Bute banned. It is a useful medication and less than 1% of horses go to slaughter. It wouldn’t make sense to ban a drug for so few. Also, it’s not just Bute, There are many banned drugs like Acepromezine, Clenbuterol, Dexamethasone, etc. and those will never be banned either. Any horse that is gelded humanely, has probably had Ace. Horses are not raised for consumption and it’s not even economical to do that given their feed to weight gain conversions. They need to get over themselves and get out of an industry that doesn’t want them anyhow.
As for community hay fields. That is a possibility. Many communities have undeveloped land that could be put into use. Often you see ditches being bailed as well. Probably not the quality I would prefer to buy for my horses, but viable feed just the same. We do need to do something about hay being shipped overseas or cubed and shipped. Tax it heavier or something. If there is a market here, that should be serviced first. There is lots of brainstorming to be done in order to move forward. What Sue and her buddies are most afraid of is that things won’t be bad enough to prove that slaughter is the answer. We can do this if people work together.
Although I am pleased to see that equines from the U.S. are not currently being accepted for ‘murder’ (the term ‘processing’ is total propaganda whitewash BS!) we should be very, VERY careful celebrating a victory. My intuition tells me that there may well be upcoming difficulties in obtaining important therapeutic medications that are not allowed in Europe (e.g., ‘Bute’ et al.). Additionally it is entirely possible that some form of identification system my well be rammed down U.S. equine keepers throats at the expense of those that are their keepers. Don’t underestimate the ‘power’ of the Dark Side of the Force! As Han Solo stated, ‘I have a bad feeling about this!’…
~”I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.” – Abraham Lincoln~
I agree with you. I also think that it will be very easy to sign a horse out of the slaughter pipeline for life should they implement a passport system. They may find that they don’t have enough horses to slaughter once that comes into play as any horse not passported from the age of 6mths will not be eligible. Nor are these people that want their horses to be slaughtered, going to appreciate having a vet sign off on each and every time they so much as deworm an animal or the heavy fines and sanctions that will follow should they lie like they currently do on the EIDs.
At best, we are in for a rough ride of adjustment, but I remain optimistic that we can make it work 🙂