All horse slaughter closed down in Mexico and Canada today

Originally Posted by enzoleya    

It's illegal to release non-native animals into the wild. Livestock is not a native species.

It's a great idea in theory, and yes some people are doing it, but it's dangerous to the horse and people. Imagine hitting a horse while your driving down the highway in an area that should not have wild horses. Releasing non-native animals into the wild seems to be something that is enforced, not feeding livestock doesn't hold much ground unless you have a rescue group on your side.

I wish I still had the pictures I took at our local sale barn. It was disgusting. People were bringing in horses that should have been put down months ago, but there they were, laying in the kill pens waiting for a long time coming death. I got in trouble for taking pictures, but I would love to do it again some day to show why we have slaughter houses. For example, there was a horse that was litterally drug by the leg into the kill pen because at least one leg was broke. He had raw flesh from laying in feces for far too long. There was another horse whose face looked like it was peeled off and hanging from his chin, it was dry other than the puss dripping off. Many other horses laying around with what I would call feces burns because they couldn't stand up, or horses with flesh hanging from their shoulders/chests/etc. Old bandages on their legs that had grown into their flesh. It's disgusting. These horses do not go through the regular kill pen auction, they stay in the back and are bought directly from those pens. You have to go through gates, crawl over fences, and sometimes through other loose pen horses just to get to the really bad ones. They know better than to put those horses where people can see. We have stayed after dark -when they load up these horses- just to see how bad it is.

I'll try to get pictures of horses like this again and show you why I think slaughter houses are helpful. Unless we change the laws and actually send people to jail for not caring for their horses, then there HAS to be horse slaughter. It's only fair to the horses.

Originally Posted by natisha    

Then after all that agony they are forced to endure a truck ride to an awful death. What is humane about any of that? Those horse wouldn't be there if slaughter wasn't an option for their nasty owners. Yes, they'd still be suffering somewhere but that's not because there is or isn't slaughter- it's because some people don't care.

Originally Posted by Cherie    

Cat and Nokota - Why are you posting this? You will find that AA and PETA have no friends here. If either of you own or ride horses, they are not your friends either.

Why don't you work instead to get slaughter plants opened in many places here in the US where they can be monitored and the whole process can handle horses more humanely and safely?

The only other solution is for the 2 of you to go out and buy them all, feed them for the next 1 to 20 years, care properly for them and give them homes. Even billionaire Madelyn Pickens can't do that. So get real. Stopping slaughter now will only result in more horses starving to death or being neglected to the point that they would be better off dead.

Just think about it. Just look at what plan you have [NONE] for the replacement of slaughter as it stands now.

There are ALWAYS going to be unwanted horses. Just WHAT IS YOUR PLAN for them????

Originally Posted by enzoleya    

It's illegal to release non-native animals into the wild. Livestock is not a native species.

It's a great idea in theory, and yes some people are doing it, but it's dangerous to the horse and people. Imagine hitting a horse while your driving down the highway in an area that should not have wild horses. Releasing non-native animals into the wild seems to be something that is enforced, not feeding livestock doesn't hold much ground unless you have a rescue group on your side.

I wish I still had the pictures I took at our local sale barn. It was disgusting. People were bringing in horses that should have been put down months ago, but there they were, laying in the kill pens waiting for a long time coming death. I got in trouble for taking pictures, but I would love to do it again some day to show why we have slaughter houses. For example, there was a horse that was litterally drug by the leg into the kill pen because at least one leg was broke. He had raw flesh from laying in feces for far too long. There was another horse whose face looked like it was peeled off and hanging from his chin, it was dry other than the puss dripping off. Many other horses laying around with what I would call feces burns because they couldn't stand up, or horses with flesh hanging from their shoulders/chests/etc. Old bandages on their legs that had grown into their flesh. It's disgusting. These horses do not go through the regular kill pen auction, they stay in the back and are bought directly from those pens. You have to go through gates, crawl over fences, and sometimes through other loose pen horses just to get to the really bad ones. They know better than to put those horses where people can see. We have stayed after dark -when they load up these horses- just to see how bad it is.

I'll try to get pictures of horses like this again and show you why I think slaughter houses are helpful. Unless we change the laws and actually send people to jail for not caring for their horses, then there HAS to be horse slaughter. It's only fair to the horses.

Originally Posted by RiverBelle    

. I support horse slaughter, as long as it is done humanely. I mean, which death would you prefer? Slow and painful starvation from not being fed because your owners can't afford it, or a quick painless death from the hand of electrical shock or a bullet through the head?:)