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*WARNING* GRAPHIC* pasture to plate video

12K views 80 replies 38 participants last post by  Ladytrails 
#1 ·


Horrible:cry::-x:evil:
 
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#7 · (Edited)
Reported this thread. Just how many 'horszee slaughter is eeevvviiiilllll' threads do we need? :-x
who in this thread said horse slaughter is evil. I personally think we should go to the SOURCE of the problem with irresponsible breeders and owners.


keeping their colt a stallion because " he is sooooo cute! and sweet!" nevermind he is downhill and has the worst conformation for breeding , then letting them jump the fence, because they are too lazt to properly contain and separate them.:roll:




keeping a horse and starving it to death slowly in a backyard is just as cruel!
 
#9 ·
Have you ever had a dog killed at the vet's? I have - a number of times. What I saw on that video isn't any worse overall than what some of my dogs have done as I held them in my arms. Sometimes they go down easy. Sometimes they fight it. One of my dogs thrashed around for a minute, with me bawling like a baby.

I hate to break it to some folks, but death isn't pretty. If you don't die in your sleep, you will probably experience pain and fear. Most wild animals do. Lots of people do too. Only a society divorced from nature would freak over that video. IMHO.
 
#12 ·
Have you ever had a dog killed at the vet's? I have - a number of times. What I saw on that video isn't any worse overall than what some of my dogs have done as I held them in my arms. Sometimes they go down easy. Sometimes they fight it. One of my dogs thrashed around for a minute, with me bawling like a baby.

I hate to break it to some folks, but death isn't pretty. If you don't die in your sleep, you will probably experience pain and fear. Most wild animals do. Lots of people do too. Only a society divorced from nature would freak over that video. IMHO.
i just recently had my dog die, i pleaded with the vet to let me back to the room he was in before he passed. i think i was too late, because as soon as i reached him he was gasping for his last breathes and tongue hanging out of his mouth.

blood was coming out of his mouth AND rectum h(e was vomiting blood and having pure blood coming for the other end).... i know the image. he passed naturally before the vet could euthanize him. it is something i wish i could get out of my mind daily.

the difference is there are some things we can help and some things we can't ...this is one of the things we can make a bit more HUMANE.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
What does breeding irresponsibly have to do with that video? It's a tenuous connection at best. If you wanted to talk about irresponsible breeding, why post that video at all? It's not important to the conversation.

Besides, we've been down this sad, tired road a million times already. You can't MAKE people be responsible, and the majority of horses going to slaughter do not come from backyard fugly breeders.

Another thing, why is it that only HORSES go to slaughter? Why are chickens, cattle, swine, and other livestock processed, but only the pwetty, pwetty horsies are slaughtered?

I also agree with bsms. Death when it comes isn't pretty, regardless of the way it happens. I watched the video. I didn't cringe in horror, wring my hands, or cry, so whatever point you're trying to make was lost on me. I've already seen death up close and personal more than once, and a lot more bloody than anything in that video.
 
#15 ·
What does breeding irresponsibly have to do with that video? It's a tenuous connection at best. If you wanted to talk about irresponsible breeding, why post that video at all? It's not important to the conversation.

Besides, we've been down this sad, tired road a million times already. You can't MAKE people be responsible, and the majority of horses going to slaughter do not come from backyard fugly breeders.

Another thing, why is it that only HORSES go to slaughter? Why are chickens, cattle, swine, and other livestock processed, but only the pwetty, pwetty horsies are slaughtered?

I also agree with bsms. Death when it comes isn't pretty, regardless of the way it happens.
connection : if people bred responsibly there would be LESS horses being put through slaughter, there would still be horses going through it. but not as needlessly.
 
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#11 ·
The slaughter debate has been beaten to death (no pun intended) on this forum. Also, I think pretty much everyone here has seen some video or other about horse slaughter, and if they haven't but want to, a simple Google or YouTube search will do the trick.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#13 ·
There you go. The things we CAN control, we SHOULD.
Nothing wrong with a captive bolt, but you should have a 99% first-shot kill rate. If not, you need to be reevaluating employee training and practices. I'm on the fence about what that video showed. There are also ways to minimize trauma/fear/distress on slaughterbound animals, such as what Temple Grandin has done for cattle. I hope they're at least trying to move in that direction.
 
#17 ·
There you go. The things we CAN control, we SHOULD.
Nothing wrong with a captive bolt, but you should have a 99% first-shot kill rate. If not, you need to be reevaluating employee training and practices. I'm on the fence about what that video showed. There are also ways to minimize trauma/fear/distress on slaughterbound animals, such as what Temple Grandin has done for cattle. I hope they're at least trying to move in that direction.

that would be my point for posting this video. i am not against horse slaughter. but I am for trying to be as humane as possible.
 
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#18 ·
No matter how many times the videos get posted or the topic gets brought back up will ever change those minds who find nothing wrong with slaughter. It's just a topic that's been beaten to death (as twh said)
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#20 ·
No matter how many times the videos get posted or the topic gets brought back up will ever change those minds who find nothing wrong with slaughter. It's just a topic that's been beaten to death (as twh said)
Posted via Mobile Device
Nowhere in the original post did I mention that I was Against slaughter.

I did say horrible however. more so to the amount of times it took the staff to stun the horses.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Define needlessly.

Fugly, as well as very well bred animals go to slaughter every day. It's just the luck of the draw which ones get to live out their lives in good homes, which are neglected/abused, and which are sent to slaughter.

As I stated, it's not the fugly breeders who supply the majority of horses to be processed. It's all those 'responsible' breeders.

I don't think any of us are for inhumane treatment of animals regardless of their ultimate fate, so other than the shock value, what was your point with the video?
 
#22 ·
Define needlessly.

Fugly, as well as very well bred animals go to slaughter every day. It's just the luck of the draw which ones get to live out their lives in good homes, which are neglected/abused, and which are sent to slaughter.

As I stated, it's not the fugly breeders who supply the majority of horses to be processed. It's all those 'responsible' breeders.

I don't think any of us are for inhumane treatment of animals regardless of their ultimate fate, so other than the shock value, what was your point with the video?

the point in posting the video was to show people that it could be done better, instead of being complacent with what was already there.

the box should be a bit smaller so that they can't move around as much and the accuracy of the the gun should be SURE ( i know you can't always be accurate (as avid HUNTER). but i sure think it can be done much better than that.

what is the point of not posting the video?
 
#23 ·
$#!+ does happen. Botched chemical euthanasias do occur, but aren't exactly common. The two horses I've had put down went peacefully, with just the unsettling post-mortem body tremors that appall the owner but don't hurt the horse a bit. Same with the dogs, rodents, and birds I've seen euthanized at the vet clinic.

As for captive-bolting and minimizing stress on the horse (you can skip ahead to about the 3:15 mark):

 
#27 ·
$#!+ does happen. Botched chemical euthanasias do occur, but aren't exactly common. The two horses I've had put down went peacefully, with just the unsettling post-mortem body tremors that appall the owner but don't hurt the horse a bit. Same with the dogs, rodents, and birds I've seen euthanized at the vet clinic.

As for captive-bolting and minimizing stress on the horse (you can skip ahead to about the 3:15 mark):

Le Sang des bêtes (Blood of the Beasts) part 1/3 - YouTube
That horse was not as knocked out as I would have liked. But it was fast.

Looked like a nice horse, too.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#26 ·
Very interesting video, bubba.

Shows how processing an equine can be fairly trauma free for the horse. I also enjoyed that they didn't use any hyperbole or hysteria. It was simply the killing and butchering you'd see with any livestock animal.

Thanks for sharing it.
 
#30 ·
Agreed with many others- I don't see how killing horses is any different than killing cattle, swine, chickens, dogs, and cats (among other species). It's not pleasant, but so long as people continue to eat meat, so does this. As long as death is quick and the transport there is as low stress as possible, it's better than them starving to death.

I will say that while not all of their shots looked as clean as I would have liked, but if those 6 examples are the worst cherry picked over two days, they must generally do a decent job. How many of you have seen a horse euthanized by a vet? How many of you have done it? Not much different in terms of tremors, kicking, etc. Horses don't die gently.
 
#31 ·
I will say that while not all of their shots looked as clean as I would have liked, but if those 6 examples are the worst cherry picked over two days, they must generally do a decent job. How many of you have seen a horse euthanized by a vet? How many of you have done it? Not much different in terms of tremors, kicking, etc. Horses don't die gently.
Jerking and spasming in death throes is one thing. Being genuinely terrified is another.
 
#32 ·
We just shot two steers that we fed all summer. Hit them right in the head between eyes and ears, the magic cross. The steers hit the ground with their heads in the grain bucket. DEAD. Now, we slit the juglar to have them bleed out. There were muscle spasms and nerve twitches until they bled out, basically until the heart was empty, about 2 minutes. Yes, it looks as if the animal, inclduing horses killed with captive bolts are alive, but they are dead, stone cold dead, the front of the brain is basically blow apart, there is nothing there to feel pain. If you look at the eyes of an animal that has been shot in the head, by the time it hits the ground the eye is blue and the cornea/pupil has no reaction. DEAD. There is no pain, there is no anything, the brain has ceased to function when it gets shot in the head, the muscle spasms and nerves are reacting to the death also.
I have assisted in many many deaths of animals at the clinic, big and small ones. With an injection, the animal is overdosed and the heart stops beating and the animal is dead. Sometimes the animal will fight the injection and make noise or move around, but they are still in a "coma like state". Beuthanisia Special is a high dose of barbituate, it puts their heart to sleep immediately.
A shot in the head kills the brain immediately, but the body, especially in a big animal has to die, but the brain is gone already. Yes, some go wrong, but some vet assisted ones go wrong also.
To make it easier to understand, when a person is considered brain dead, but kept on a respirato for organ transplants, they will breath but have no feeling or anything, the brain has ceased to function,but the nerves and such move until the heart is finished. Captive bolts are the same thing, the brain is dead immediately and the body quits when the heart does.
These videos are done to keep the "humaniacs and bleeding hearts feeling sorry for the horses and to keep the fight alive. Like somebody else said, we slaughter horses, but process all the other living creatures.
 
#81 ·
This is true - a rattlesnake or snapping turtle can still bite you after its head is off. My dad used to have them bite a stick just so that they were less likely to accidentally bite a kid who happened to poke them after they were dead. Also, once he scared my momma nearly to death when she was frying up (dead and dressed) frog legs in the skillet - their muscles/nerves contracted and they twitched around in the skillet. She had the last laugh - he had to fry them up after that!
 
#34 ·
Like I said, I'm on the fence about the video as it didn't show much, but they wouldn't have kept bolting those horses if they were good and dead. So at least those few times, they missed, to the horses' detriment (the film claims 40% misses on the first shot....which I guess may or may not be accurate).
 
#36 ·
If anything, it's not the small time backyard breeder that floods the market. It's the high end specialty breeders that breed excessively to get that perfect horse for their given sport or showing career. That ends up producing a large number of horses that...aren't fast enough, don't jump well enough, aren't fluid moving enough, aren't cowy enough, etc. Many horse sport organizations require that horses be proven in their sport at too young an age which often results in lameness or other health issues....so they are then tossed away.

What it comes down to, is WE need to stop supporting horse sports that encourage a throw away mentality and that put a horses health secondary to winning. WE need to do this, not the government, not a regulation board, not another layer of laws...WE THE PEOPLE. Ending horse slaughter will not solve the problem. Re-opening them will not solve the problem. This problem belongs to those of us who love horses, see what is happening in the sport world, and say nothing. We must all take responsibility in one way or another.

I'm not against horse slaughter if it can be monitored by a third party 24/7 via a weblink to ensure that it's quick and clean. Banning it or allowing it won't solve the problem either way, so perhaps folks on both sides of the issue need to ask a different question.
 
#39 ·
If anything, it's not the small time backyard breeder that floods the market. It's the high end specialty breeders that breed excessively to get that perfect horse for their given sport or showing career. That ends up producing a large number of horses that...aren't fast enough, don't jump well enough, aren't fluid moving enough, aren't cowy enough, etc. Many horse sport organizations require that horses be proven in their sport at too young an age which often results in lameness or other health issues....so they are then tossed away.
I'm going to have to say that I disagree with you here. Little Janey that breeds her 'best friend' because she wants a piece of her to keep IS the reason that the horse market is screwed. If all the Janeys out there bought a 'cull' instead of breeding their own fugly poneh, there would be no problem. Talking down breeders who breed for a definite purpose, with a definite goal in mind and a plan to get there, is not the way to solve this. These breeders are not churning out horses with funky conformation or anything like that - they just haven't found the one THEY want. Their "culls" are still usually of high quality, but Janey has shut down the market for them with their foal that has a piece of it's mother.

Show me a large scale breeder that WANTS to send young stock to slaughter, and I will show you a liar.
 
#37 ·
To Those who are asking the difference between horses going to slaughter, and pigs sheep cattle etc, I think I have an answer but please don't jump all over me. I am trying to form an educated guess, not stating my opinions.

To people who own horses their horse is a pet. It is more like a dog or a cat, but with a closer bond because of all the work the horse and ridder do together. When people think about horse slaughter they many of them think about the bond they have with their horse and are horrified that anyone would kill an eat such a special creature. It is not on the same plane as a cow or chicken because cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, etc are all raised to slaughter, they are born with their death planed. Horses are not, when a horse gets sent to a slaughter house it is because something went wrong, either with the horse or with the owner. As far as I can tell that is the difference and let me say again, this is not MY opinion but an educated guess as to how others for theirs.
 
#40 ·
To Those who are asking the difference between horses going to slaughter, and pigs sheep cattle etc, I think I have an answer but please don't jump all over me....
This thread might interest you: http://www.horseforum.com/general-off-topic-discussion/how-do-you-feel-about-horse-104173/

That video a) takes place in France, not America, b) is a just a taaad outdated, and c) doesn't represent the factory-like setting of a modern slaughter plant. What is its relevance to the current situation?
Not sure what you're accusing me of and arguing about, since if you'd read my posts you'd see that you're just agreeing with me....

____________

As for which breeders to blame, it's all those who don't obey the laws of supply and demand, whether large scale or small scale. And those who produce a poor quality product, and those who make no effort to screen homes (this is and the following go for everyone selling a horse, not just breeders), and those who don't bother to put training on a horse, or who create vices and then pass it down the line....
 
#41 ·
I'm going to kindly disagree with your disagreement, Chiilaa. Pure numbers to pure numbers, it is the large scale breeder that has a larger impact on the horse population, not that they want their stock to go to slaughter, they are just upping their odds of getting a winner at the expense of the horse. I'm not talking down discipline breeders as a whole, I'm talking about a specific type of breeder that should be addressed other than the BYB. You know, folks who breed 100+ mares to get a handful of show stoppers, who stud out their stallions for big bucks without taking a look at the recipient mares, who don't even bother to put some riding skills on young mares before putting them straight into a brood band, etc. It's putting money and pride ahead of the welfare of the horses. Yes, there are really great breeders who seriously take the time to increase their chances of producing excellent quality horses, but there are too many out there that don't. Folks like that are Little Janey on steroids. Those who care don't mass produce, period. And consider, even with the best to the best, you aren't guaranteed the best results. I've seen some fugly horses with amazing pedigrees. I'm merely suggesting that everyone, from the small time horse owner, horse sport enthusiast, and all the way up to the top show people, needs to take a good look at the whole picture and accept some measure of responsibility instead of blaming the other guy.
 
#43 ·
It is both.

In support of your position, simply consider that 10,000 racing bred Thoroughbreds a year are sent to slaughter - that alone is 10% of the total. There is no question that big breeders, contribute highly to the overpopulation and many of their culls and mediocres make it to the slaughterhouse.

However, backyard and novice breeders greatly contribute to the problem, too, breeding horses that have no market value. Of course they often "plan to keep" the foal, but as we all know they rarely do...or can. What is even sillier are those that breed poor horses with the intent of selling them and making money...something that true breeders can't help but chuckle at...breeding poor horses will get you some tax deductions and that is about it...
 
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#44 ·
I am not sure how much more humane it could be????

Like someone mentioned before, if that is all they found after 6 days..that ain't so bad. Considering a kill plant for cattle will process a couple thousand head a day. I have no idea what the numbers are on horses and it does depend on the size of the plant.

Also I have had to shoot horses, dogs and cattle. If they have any adrenalin pumping they will thrash like that. And smrobs said the same thing I was thinking about a snake. I have killed plenty of snakes and it may take hours before the nerves quit. We had a saying about Rattlesnakes don't quit until the sun goes down.

I just don't see the point...I only hope when it's my turn to go, it's that fast.
 
#49 ·
Thank you OP for posting this video. I feel much better about my decision to send a horse to slaughter last month. Every horse in the video was killed quickly and humanely. Most were knocked twice. Once in the forehead and once on the poll to make sure they were dead before going further. Like Cowchick and Smrobs, I have shot many animals and they may be braindead and still thrash around. Sometimes they are even still for a time and then start to thrash around. I won't try to explain what happens biologically because that isn't where my education lies but I know what happens in real life. I hope when it's my time I die as quickly as those horses.
 
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#52 ·
As others have said, the ending of a life is not pleasant.
My beloved dog was put to sleep at a vets office, it was not quick and it was not painless, I had my hand on his heart and I felt when he died, and I held him before that when he suffered. It was not the image I had of him closing his eyes and going to sleep - it was about a million miles from that.

I really don't see what posting those videos achieves, and I'm not really sure why they have not been removed, considering that the slightest snark towards other posters is removed.
 
#54 ·
I'm not an expert on this subject, but I have done pretty extensive reading. For one thing, the captive bolt is specifically designed for cattle. It does work on horses, but not as well, as it's harder to get an accurate shot. It's also easier to keep cattle calm and (relatively) stress free throughout the shipping, feedlot, loading, and slaughtering process.

Not sure how I ended up there, and not sure what the text says, but I watched this video earlier and was impressed:



The cattle are still scared, but it's an improvement. And if you follow some of the Temple Grandin stuff, she's got it down to a really exact, humane science. Of course, there are still plent of serious violations at some plants, and some pretty awful cases of abuse. But overall I think the cattle industry has a better handle on it than the equine one.
 
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