At 08:29:43 on 29.12.11, Trot ON Comment wrote:
How do you feel about horses being slaughtered for human consumption? And when there are so many horses being abandoned or being kept in terrible conditions-is slaughter a more humane option? How can we ensure a better life and death for horses?
http://ideas.time.com/2011/12/28/the-case-for-eating-horse-meat/?xid=gonewsedit

At 18:15:43 on 29.12.11, Bellebaby11 wrote:
Here's my view on the subject. Would you rather these horses starve to death abandoned in a field all winter long because the owners couldn't afford to feed them so they left? Or would you rather have 30 seconds of pain they would experience at the slaughter house, to the months on end they would endure if the owners didn't even have the option to send them to slaughter? Now, I only know about slaughter in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. When the govt. stopped funding FDA members who inspect horsemeat for the slaughter houses, they just sent the horses to Canada or Mexico. It INCREASED the number of horses being slaughtered. Now that the FDA is being funded for horsemeat again, the number of slaughtered horses here has gone down. And on the plus side, the time that a horse would suffer in the States is about 30 seconds as opposed to the 24 or so hours they would endure in Canada or Mexico. If you don't agree with me, that's fine. This is just my view on the subject.

At 08:26:09 on 30.12.11, Flicka wrote:
This is such a difficult and emotive subject but one we should face if we really care about horses. I've just read this really good article which I really recommend members read too (below). It seems to me in the present situation not all horses can be saved so far better the slaughter is done on home soil rather than making horses travel miles. The worry I have is that these slaughter houses are inhumane and the horses are terrified and suffer. Not having been to one though I can only speculate. It needs someone like Temple Grandin to do what she did for cattle and advise them, if of course she hasn't done so already. We have our horses put down at home unless they are fatally injured away from home, by the huntsman of our hunt. My husband is always there for his horses and says it is done so sympathetically and with such speed there is no sense of fear from the horse or suffering. I think people who are anti hunting forget this service which they provide for horses and their owners. My problem is with the fact that because horses are expensive to keep once they aren't useful anymore their owners want to get rid of them. And it's easy to just point the finger at sports like racing but individual owners are just as guilty of this. They will sell a horse who they know has a problem, and blind themselves to his possible future as long as they don't have to make the decision to end his life! We also need to think about cutting back on breeding but above all we need to take responsibility for a horse's death as well as his life.
http://blog.chron.com/hoofbeats/2011/12/shed-a-tear-for-real-horses-too/

At 16:53:22 on 30.12.11, momonigiri wrote:
Very good points made by everyone~ I think that as long as the horses are slaughtered humanely, then there are benefits to receiving FDA funding, as some have already pointed out. I know several places such as Japan and China, horse meat is eaten there on occasion without the social stigma it seems to have in some European countries, the US etc. That being said, I don't think I could bring myself to eat horse meat. But, that's just me, and I am a bad judge of food since I'm from Louisiana and we eat alligators and squirrels here without blinking twice. ^.^;; Anyways, like several have said, it is up to us as responsible horse owners to not only care for horses while they are alive, but to also take responsibility in their deaths.

At 23:44:43 on 30.12.11, Jade22 wrote:
As someone who lives here in the states, I can speak from a hands on position of being involved in this ugly mess the last 3 years fighting the BLM (govt agency that is suppose to be responsible for & uphold the Wild Horse and Burro Act past in 1974 to protect OUR wild horses on OUR PUBLIC LANDS), that anyone who thinks slaughter houses offer a "humane death" has not done any research! The towns where previous slaughterhouses were in business dealt with the stench of blood and guts, both in the water and sewage as well as air; horses are hit with a bolt and often it takes several tries or they just string them up and start skinning them while they are still alive! They are hauled to the slaughter facilites in double decker CATTLE trucks with not enough space to raise their heads above their shoulders. Some workers take to stabbing them to death when the bolt doesn't work. It is a medical fact that medicines such as bute (used widely in this country for show, racing, and pleasure horses) stays in their system and resulting "meat" where it is ingested by humans - and can cause death. The bottomline for an overabundance of horses lies directly with humans - be they backyard breeders or major associations such as the horse racing industry, or breed associations. Breeding for the "perfect" horse means a lot of babies hitting the ground that don't meet their standards - so they are considered culls and throwaways. Animals are not cars that can be junked when they stop operating at peak capacity, but that's how they are treated. In this country our goverenment has rounded up over 42,000 wild horses that are now kept in holding pens throughout the midwest and are costing the taxpayers some $60+MILLION dollars a year (because the cattle ranchers want to run their cattle on public land at little or no cost!) and horse associations continue to over breed as well! One post on Facebook a few months back was (supposedly) an 80 yr old man with 200 two year old Quarterhorses that had "suddenly realized" that he had "overbred" and now wanted someone to take all of them at $200 per head because he could not longer afford to feed them!?! And another article commented that people in Belgium (a big market for horse meat) were shocked to discover that horses in the US were not raised for meat out on green pastures like cattle! DUH! Seems we have met the enemy and (as always seems to be...)it's us humans causing the problem - not the animals! Have no clue what you all deal with there, but that's the situation here in the states and the reason 70% of the population are against and fighting the return of slaughterhouses here.

At 05:59:29 on 31.12.11, LaceyRoyale wrote:
I really hate Horse Slaughter! It's the worst thing ever I hope to stop it and that it will stay that way! And I also think that they should just leave the wild horses to themselves! Even if it's to control the population! I mean think of this, they aren't trying to control the human population are they? No instead, they are just destroying the horse population all over the world and making horses that once ran free and some how were not good enough for people to own or people simply couldn't afford it, they slaughter them when all they have to do is let them go and even just wait for next time at least.

At 06:02:06 on 31.12.11, LaceyRoyale wrote:
Oh yeah, and if they are so emaciated and it's to late to help, instead of slaughter they should just euthanize them. And if they get loose and run away try and find the owner and if you can't, either keep them (if you are a good owner or can even afford it) or put them up for adoption :)

At 11:26:20 on 31.12.11, inneedofapony wrote:
I'm not going to drag this out; quite simply Horse Slaughter is wrong!

At 21:41:03 on 31.12.11, noneotherthan01 wrote:
Horses being slaughtered for human consumption? Not too sure where I stand on that one... I personally would never eat a horse, but I have heard of people that drink mare's milk... I guess it's not too palatable :) However slaughtering horses because it's a more humane option I am for. I'd rather not have anything suffer in the world. I think people can ensure a better life for their horses be keeping responsible for them. Horses aren't cheap... if you know you can't afford a horse please don't buy one. As far as death goes, I want my horse to die of natural causes in the most natural and comfortable way possible. I know my horses limits and as an estimation, when she turns 20, I will only lightly ride her... by the time she's 25, she will not be ridden anymore. If you don't know your horses limits, how can you take care of them properly?

At 23:25:56 on 02.01.12, LegendHorses wrote:
BLM is no help at all! At least give the horse what they need until death. Double decker trailers, only a few horses come out alive. They dont stop or give them food/water on the way to the horses death! They dont care, as long as they get money.