President
Betty Miller Jones
Vice President
Michael Steenbergen
Treasurer
Mary Criddle
AHC
P.O. Box 251
Kingston, AR 72742
Phone & Fax 479-665-AREF (479-665-2733)
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February 14, 2009
State Horse Councils Work on Resolving
Slaughter Problems
by Betty Jones
When the humaniacs got the baby thrown
out with the bath water we (the State Horse Councils) were working
hard to get more humane treatment in the slaughter houses and in
transport for the horses. We believe that states can have a humane
slaughter/ euthanasia facility that has adoption as a first option
if the in house veterinarian approves. Any horse that is euthanized
has to be slaughtered (butchered) to dispose of the carcass because
they are so large if they are cremated. We see no problem selling
good meat to foreign countries for big prices to fund our purposes.
Very few responsible breeders have to send any horses to slaughter.
They are mostly diseased and renegades that have been through many
sales unsuccessfully before headed to the slaughter house. There are
a few good horses that wind up there but most really need to be
there due to disease or other valid reasons. W e am not condoning
any inhumane practices and never will. The State Horse Councils)
have been successful in educating the public about what goes on in
slaughterhouses since the early 90's and we have succeeded in
getting slaughter numbers down from nearly 500,000 to 100,000 during
the last 15 years We have also fought many battles to get more
humane
treatment at the slaughter houses.
As we see it, the main problem has been having so few (and so large)
foreign owned facilities where processing just became a factory
operation. After all, the cattle are slaughtered the same and nobody
would even suggest closing them down. If each state had a facility
to dispose of horses in a safe, sanitary and humane way (locally
owned and operated) it would be easy for all of us (you and I) to
inspect and control humane euthanasia. It could be non profit but
sale of horsemeat (exported internationally)and fertilizer would be
the part of the operation to produce the funds to run it. We have
people working on designing safe, green , humane euthanasia
facilities that would include a slaughter and rendering processes.
The plans includes educational programs for people who want to adopt
and/or just own horses. They could come to the center and go through
the program to make them more responsible and caring owners.
Some horses could be salvaged at the facility, but not many, the
educational program would make the whole thing worthwhile by
reducing the number of horses that need to be there.
Remember, Killer Buyers always want top dollar. That's why they have
been hauling these horses from sale to sale before the last stop at
the processing plant. They can make more money by selling to an
individual and that's why horses that wind up at the kill plant have
usually had many chances to be purchased on the market before the
final stop. Most of them are there for very good reasons. All the
humaniacs have done is cause much greater suffering for our horses
than slaughter plants ever did. They have effectively outsourced our
horse markets to Canada and Mexico (where it it very inhumane) and
now the United States is importing horsemeat instead of exporting
it. All this at the cost of the taxpayer. Since the American Horse
Council, Inc., in Washington,D.C., admits having accepted large sums
of money from Humane Groups to sit the fence in the Congress, it has
become necessary for the State Horse Councils to work together to
rectify the slaughter situation. If we do no act now, only the very
wealthy will be able to own a horse in the next 20 years.
Persons who would like to help with the work of establishing a safe,
green and humane equine processing center can email or call to let
us know. To sign petitions or call legislators, we welcome everyone
to help. Please visit our website at arhorsecouncil.org or call
479-665 2733.
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