100,000 is the number of horses that foreign-owned slaughterhouses kill here yearly, and ship the meat off to Europe and Asia. Twice our Congress has acted to forbid this slaughter by profiteers on our land, but lobbyists have managed to manipulate the situation to allow for the continuation of their butchering of these noble animals.
Today the House will vote on H.R. 503 – The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Please call your Representative and help us put a stop to this outrage. The Congressional switchboard can be reached at 202-224-3121, or congress.org can give you a contact number. If you’re not sure what to say, try this: “I am a constituent and I am calling to ask that the Representative please protect American horses from slaughter and support H.R. 503, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. I also urge you to oppose any amendments to H.R. 503. I am very concerned about American horses and I don’t want them slaughtered.”
This is my third diary on this subject within one year, and I’d like to be finished with the subject. I’m just too lazy today to search out links. The Humane Society of the US can give you the story if you want details.
Thanks for your help.
are horses somehow more noble than cows?
horses are food…they are animals…people eat animals…animals eat animals…this is the way of the world….im against the legislation.
Spoken like a true city dweller. A real nature lover, huh? Sensitive, too. Remind me never to invite you over for a trail ride. (unless I can get you to bend over behind my mare with a great big target on your ass… I wonder how your edible panties will taste when they’re shoved up your ass?
I’ve always felt that people who don’t respect life other than their own are people who can’t be trusted.
Jeebus! :o)
And I rated one of her comments a 4. Feets don’t fail me now!! Lol
Don’t think I didn’t notice that. Better start running, my mare is no nag… like her owner! 😉
im not a city dweller, i have a degree in agriculture and have spent a good deal of my life on working farms where animals were raised and used for food.
i eat meat…..is that your definition of not respecting life other than my own?
Thank you so much for writing about this, Alice!!
This is a super important vote, IMO. It defines who we are – a compassionate nation or a nation where it’s ALL about profit, even for our most noble creatures.
If you don’t know who your rep is, go to http://www.house.gov/ and put in your ZIP to find out.
The phone numbers are on your Rep’s Web page, also available at the same link.
This site has a lot of info re this:
http://www.horse-protection.org/info.php?id=9
i agree it defines who we are as humans…but not in the way you describe.
as humans we are hardwired to think animals with the physical characteristics of horses are cute and we are hardwired to have a nurturing response to them…i just think its terribly specist (thats racist but refers to species) of us to limit the slaughter and consumption of horsemeat and not of cow meat….cows are cute too….actually i think calves are much cuter than foals but i love to eat veal and that means calves get slaughtered, cut into pieces and eaten….im not sure i would like horsemeat although i think i was served it in the hospital (god that was horrible food).
i was really fascinated watching some animal planet vet show a few weeks ago where the courageous vets saved a little veal calf by doing a ceasarian on its mother cause it was breech, then saving a little lamb who had 3 broken legs…..dont people watch this and realize these animals are being saved today so they can be slaughtered and eaten tomorrow? they werent saved because they are cute….its commerce pure and simple….what farmer would spend money on a vet unless he was pretty sure he would make more money sending the saved animal to market?
and what happens if the horses arent slaughtered and their meat used for food? its wasted? doesnt that seem silly? to waste good meat just because you think an animal is cute or noble? its not like they are endangered like some whale populations and as long as the slaughtering meets some kind of humane standard (if you believe there is such a thing) then what is the difference? keeping them alive means feeding them grain which also could be feeding humans who are starving on this planet somewhere and who would really wonder at this society where we have so much we feed our pets and our favorite cute animals food they could be eating and where we can argue about which cute animals should be eaten and which shouldnt.
i actually just read an article about that hard wiring thing this morning….its here http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/2/21701757/ but way down the bottom of the page….the rest of the article is pretty fascinating as well.
Baloney. Shit covered baloney. We’re not all meat eating neanderthals. Your way of life is not better than mine… it’s just different than mine. Don’t assume that just because most people eat meat that all people have to eat meat. Your attitude towards life other than human life is repugnant.
actually my attitude towards human life is pretty repugnant to a lot of people too.
so whats your argument? we shouldnt kill horses for meat but its ok to kill cows? we shouldnt eat meat? we shouldnt kill any furry cute animals but killing cockroaches that arent bothering anyone is ok? animals shouldnt be able to eat other animals either? no killing is ever good including assisted suicide, euthanasia, abortion?
i dont mind a good argument but i like it better when there is more to it than unsubstantiated accusations….i dont play well in sandboxes full of angry idiots.
Btw – this is very near to my heart, as I and a friend once bet $10 on Ferdinand in the Derby (part of an exacta) and won $400!
I want to note it is a Republican sponsoring this bill. Where was a Democrat on this??
They eat horses in Canada too, just having returned from Montreal where I noticed a certain dish contained “boeuf ou cheval”, i.e., beef or horse. Upon inquiring if this was indeed the case, the waitress informed me, “it tastes great” or words to that effect.
The National Pork Producers are disappointed in the vote. The House approved the bill today 263 – 146.
As a disabled person I have had the good fortune to be helped in my rehabilitation by several horses through riding therapy.
Like dogs, horses have long partnered with humans and graciously performed whatever tasks we asked of them. Nobody who was ever befriended by such a noble creature would be likely to consider their flesh a gourmet treat.
America is blessed with herds of wild horses, and is inspired by their beauty and freedom, without consideration of their profit potential.
Horses are very intelligent and sensitive. A horse can recognize one human from another from a few football fields away. A horse can often tell when someone very young or disabled is on their backs and takes care of their rider. I have gotten more love from my horses than I could ever express. I’ll admit it… I would much prefer the company of my horse to some people.
Pigs are also very intelligent and make affectionate pets, for real. Which is why pork is the one thing I wont eat.
this is a really good example of why there is no difference between liberals and conservatives….ok so you think pigs are cute….so you dont eat them…..thats fine but why take away ohter people’s rights to eat them? some people dont like pornography….thats fine too….but why do they have to take away the enjoyment of pornography from other people? some people are against gay marriage…..so dont marry someone who is the same sex as you….why do some people feel they have to prevent other people from gay marriage, gay sex, sex on tv, getting paid for sex, etc.
why cant people mind their own business?
if you dont want to eat meat or wear fur, then dont.
but leave the rest of us alone.