On the Horse Slaughter Predicament
I had a tough time with the horse slaughter ban, as it’s not as if it’s going to stop anyone from using horses, and it could make their plight even worse because they would simply be transported to Canada and Mexico and killed there. In fact, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, horse slaughter businesses in Canada have grown by 75% since laws were passed in 2006 making it illegal to kill horses for food.
A central point in this particular discussion is regarding the difficulty of "humanely slaughtering" horses. I’ve seen some of the footage from plants in Canada, and it’s horrifying. Of course, Temple Grandin is on the scene with recommendations.
This issue is a popular one down here in polo country, and "horse people" are emotional about it and all of the ones I know are vehemently anti-slaughter. They don’t want them transported anywhere to be killed. However, they transport them all the time (in a much, much better fashion), and buy and sell them all the time as their needs and wants dictate, and it all seems a bit hypocritical to me. They don’t want them killed: fine. But they also don’t want to care for them for the rest of their lives. So what exactly do they want to happen to them?
Last week, a horse rescue group down here bought horses who were going to slaughter and brought them to a huge, gorgeous farm. This particular group is, from what I know, well-funded and able to care for the horses if they cannot adopt them all out (although there were well-over 100 of them, so I’m a bit skeptical). And the week prior, 160 horses were rescued from a sanctuary, whose owner abandoned them because she could no longer afford to care for them. They had to be rescued from their rescuer!
So what’s the answer to the horse situation? I suppose:
- More sanctuaries.
- Educating people who use horses about the bigger picture, as in, you are taking responsibility for this life–are you in a position to do that?
- Campaign to ban the various uses of horses.
- Educate the public, who sporadically use horses for entertainment or sport, that they are complicit. If they don’t like what ultimately happens to horses, they shouldn’t participate in horse-using industries. It sounds obvious to you, but humans have a remarkable ability to compartmentalize.
Speciesism is a significant part of the horse issue, as few people are campaigning for an end to the slaughter of cows and chickens. Being against horse slaughter is akin to being against the use of primates in labs. We should help people understand that the difference between horses and cows is in our minds. We have decided that one is more worthy of respect or life than the other.
This is not to say I’m for horse slaughter, as I’m not for the slaughter of anyone. The one thing we can do to help horses is the one thing we can do to help all animals. Convince people not to use them, so fewer and fewer of them are bred and fewer and fewer of them are killed or abandoned or forced to live their lives in the service of humans.
The pro side insists that horses are livestock and being livestock, they should be slaughtered for food. If that is the case, ask why horses are not treated as livestock. They do not follow any of the regulations that cattle must follow. If horses are livestock, where are the health papers and chain of ownership? Why are they allowed drugs that are prohibited for livestock?
The answer is simple. They want it both ways. They want them to be sport, companion and service animals so they can use them and then when they’re used up and cannot perform, they want to wave a wand and turn them into livestock and drain another $200 out of them. Ask them the last time they saw a cow running in the Derby, a cow under a mounted policeman, a cow performing dressage, a cow being used in hyppotherapy or a cow being used to help our soldiers with head injuries regain their balance. Ask them what cows are working with the autistic. If they get their way and horses are treated like livestock, they will shut down the horse industry. Can you imagine the backlash from the racing industry if drugs have to be withdrawn? The services they provide will no longer be available without the necessary drugs to keep them healthy.
Slaughter has flourished because there are no regulations. The irresponsible are paid to dump their horses. Just imagine the cat and dog overpopulation if humane organizations started paying the owners $200 to dump their animals. The kill houses are not providing a service. They are paying people so they can keep the horses coming. They perpetuate the breed and dump cycle. Owners that make a conscious decision to buy a horse or breed a horse have no consequences for over breeding as long as there is a dumping ground. The kill house owners are no dummies. They have created this cycle and the US played right into their hands. And now, they’re doing the same in Canada and Mexico. Canada is on to them and is trying to do something about it. They have discovered what we have known for years. There is no way to humanely slaughter a horse. It’s no surprise that the plant they investigated was none other than the plant where Cavel is operating. That was the plant in DeKalb, Il and as everyone who has been following this knows, they are above the law. They have their own rules and play only by those. If they are called on something, they call their lawyers and appeal. And while they are appealing, it’s business as usual. If Canada tries to shut them down, I hope their court system is ready. It will be a long, drawn out journey.