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Ranting on Anti-Slaughter/Abuse

7K views 59 replies 18 participants last post by  MacabreMikolaj 
#1 ·
I've made this rant somewhere before, be it on here or elsewhere I don't recall, but while looking up information on an upcoming auction, I rather innocently clicked on a YouTube link. The video was one of those usual "This auction house is killing all the pretty ponies!" ones -- they video taped some goings ons and pointed out every little wrong that happened. I've been disgusted at these types of videos before, but this one hit home; I was familiar with this auction house, I knew the owners (in passing; I wouldn't call us friends. So I can't even claim bias.), and I'd even bout two horses from that very auction house.
Here's the video, for the curious:

"Canadian trucks transporting horses for slaughter arrive at the auction"
Yeah, and? There's a market for horse by-products. It's a fact. If there wasn't we wouldn't have slaughterhouses. No amount of dramatic videos on youtube is going to dissuade whoever out there is using horse by-products from doing so. Picketing/boycotting/etc might do in some, sure. Call me a nay-sayer, but I don't see talking /the entire planet/ into not using horse by-products as a realistic goal.
But, for the sake of argument, let's say that happens. No more demand for horsemeat and such. This would mean no profit for slaughterhouses, so they'd shut down. Win/Win? No. For one, there's the loss of jobs that comes with the closing down of any business. Oh, sorry, we're only worried about horses here; I'll try to stay focused. Now, what do we do with all those unwanted horses? Give them to all of the little girls and boys out there who've always wanted a horse? Uh, yeah, let's ask their parents about that first. Not every person who wants a horse can realistically afford to /buy/ a horse, then there's the matter of where to keep it, and -- oh yeah! -- that pesky upkeep cost that lasts for years afterward, including important stuff, like food! So we've rules out making some kid's dream come true.
Rescue shelters? Nope sorry. I don't run one myself, but the way I understand it, they aren't exactly the most profitable business. A rescue shelter can only support a set number of horses before they're overrun by horses (and thus overrun by people with cameras who post videos to YouTube of 'starved, abused' horses.).
Well, I guess you could euthanize them. You know, a quick shot, and they go take a long nap. Well, see, there's a problem there, too. Say John Doe can't afford to keep Ol' Betsy anymore. He got laid off, bills came in, and the kid's were hungry. Hard times, hard decisions, he has to get rid of the horse. With the horse market as it is (and I'll get back to that), he couldn't sell her and, well, she is getting up there in years, she's starting to get a little blind in that left eye, arthritis is catching up to her. She's had a good life, been treated well as John Doe could manage. Now, John Doe has some options: He could call in the vet and get her euthanized, or he could put a well-placed bullet in her head. Don't just assume euthanization, though: There's the cost for the vet to come out, the cost of the shot, and then they have to dispose of the body. You can pay to have it hauled away, pay to have it cremated, or pay to have it buried. Even if you use your own equipment and such and bury the horse on your own property (where that's even legal to do so), there's money lost in gas and labor. Versus that bullet: You just saved that money on the vet and shot, and that's something.
Another thing to keep in mind? Now, I'm no vet, but the way I understand it, euthanasia basically knocks the animal unconscious, then stops it's lungs, then it's heart. So... it suffocates. And then has a heart attack. That unconscious part is just there to keep the animal from flailing around. Peachy.
That well-placed bullet? Takes the horse out quickly, with minimum pain. (When done correctly.)
Or, and I'll go back to my John Doe example, he can take Ol' Betsy to auction. Hope to get a little cash out of her. She might go to a happy family, she might go to a slaughter house. I can only hope that that slaughter house is well-maintained and follows anti-cruelty regulations -- oops, nope, slaughter houses are illegal in the U.S. now. She'd be shipped miles to Canada or Mexico, where the U.S. regulations aren't applied. I'm not saying they're automatically inhumane, but we have no way of regulating them.
I would also like to giggle and point out that one of those "Canadian kill buyer trucks" they show is my truck. And what's even the point of showing the Amish buggy/horse?

"Approximately 350 loose horses are sold to slaughter buyers that day"
Really now? Do all the winning bidders hold signs above their heads that say "Hey! I'm a kill buyer! Every horse I buy is going to slaughter!" Are the filmers doing exit surveys, standing at the door and asking "Are you a kill buyer? How many horses did you buy today? OK, Thank you, rot in hell. =D"
I've never understood where they get these numbers. Do they just count every horse at the auction and assume they're all going to kill? I've bought horses at this particular auction house; so has my uncle, and several of my friends. Plus, it's in Amish country -- there's always Amish buying horses too. Granted, there probably are kill buyers there, but they're not buying out every horse in the auction house.
Also, that little flash of an injured horse, right at the end of this section: Yes, maybe it got hurt at the auction house. Or maybe it's careless current-owner let it get hurt in the trailer. Or, hell, maybe it just is clumsy and got hurt! It's not a life threatening injury, it doesn't even look like it'll leave much of a scar!

"The slaughter horses are then put into overcrowded pens with an extremely low ceiling. The horses hit their heads on the ceiling beams."
LOL, what? That's nowhere on the property. The pens at Kalona have tall ceilings, are brightly lit, and at most have five or six horses in them.

"Horses are then rushed into overcrowded pens closer to the auction ring. Again fighting, kicking and biting result from lack of regard for these horses."
HEY! HEY LOOK! Those are the pens they keep horses in! See those high ceilings?
And fighting results from horses fighting. They do that sometimes. My six horses have a huge, open pasture to run around in, and they still fight sometimes.
Now, I will admit here: there are too many horses in that pen. But I will also point out that generally, Kalona is pretty empty. Generally, they don't have that many horses. The last one I went to, the most horses they ran in at one time was two or three.

"Behind the auction ring, the horses are forced to pass through a heavy hydraulic gate. The horses are crushed between the doors of the gate. Their heads are caught in between solid steel."
Notice him stopping the doors from closing on the horses? Yes, it's kind of a dumb system. But he apparently has a button on there that stops the doors. So the horses got bumped a bit. Example: That buckskin, in the first shot? See the door pause as he heads for it? Then it stays open enough that he can slip back through it?
Also, if those doors are so solid and heavy, why do they look so flimsy?

"After the sale, the horses are loaded immediately onto the trucks destined for the slaughter house. The horses leave for their last ride - through the cold and snowy Iowa night."
I don't have much to say on this. I already went into the "Yes, there is slaughter."
Otherwise, it's just... seriously? Do they have nothing better to do than stalk some truck? Also, they only showed one truck that was positively marked as destined for Canada. What about all those other trailers that were there? They didn't buy anything?



On anti-slaughter in general:
I already went through most of my spiel. I just want to leave you with why I feel slaughter houses are necessary.
With slaughter houses outlawed in the States, unwanted horses, ideally, could be either sold, euthanized, or sent to a rescue farm. Or sold at an auction. I went through all those options earlier. There's also the option that most horse-loving people wouldn't even consider to be an option: Abandonment. There have been reports in my area of horses that were simply abandoned roadside, or left in other people's pastures... a few times, even, the owner would move and leave the horses in their pasture for the house buyer to deal with.
With the horse market as bad as it is, and some, perfectly good, horses going for <$200, Joe Blow from down the street can afford to buy a horse without thinking about the future needs of the horse. So it could receive inadequate care, or end up back on the market again awhile down the road.
Slaughter houses offer a place for excess horses to go. It's not exactly glamorous, but it's a necessary evil. If we allowed them to be reopened, and then kept them closely regulated, horses wouldn't need to be transported for miles to the border to slaughter houses outside the U.S.

If that sounded harsh, well, I won't apologize. That's my opinion. If you have any opposing opinions, I'm not necessarily close-minded to them. If you want to call me out with facts, feel free; but please have resources to back you up.
 
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#39 ·
THAT'S THE PROBLEM! SLAUGHTER HOUSES AREN'T CLOSELY REGULATED AND NEVER WILL BE! I completely disagree! It's not necassary! And ever thought about how many horses going to slaughter are stolen? Alot of cases the horses are stolen. And don't give me the captive bolt crap that stuns them anyway. Have you seen a real video of it? They get popped in the head by the bolt more that ONCE! to get 'stunned' If you can't afford to euthanize a horse get someone who will shoot it for you for christ sakes! Shooting it is a whole lot quicker than that captive bolt I can assure that. Don't say slaughter is necassary until you put yourself in front of that captive bolt, people. People overpopulate the planet! Why not slaughter humans! Oh wait cause that's unethical, oh yeah Horse slaughter is so much more ethical huh. Just cause I think horse slaughter is unecassary doesn't mean I'm not in reality. Reality is humans are evil. And for the wild horses, I read where they are putting cougars around to reduce the population, A cougar kill is much more necassary than slaughter because slaughter the fright lasts for the days they are enduring to get there, when a cougar chases them it's split decision and adrenaline and endorphines kick in so the horse won't feel the pain as much. Horses are slaughtered because what? There a delicacy to Europe and such places? Sounds pricy. If a horse get's slaughtered why not spread it to third world countries? Cause they are pricy. That's one thing America did do right was ban horse meat.
 
#41 ·
And If you REALLY love horses you would realize that horse slaughter is completely inhumane and never will be humane. "Oh, horse slaughter is okay IF it's humane." Well there you go people, horse slaughter isn't humane, so it's not okay. Watch an untame version of horse slaughter and you'd open your eyes people. More than one video I watched the horse had to be popped at least five times or so to be 'stunned' One dude doing the bolting totally missed and hit the horse's side causing it even more pain! If you REALLY loved horses you would find a way to get your horse humanly euthanized.
 
#42 ·
You say to watch an uncut version of horse slaughter? My uncle used to work at one of the slaughter houses. I had a brief time period where I believed those videos and hated my uncle. And then he took me to work with him one day. Every horse he put down was a quick kill. Not a single one had to endure "undue pain." And, yes, I cried and couldn't watch and puked my guts out. But I didn't believe those videos anymore. Anyone can make a video and say it's the real thing.
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#43 ·
As far as slaughtering people... I'm with ya. There are too many people. That's my reasoning behind being pro-abortion and pro-death penalty.
And on the subject of other animals. Should we stop killing cows, chickens, because someone, sonewhaere, might hurt the animal in the process? I mean, cows and chickens can be family pets too.
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#44 ·
I have seen slaughter operations and they don't bother me at all. The goal is to kill the animal with the least amount of stress possible. It's as humane as any activity can be that results in the death of a horse. Mistakes are sometimes made but most of all everyone works to make sure things happen properly. I was also an anti-slaughter teenager but I grew out of it when I became part of the world and quit letting my biases close my eyes to what actually happens.
 
#45 ·
Katesrider011 if you think slaughter is inhumane, then watching a horse turned out to be "free" in the wild(like so many people are doing these days cause they have no place to bury a horse) and seeing predators attack and kill it... Not fast and certainly not painfree.
You do realize that PETA and the associated groups with them are the ones making the videos like this? They set things up to look bad because their adjenda is to no longer let ANYONE have pets of any kind from fish to horses or anything in between
Since you are so against humane slaughter, then maybe you can open up a farm with thousands of acres and take in everyones horses that they can no longer keep due to illness or injury and can't afford to feed a pasture pet. I would rather see someone send a horse to slaughter and know it is dead fast than drop it off in the national forests all over the country to die a slow death from starvation, predators, etc.
 
#46 ·
I love horses always have. I've seen horses so starved they had to be put down, those who were still among the living....it's not a pretty sight.
stop to consider, if someone can not afford to feed and take care of their horse do you honestly think they have the $$$ to pay for the hole to be dug (that is providing they have enough room on their property...there's laws on that) then pay for the vet call to come out and that in itself does not always go smoothly, that's not a pretty sight either.
 
#50 ·
It's cute how you think insulting people will get you somewhere. Maybe someday when you grow up you'll realize people are allowed to have different opinions, and no army of brats screaming names is going to prevent people from feeling the way they do.

My favorite part of the anti-slaughter group is that they have all of the answers, but nobody knows what the question is.

And as for cost, you're dreaming - there will ALWAYS be abusive psychopaths in this world. Have none of you heard of the 100 Arabian rescue? 100 high blooded, expensive and wellbred animals left to starve and rot to death. An expensive horse can be neglected and abused just as easily as a cheap one - people who are sick enough to do these types of things do NOT have any regard for money, and often times are so stricken with mental illness they can't even understand what they're doing wrong.

Death and abuse will always be a part of this world - it's foolish and denial if you actually believe otherwise.

katesrider011 - I sincerely hope you're a vegan - otherwise I have a whole slew of nasty names to call YOU for for all the injustices and suffering you're inflicting on the cows, chickens and pigs of this world.
 
#51 ·
Having been involved with meat processing for most of my adult life I can tell you that there is no such thing as a "tamer" slaughterhouse.
 
#57 ·
Okay. Economic lesson for the horse meat should be spread across 3rd world/starving nations but not ever allow back into the USA.
When the supply of the horse meat goes down, the price will go up. (Note horse MEAT, not horses, this is only after processed) The higher the price, the more of a 'delicacy' it is. The less likely anyone will ever want to fork out the money to give it away to a starving nation. Yes, it takes money to feed those countries, you can't just go donate meat and expect it to get somewhere without a crap load of work and money behind it to get it there safely without spoiling. And even if does get there I wont get into what really happens in those countries when supplies are handed over to be distributed by the people there.

And what else is that lower supply/higher price doing? Oh right, having criminals going and killing peoples horses in their own private fields. There was a case of that in Florida wasn't there?

So by the USA banning slaughter and horse meat, it made the situation way worse.

And also, I spend a lot of time in Fort MacLeod. I'm assuming that if you anti-slaughter people really know your stuff and believe the trash videos you'd have heard of this slaughter house. Last time I was there, there were happy and nickering horses looking for scratches and treats. Yeah, stressed.
This place also does cattle. But they aren't "pretty" or "majestic" and no one writes novels about the love of a cow.

I also spend a lot of time at the Canada/USA border. Nope, never once saw a double decker full of horse. It's also a lot harder to transport livestock across the border than its made out. And yes I am aware of how to smuggle. And I have also spent enough time on back roads around the border to know how many border patrol trucks and helicopters are really out there. So yeah, good luck with all those stolen horses, odds are they aren't going north.

So thats my 2-cents,
Sincerely, a person who is in uni full time, works, still takes care of and loves my horse and will still support the largest "kill-buyer" in these areas. Because he is in it for the horse as a species, not the individuals.
 
#59 ·
So why did your bleeding heart buddies work so hard to get the well-regulated plants in the U.S. closed down?
 
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