Home » Posts tagged 'Equine Slaughter Legislation'
Tag Archives: Equine Slaughter Legislation
All Systems That Are Symptom Based Fail ~ Treat The Cause NOT The Symptom
It seems our SYSTEMS today, all of them are symptom based, which we all know treating the symptom of anything will never end the cause of the symptom. No this is not a riddle it is fact and a sad fact at that.
Here are some examples that we at Zuma’s face every day.
Symptom: Child abuse and neglect
Systems solution:
Remove child from home, diagnose child as if child is cause of abuse and neglect, medicate child, mandate that parents provide better living environment for child. re-evaluate situation with no family counseling or intervention.
Treat the symptom; neglected child… not the cause; bad parenting. Less than 10% success rate.
Zuma’s Solution:
Begin court mandated family experiential learning and quine assisted learning along with individual child behavior modification. Have paid facilitators move into family home to keep child safe.
If a family member poses real danger, have home under 24 hour police surveillance.
Work with the family not just the child mend the entire family. Less cost involved and less trauma to the child.Removing a child from his or her family is far too traumatic.
Symptom;
Perceived un-wanted horses population
System Solution; Horse Slaughter Plants in US or Horses in the wild rounded up into holding pens
Zuma’s Solution
Develop breeding licensing with fees high enough to cover the administration cost
Mandate all horses be registered with the state, create a medical horse history for each horse
Charge all horse owners and End of life Tax on all horses, this annual tax held by the state will follow the horse for its life time and be available to end the horses life humanely.
Mandate licensing of all stallions charge high fees for breeding stallions
Create a use tax for everything horse, this tax will be a state tax held to develop a humane end of life solutions for horses
Dart wild horse herd for birth control every three years manage the herd size to the land set aside for them.
As you see we at Zuma’s are cause based solution system- VS – the current system of treating symptoms
Given enough time our cause based system will cure the cause and there will be no more symptoms
Legislative victory for our wild horses – H.R. 1018 passes
The Restoring Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act – HR 1018, introduced by U.S. Representatives Rahall and Grijalva, passed in the House of Representatives on July 17th. The bill amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act by adding important new protections and provisions, such as the banning of helicopter round-ups and the reclaiming of land lost by America’s wild horses over the past 30 years.
Horse Slaughter is Not Humane, and is Not the Answer
The “Economic Impact of the Horse Industry in the United States,” a study commissioned by the American Horse Council, estimates the horse industry contributes $39 billion in direct economic revenue.
A 1% luxury tax imposed on this industry would provide the federal government $39,000,000 in funds necessary to provide humane euthanization of horses when necessary. Additionally, this tax will also provide funding for the BLM to care for the wild mustang herds. Each state will receive its portion of the tax collected to provide for the horses in their state.
The BLM must control the size of the herds using birth control measures; to allow the herds to grow annually with no fiscal plan for herd maintenance is irresponsible and provides no justification for auctioning these horses to foreign horse meat consumers. Americans do not eat horses and should not provide a market for horse meat for foreign countries. Each state will contribute a portion of their tax collected to provide for the wild herds.
This tax will generate more than the $26,000,000 the United States earned in past horse meat exports.
Why horse slaughter is illegal and inappropriate:
It is important to note that in the foreign-owned equine slaughterhouses operating in the United States, no form of restraint is used when the equine is in the kill chute or ‘knock box’ waiting for the penetrating captive bolt to be applied. In some instances, it takes several attempts to effectively apply the penetrating captive bolt to the equine, if this is achieved at all. The use of the penetrating captive bolt is in violation of 7 U.S.C.A. § 1902 (a) of the Humane Slaughter Act as this methodology requires more than one blow and is inefficient at rendering equines immediately insensible.
(Sources: Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM and former Chief USDA Inspector, and (ii) Humane Farming Association video documentation at http://www.manesandtailsorganization.org/media.html)
Use of the captive bolt causes extreme pain
In a study conducted at Hanover University, EEG and ECG recordings were taken on all animals to measure the condition of the brain and heart during the course of slaughter and stunning. EEG readings showed that although the animals were apparently unconscious soon after stunning with the penetrating captive bolt, they were experiencing severe pain immediately after stunning.
(Source: http://www.themodernreligion.com/misc/an/an_slaughter.htm)
Horses regain consciousness approximately 30 seconds after the captive bolt is applied.
Due to the inherent differences in skull structures of bovines and equines, each species reacts to the captive bolt differently. The brain of an equine is further back in the skull compared to a bovine. The equines regain consciousness and are not insensible to pain shortly after they are shackled and hoisted. Therefore, they are very much aware of being butchered alive.
These facts should curl the toes of any human being.
No Other Methods of Equine Slaughter Comply with the HSA of 1958
(1) Electrocution – has been defined as ‘cruel’ by the American Horse Show Association in response to owners who have electrocuted their horses for insurance money. Federal Courts have upheld the Association’s contention that electrocution is cruel. Therefore, it cannot be used as a method of humane slaughter for equines.
(2) Drug Overdose – this method saturates the tissues and leaves residues thereby making the meat inedible.
(3) Carbon Monoxide – this method saturates the tissues and leaves residues thereby making the meat inedible.
(4) 22 Caliber Gun Shot – This particular firearm is inappropriate for equines due to the thickness of the skull structure of an equine. Using the .22 caliber rifle does not achieve instantaneous insensibility of equines. Larger caliber firearms such as a 9mm or .357 are required to efficiently penetrate the skull and cause the massive brain destruction necessary to achieve instantaneous insensibility. (Source: Procedures for Humane Euthanasia of Sick, Injured and/or Debilitated Livestock – http://lacs.vetmed.ufl.edu/HumaneEuthanasia/gun.htm). Additionally, the horse cannot be restrained and this method is dangerous to workers.
Horses are very aware of the environment in which they are slaughtered; they are flight/ prey animals. There is no way to humanely euthanize a horse in the very place a carcass is rendered. Any animal smells blood and instinctually feels fear – which is in and of itself torturous.
Here are a few of the pro-slaughter positions:
1. Position: High cost of maintaining unwanted horses.
Solution: The luxury equine tax can resolve this problem. Why shouldn’t those that profit from the industry pay to keep all horses treated equally?
2. Position: Lost revenues from equine slaughter
Solution: The luxury equine tax can resolve this problem coupled with increased registration fees for breeding equines to cover humane euthanization – there will be no lost revenues.
3. Position: No place for unwanted horses
Solution: This is an over-breeding issue, not a horse slaughter issue. Breeders need to be held accountable for their actions. Breeders should pay higher breeding fees as well as high sales tax on horse sales. The sales tax should be higher than the value on horse meat; this will end the horse meat market ending the need for this never ending debate over horse slaughter.
The only way to end the debate over horse slaughter is to put an end to the need for horse slaughter. Control the breeding practices of breeders by imposing steep breeding fees and chip the wild herds for birth control.
Mange the herd size, and the breeders and you solve the problem, it is that simple.
Why must special interest groups complicate this issue, more importantly why are elected officials manipulated by these special interest groups?
Americans Do Not Eat Horse Meat, therefore there should be no horses bred in this country for horse meat.
We already know how to humanely put a horse down. It is not debatable: studies have proven lethal injection with no blood spill is the only humane method.
Please join the majority of Americans in voting to put an end to this brutal practice once and for all.
Horses on the Hill
By Jodi Messenich
Since my involvement in the 3-Strikes Ranch equine disaster, I have been on the HSUS mailing list receiving all of their alerts, this group does great work by the way I strongly recommend everyone join their mailing list.
In May I received the alert to “Horses on the Hill,” and was immediately moved to attend this event and become a voice for the countless horses sent to slaughter each and every day. That same day I made my travel arrangements and began assembling the small army it takes to care for our horses, dogs and home. So with help from Amanda Davis, Tori Messenich, Jessica Johnson and Gina Berg, my husband Paul and I were able to attend this event.
I must admit I really did not know what to expect, but even so the way the day unfolded took me by surprise. Conversations prior to our departure of mass protests, police, and handcuffs, were just a few of the jokes made while discussing the upcoming trip with some of Zuma’s friends.
The day began with a very inspiring presentation by Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, what a passionate horse advocate, we are very fortunate to have on our side of this horrible horse slaughter issue. Her presentation and the question and answer session were very informative in preparing us for our day.
Once the morning breakfast meeting concluded we were set off with the objective of knocking on as many doors of Senators, and Congressman as we possibly could. Thankfully the night before I had prepared a leave-behind for them summarizing our position on the issue. I had no idea this was how it was done, and really had no idea how to approach this mission…… I knew we had a 2:00 appointment with congressman Mike Coffman, for which I had prepared, but had not anticipated that our real goal would be meeting as many legislators as possible in six hours–Yikes!
Before heading out, Paul spoke with Olivia Philipp, Legislative correspondent to Senator Mary Landrieu about our position. A few minutes after the conversation Olivia returned to discuss Zuma’s in more detail and invited us to be on the conference call with Mary Landrieu discussing the horse slaughter issue. This is a great opportunity to have a voice on this issue; we are both very excited to be part of this.
Next we asked the head of the HSUS about possible training seminars for people interested in speaking out on animal welfare issues. We were able to get some members of the HSUS to fly out and put on some training for us at Zuma’s. It is my hope to have them attend the Zumapalooza and do a fun training for all of the attendees. This organization had an interest in our mission, so much so that Nancy Perry; Vice President of Government Affairs for the HSUS, agreed to escort Paul and I all day into congressional offices. This was an educational process for us, and one that in the end was quite simple.
We met with seven congressmen or their representative that day, walking miles from one building to the next in the underground walk ways. Simply open the door to the office, introduce ourselves as constituents visiting from Colorado and we were given face time with someone from each office.
The meetings were usually brief, no more than 10-15 minutes but we were heard, notes were taken and our outline was left behind. If nothing else we put a face to our letters and calls and we made an inside contact to call on issues. Each and every visit was productive and the Colorado Representative we spoke with asked to be on our mailing lists and kept informed of our events.
I would suggest to each and every one that you take the time to write letters to your representative on issues. Without our voices, they don’t know we are watching what they do, if no one that has a vote is watching, there is no accountability beyond that of the lobbyists that frequent their offices. The average person must keep a frequent open line of communication to their representatives, the calls and the letters are accounted for and made note of. Please I urge you to stay involved in the political wheel, it is not nearly as big as one might think.
Here is the list of the offices we visited:
If you are not sure who your representatives are, you can look them up here. You can then write to some or all of your federal and state representatives with one click, using email, or obtain contact information to use for snail mail. There is even a tool built into the web page that tells you when your message is too long to have impact:
Call Capitol Hill on July 14th to save America’s Horses from Slaughter
On Tuesday, July 14th, horse advocates are coming to and calling Capitol Hill asking Congress to stop the grisly transport of America’s horses for torturous slaughter in other countries.
You can join this important effort and help pass the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R.503/S. 727) with a simple phone call.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your U.S. Representative’s and two U.S. Senators’ offices. All you have to say is “please co-sponsor H.R. 503 and S. 727 to protect horses from slaughter.”
Don’t let them down, America’s horses are depending on you.
Equine Welfare Alliance Press Release 5/13/09
Horse slaughter dream a financial nightmare
CHICAGO, (EWA) – The dream of the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) and its affiliate the MQHA (Montana Quarter Horse Association) to bring horse slaughter back to the US may have just been dealt what may be its death blow. The blow came not from anti-slaughter advocates, nor public revulsion, nor Congress, but from a horse slaughter industry insider whose op-ed, Meat plant: a cautionary tale, appeared on April 30th in the Western Producer, a subscription-only Canadian online animal agriculture journal.
“Natural Valley Farms died the day the decision makers chose to kill horses”, says Henry Skjerven, an investor and director of the defunct Natural Valley Farms (NVF) slaughter complex in Saskatchewan, Canada. Skjerven tells the story of how NVF, which had originally been built to process cattle during the BSE crisis, ended in a $42 million financial disaster following its decision to kill horses for the Velda Group of Belgium.
The story broke just as the AQHA and Stan Weaver of the MQHA, were celebrating the passage of Montana bill (HB 418).
On April 5, EWA broke the news that the plant had been closed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in December. In his article, Skjerven refers to the plant’s confrontational interaction with the CFIA over the plant’s “composting” and other issues. Unlike beef that can be used in pet food, horse byproducts must be disposed of properly because they contain substances such as the wormer, Ivermectin, which can cause fatal encephalitis in some breeds of dogs.
Blood disposal appears to have been equally problematic for NVF as with other horse slaughter plants. Not only do horses have twice the quantity of blood as cows, but the blood is notoriously difficult to treat. The bacterial agents used in standard cattle digesters fail to provide acceptable discharge levels because of antibiotics often found in horse blood. As a result, pollution follows the horse slaughter industry where ever it goes.
During debate over HB 418, the Montana Senate Agriculture committee dismissed evidence of these problems as anti-slaughter propaganda. Even the testimony of former Kaufman, Texas mayor Paula Bacon was ignored when she told of blood rising into people’s bathtubs in her town. But unfortunately for NVF, the CFIA was not so easily assuaged.
Even Butcher has admitted that any horse slaughter plant that is built in the US will have to be operated by an EU group like Velda because the horse meat market is in Europe and they control it. Now Velda needs a new home, but in his op-ed Skjerven, says, “horse slaughter never brought a single minute of profitability to the company.”
In the end, it may not matter that HB 418 is unconstitutional, nor that a horse slaughter plant in the US could not export its horse meat without USDA inspectors, nor that the industry has committed a thousand sins against horses and the environment. If investors in a horse slaughter plant cannot be comfortable in knowing they will make a profit, there will be no plant built.
If Stan Weaver and the AQHA want horse slaughter they may have to do the killing themselves.
Get the Facts on Horse Slaughter from the Humane Society
The following is an excerpt from the Humane Society’s Article “Get the Facts on Horse Slaughter.” Read the full article here.
How many horses are slaughtered each year?
Prior to the closure of all three foreign-owned plans in the United States, more than 100,000 horses were being slaughtered in the United States and processed for human consumption.
Now, tens of thousands of live horses are transported across the border to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. After these horses are killed, their flesh is shipped to Europe and Asia for human consumption. Their owners are often unaware of the pain, fear, and suffering their horses endure before being slaughtered.
Who eats horse meat?
Horse meat is not eaten in the United States; it is exported to serve specialty markets overseas. The largest markets are France, Belgium, Holland, Japan, and Italy.
How do unwanted, surplus horses end up at slaughterhouses?
Most horses destined for slaughter are sold at livestock auctions or sales. The cruelty of horse slaughter is not limited to the act of killing the animals. Horses bound for slaughter are shipped, frequently for long distances, in a manner that fails to accommodate their unique temperaments. They are usually not rested, fed, or watered during travel. Economics-not humane considerations-dictate the conditions, including crowding as many horses into trucks as possible.
The above is an excerpt from the Humane Society’s Article “Get the Facts on Horse Slaughter.” Read the full article here.
A Grisly End for America’s Horses
(Excerpt reprinted from the Humane Society’s Website. Read the full article here.)
Frenzied hooves beat against the wet cement as horses of all colors and ages file through the line. Poked with an electric prod, they are forced down the crammed alley of the Mexican horse slaughter plant. As the chute opens, the workers whistle and holler. A gray horse slips, falling to his hind legs. Panicked, he lunges forward and takes his final steps into the “kill” box.
An American horse enters the kill box at a Mexican slaughter plant.
As the horse drops his head to smell the blood, a worker grabs his long mane and plunges a knife into his neck, Stunned, the horse throws his neck and, ten seconds later, is stabbed again. As the horse collapses to the ground, the workers break out in a cheer. A chain is wrapped around the hind leg of the horse-paralyzed, but not yet dead-who is then strung up to “bleed out,” his throat sliced open as his heart continues to beat.
Similar, grisly scenes play out day after day for the thousands of American horses exported to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered for human consumption in countries such as France, Italy and Japan. Until early 2007, there were three foreign-owned plants in the U.S. killing horses for human consumption. Those plants have all closed due to action on the state level.
Despite these closures, the horse slaughter industry is still in business, and thousands of horses endure long, hazardous journeys to slaughter plants across U.S. borders to meet the foreign demand for horse meat. Legislation now pending in Congress, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, would prevent any new horse slaughter plants from opening in the U.S. and prohibit the export of American horses for slaughter for human consumption.
Read the full article here.
Legislation for Horse Slaughter Will Not End Export or Abandonment Issues
by Valerie James-Patton (read the article in its original context here).
In December 2008, a resolution called the Horse Industry Policy, was submitted by Wyoming State Rep. Sue Wallis, and former South Dakota State Rep. Dave Sigdestad, to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Agriculture and Energy Committee. The NCSL is a non-governmental lobbyist organization which serves the nation’s 50 states legislators to advocate and lobby for the interests of states before Congress and federal agencies.
Rep. Sue Wallis is also the Vice Chair of NCSL’s Agriculture and Energy Committee. NCSL adopted the Horse Industry Policy resolution on December 11-13, 2008, at the NCSL’s Annual Fall Forum in Atlanta, Georgia. The passage of the policy provides the authority for NCSL staff in Washington D.C. to lobby on Capitol Hill and establish the position of the States.
Admitting her personal contempt against animal welfare organizations with this resolution, she stated that “without question, animal agriculture in the US is under siege by radical animal rights organizations-this doesn’t win us the war, but it is a significant skirmish, and we have one more valuable tool in our arsenal.”
She also publicly thanked former U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (responsible for the Burns 2004 amendment removing the protection of America’s wild horses) who she said was “instrumental” in getting the resolution out of the Agriculture and Energy Committee, and onto the General Session floor for debate and the committee vote.
It was the passage of this resolution, The Horse Industry Policy, that prompted several state resolutions which are opposed to prohibiting horse slaughter, transporting or exporting horses for slaughter, and also seeking to allow the return of the U.S. horse slaughter facilities. The Horse Industry Policy “urges Congress to oppose legislation that would restrict the market, transport, processing, or export of horses, to recognize the need for humane horse processing facilities in the United States, and not to interfere with State efforts to establish facilities in the United States.”
Is the Horse Slaughter Movement Funded by Horse Breeders?
The slaughter of horses for human consumption is no longer legal in the U.S. Sadly more than 100,000 horses each year are shipped to Canada and Mexico to satisfy the palates of “gourmands” overseas. Upwards of 90 percent of the horses sold for slaughter are healthy, sound animals, according to USDA statistics. Of that 90 percent, some are bred solely for the slaughter market, others come from farms providing horse urine to pharmaceutical companies and others are horses with cosmetic or minor conformation issues which make them valueless to the breeders, many of whom are producing a hundred or more foals yearly.
Several states, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, among others, are studying or considering opening horse slaughter plants under the guise of providing a more “humane” method of disposing of “unwanted” horses than shipping them in trucks cross country for slaughter in Canada or Mexico. There is also a well-funded, but virtually unknown national movement afoot, with bills pending in Congress, to allow horse slaughter for human consumption once again.
This issue is not about treating horses humanely or dealing with “unwanted” horses. It’s about profit, pure and simple. For example, the wording of the North Dakota bill includes “… to meet overseas export markets for horsemeat…” Clearly, sponsors of this bill see a market opportunity, thinly disguised as a way to “solve” a conveniently overstated problem.
As the movie line goes, “Follow the money.” Who would profit if a horse slaughter facility were to open in any given state? We know the slaughter facility will make money; that’s a given. But so will the people who supply the horses destined to become someone’s dinner. Who is lobbying for these plants to reopen? It’s my guess that it’s the potential suppliers who see the slaughter business as a way to make money off an “unwanted” or “valueless,” product, to quote the North Dakota bill’s sponsor.
For a breeder, each year’s “crop” of foals has a percentage of colts and fillies who do not meet the breeders’ standards. The North Dakota bill is sponsored by a rancher who raises Quarter Horses, which, coincidently, is the most common breed to be sent to slaughter. His last sales catalog listed 80-plus young horses for sale. Were there any “unwanted” or “valueless” horses sent to slaughter because they didn’t make “the cut”? Horse breeders, as well as horse associations, surprisingly, are some of the most vocal supporters of horse slaughter.
Other lobbyists for the horse slaughter movement claim a slaughter facility will alleviate horse “overpopulation” by providing breeders and others with a place to send horses (for a profit) to a “humane” death rather than let them face starvation, neglect or abandonment because the owner, for whatever circumstance, is unwilling to care for the animal. Horse slaughter proponents won’t tell the public that the death of a horse in a slaughter facility is anything but humane. They also won’t share statistics that don’t support their cause. For example, cases of abuse, neglect and abandonment, not to mention horse theft, actually went down when the slaughter plants closed. Supporters also won’t tell the public that there are dozens of rescue facilities, not to mention horse-loving youths and adults, who would willingly take a breeder’s “unwanted” horse and give it a loving home.
Horse slaughter is a highly emotional subject with “facts” bandied about with little but anecdotal evidence to back them up. Factual information can be found in the USDA records, as well as from organizations that track this type of activity. If, after researching the issue for yourself, you feel moved to contact legislators and share your opinion in opposition to horse slaughter, be prepared for a fight. Too much money is on the table for breeders, ranchers, kill buyers/shippers and foreign and domestic investors in slaughter facilities to let this issue die.
Here are the links to some websites you may wish to visit:
Article about horse slaughter provided by the Humane Society of America
Article in Agweek supporting horse slaughter, primarily in North Dakota
Contact information for federal legislation to further protect horses
