Horse Slaugher Now Legal for Human Consumption

[Mackay]

Obama Legalizes Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption

Author: madeline bernstein
Published: November 28, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Share204K Horse slaughter plants are legal again in the United States. Restrictions on horse meat processing for human consumption have been lifted.

In a bipartisan effort, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate approved the Conference Committee report on spending bill H2112, which among other things, funds the United States Department of Agriculture. On November 18th, as the country was celebrating Thanksgiving, President Obama signed a law, allowing Americans to kill and eat horses. Essentially, one turkey was pardoned in the presence of worldwide media while in the shadows, buried under pages of fiscal regulation, millions of horses were sentenced to death.

Horse slaughter has been prohibited in the United States as funding for inspections of horses in transit and at slaughter houses was non-existent. This worked because the horse meat cannot be sold for human consumption without such inspections. The House version of the bill retained the de-funding language and the Senate version did not. The conference committee charged with reconciling the two opted to not include it. The result is that it is now legal to slaughter horses for humans to eat.

Notwithstanding that 70% of Americans oppose horse slaughter, that President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption (horses can be sent to Mexico and Canada), that documentation of animal cruelty, slaughterhouse stench, fluid runoff and negative community impact exists, it is taxpayers that will bear the costs!

Wyoming state representative Sue Wallis and her pro-slaughter group estimate that between 120,000 and 200,000 horses will be killed for human consumption per year and that Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Georgia and Missouri, are considering opening slaughter plants.

During these trying times, is the only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is that Americans need to eat horses?

 

[BarredBuff]

Its bad this is all they can get done!?!

 

[~gd]

Obama Legalizes Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption

Author: madeline bernstein
Published: November 28, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Share204K Horse slaughter plants are legal again in the United States. Restrictions on horse meat processing for human consumption have been lifted.

In a bipartisan effort, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate approved the Conference Committee report on spending bill H2112, which among other things, funds the United States Department of Agriculture. On November 18th, as the country was celebrating Thanksgiving, President Obama signed a law, allowing Americans to kill and eat horses. Essentially, one turkey was pardoned in the presence of worldwide media while in the shadows, buried under pages of fiscal regulation, millions of horses were sentenced to death. How about some facts? Like the anti-Slaughter group never managed to prohibit the slaughter of horses, they managed to defund the USDA inspectors and without inspection it is illegal to sell any food for human Consumption, if you read this closely you will see she admits as much
Now I am not anti-horse, should that noble animal's flesh be reserved for pet food or export but denied to humans, are horses worse than cattle or pigs? I bet that if I served you horse but told you it was Bison [which it greatly resembles] you would enjoy it! Yes I have eaten Horse meat both here and in France. If you are interested check Horse meat in Wikipedia

Horse slaughter has been prohibited in the United States as funding for inspections of horses in transit and at slaughter houses was non-existent. This worked because the horse meat cannot be sold for human consumption without such inspections. The House version of the bill retained the de-funding language and the Senate version did not. The conference committee charged with reconciling the two opted to not include it. The result is that it is now legal to slaughter horses for humans to eat.

Notwithstanding that 70% of Americans oppose horse slaughter, that President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption (horses can be sent to Mexico and Canada), that documentation of animal cruelty, slaughterhouse stench, fluid runoff and negative community impact exists, it is taxpayers that will bear the costs!

Wyoming state representative Sue Wallis and her pro-slaughter group estimate that between 120,000 and 200,000 horses will be killed for human consumption per year and that Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Georgia and Missouri, are considering opening slaughter plants.

During these trying times, is the only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is that Americans need to eat horses?

 

[AL]

the main issue I have with horse meat is that horses are not raised to be "food grade" - which means ol' glue factory out there has has 30yrs of vaccinations, dewormers, supplements etc and now that he has no "useful purpose" I"m gonna sell him for your family to eat.
Basically - I won't eat it, but I respect the freedom you have to choose what YOU eat.

 

[MetalSmitten]

i'm okay with it.

making it illegal + the tanking of the economy did two things: 1) cause a huge problem with people abandoning/starving/inhumanely slaughtering their unwanted horses, and 2) create a black market for horse meat which encouraged criminals to steal and inhumanely slaughter pet horses and/or set up illegal slaughter barns. or to keep it legal, they had to ship horses to canada or mexico to be slaughtered. it's a very sad situation, much like how unwanted cats and dogs have to be euthanized, but this isn't the perfect world that i wish it was. making it legal again (and it's only been illegal for something like 5 years anyway) will save many horses from starvation and neglect, discourage the slaughter barns and horse theft, and save horses from being trucked to other countries before slaughter. it's the sad but less cruel way of dealing with the unwanted horses. and, regardless of who eats them, at least this way they are not dying in vain if their meat can be put to use.

 

[the funny farm6]

If they would make sure the killing of the horses was done humanly in the first place, I don't think it would have been outlawed to begin with. It was after those vidoes got out of them taking 3-4 hits to kill the horse that people came unglued, and rightfully so. I would like to see a little more of a watch on how they do the slaughter. But with the econemy and the hay situation in many parts of the U.S. I do see the need. If you can't aford to feed them ( or get hay at all!) and nobody else wants them why not? Its better than having horses starving to death.

 

[Leta]

I know I'm going out a limb here, but as long as the animal is raised in conditions that are a) kind and species appropriate; b) sustainable and environmentally sound, and c) slaughtered in a quick, clean, humane, and disease minimizing way, I don't care if people eat Golden Retrievers for food. And I have a GR mix whom I adore.

If we are going to eat non-human animals, I really can't see making species specific distinctions. Doing so is largely cultural and varies a bunch by one region to the next.

I am against factory farming and inhumane treatment of any/all animals, extending right on down to earthworms.

There, that's my platform. Vote for me.

 

[MsPony]

I see no difference between how we care for horses today (worming, vax) and what we pour into factory farmed animals. I just ask we humanely slaughter.

(and yes, I herbal worm and have only vaxd once in my horse life and that will be tomorrow, because it's req'd and even then I'm doing bare minimum and "essentials" only.)

 

[MetalSmitten]

If they would make sure the killing of the horses was done humanly in the first place, I don't think it would have been outlawed to begin with.

i agree, but, there's always going to be some people who don't care and do it inhumanely, legal or not. but making it illegal only encouraged more criminally inhumane slaughter operations... making it legal again drastically reduces the black market profitability, and so decreases the instances of cruelty. no law will ever completely get rid of cruelty, but i believe this is a step back in the right direction to at least reduce it again. and as much as inhumane slaughter is cruel, i find abandonment/starvation/neglect to be even more cruel, because it causes the animals to suffer for a longer period of time. =/

I see no difference between how we care for horses today (worming, vax) and what we pour into factory farmed animals. I just ask we humanely slaughter.

agreed.

 

[mandieg4]

I'm ok with it too. I'd rather see a horse slaughtered than starved and abused.