tagged w/ horse slaughterhouses
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Technorati...
Obama Legalizes Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption
Author: madeline bernstein
Published: November 28, 2011 at 2:52 pm
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Horse slaughter plants are legal again in the United States. Restrictions on horse meat processing for human consumption have been lifted.
In a bipartisan effort, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate approved the Conference Committee report on spending bill H2112, which among other things, funds the United States Department of Agriculture. On November 18th, as the country was celebrating Thanksgiving, President Obama signed a law, allowing Americans to kill and eat horses. Essentially, one turkey was pardoned in the presence of worldwide media while in the shadows, buried under pages of fiscal regulation, millions of horses were sentenced to death.
Horse slaughter has been prohibited in the United States as funding for inspections of horses in transit and at slaughter houses was non-existent. This worked because the horse meat cannot be sold for human consumption without such inspections. The House version of the bill retained the de-funding language and the Senate version did not. The conference committee charged with reconciling the two opted to not include it. The result is that it is now legal to slaughter horses for humans to eat.
Notwithstanding that 70% of Americans oppose horse slaughter, that President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption (horses can be sent to Mexico and Canada), that documentation of animal cruelty, slaughterhouse stench, fluid runoff and negative community impact exists, it is taxpayers that will bear the costs!
Wyoming state representative Sue Wallis and her pro-slaughter group estimate that between 120,000 and 200,000 horses will be killed for human consumption per year and that Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Georgia and Missouri, are considering opening slaughter plants.
During these trying times, is the only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is that Americans need to eat horses?
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Read more: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/obama-legalizes-horse-slaughter-for-human/#ixzz1fG00lE9y
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Obama Legalizes Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption
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Gary Smith
The Dark Side of the Kentucky Derby.
PART ONE...
The Kentucky Derby, considered the most prestigious horse race in the world, will be run on Saturday. The race is one and quarter miles long, lasts approximately two minutes, and takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Kentucky Derby attendance ranks first in North America, usually surpassing all other stakes races including the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup. It’s also one of the most highly watched sporting events on television: people tune in from all over the world to watch the beauty and splendor of thoroughbred horses.
But behind all of the pageantry and tradition lies a deep, dark secret the public is not privy to. That secret is the intense cruelty and abuse that horses are subjected to because they are regarded as little more than income-generating property.
Breeding is not a pretty picture. A thoroughbred mare will be kept pregnant 90 percent of her life. To make sure insemination is successful, the industry uses various practices that would amount to rape if they were performed on a human female.
Only four weeks after a mare has given birth, she will be impregnated again. Horses would naturally give birth in the mild Summer months, but in Australia, artificial lighting and drugs are used so that foals are born as close to August 1 as possible – their winter. This allows the most time for training before racing season. Australian breeders produce the second highest amount of thoroughbred foals in the world, but most are discarded due to injury, birth defects or lack of racing promise.
However, thoroughbred breeding stats showed a decline in 2009. The number of stallions bred dropped almost 9 percent, and the number of mares bred fell 13.5 percent, according to The Jockey Club. Before we cheer, the numbers of horses bred are still staggering. This year alone more than 45,000 mares were “covered” (bred), which means that tens of thousands of foals will be born into the racing industry and, if successful, will suffer broken bones, stress, loneliness, drugs, abandonment, neglect, and slaughtered when they are no longer considered “useful.”
Thoroughbred horses are bred specifically to race. Because of selective breeding they have many genetic problems that are exacerbated by hard track surfaces, year-round racing schedules, and owners who race them too frequently in an effort to make more money. They weigh at least 1000 pounds yet their bodies are supported by ankles the size of a human’s, and they’re forced to run around dirt tracks at speeds of more than 30 miles per hour – all while carrying people on their backs, being yelled at and whipped.
Training is rigorous and takes a huge toll on horses. They are fed highly concentrated diets rather than grazing as they would normally. This is done to give them the energy to be able to train for many hours. The problem with this diet is that it causes health problems, such as painful gastric ulcers. Studies have shown that horses can develop bleeding ulcers within eight weeks of starting training.
Horses are highly social, and have strong instincts to be part of a herd, yet when not racing or training, racehorses spend all their time confined in stables. Being stabled separately, many develop neurotic behaviors such as wind sucking, self mutilation and head weaving, very similar to animals confined in cages, zoos, factory farms and circuses.
Racehorses travel from state to state, and racetrack to racetrack, in cramped and less than ideal conditions. Only a select few will run in the popular, well publicized races; the majority are instead trucked, shipped, or flown to the thousands of other races that take place all over the country every year. A travel schedule like this causes immense stress for the horses.
Drugs play a large role in the horse racing industry and are administered (illegally) to increase performance, cover up pain and increase recovery time. Some insiders have revealed that horses can be injected with various drugs 25 to 30 times in the week leading up to a race. Any time a horse is not racing it cuts into profits, so trainers and even veterinarians commonly give painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs to mask fatigue and give horses a temporary burst of strength. Just as they do on a human body, drugs take a physical toll and create addiction and dependency. Among legal drugs, horses are given Lasix to control bleeding in the lungs, phenylbutazone, an anti-inflammatory, and cortiscosteroids for pain and inflammation. Often these legal substances have performance-enhancing effects, since they can mask pain or make a horse run faster. Compounding the problem, labs cannot detect all the illegal drugs out there, and which drugs are legal varies from state to state, with Kentucky holding the reputation as the most lenient state.
CONTINUED...Gary Smith
The Dark Side of the Kentucky Derby.
PART ONE...
The Kentucky... more
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SELLING OUT TO SLAUGHTER - AMERICA'S WILDLIFE HERITAGE
A major roundup of an estimated 2,500 wild mustangs in Northern Nevada set for Monday has protesters calling for Congress to step in.
Monday's planned roundup is part of an overall strategy to remove as many as 25,000 mustangs from PUBLIC lands across the West.
Wild horse advocates gathered outside the entrance of Red Rock Canyon, managed by Bureau of Land Management, on the eve of the roundup to make their voices heard.
Their efforts follow a plea from singer Sheryl Crow, who has reached out to President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Crow is among many horse defenders trying to block Monday's roundup.
Opponents argue that many of the horses could be injured or even die during the commute by helicopter during icy winter conditions.
"They're going to hurt and kill the horses, and then pen them up for no good reason," said Arlene Gawne, who helped organized Sunday's protest.
Gawne says the roundup process is NOT ONLY INHUMANE but is costing the taxpayers of Nevada MILLIONS of dollars.
She believes our state could profit by what many see as an icon of the wild west.
"Why isn't Obama having the BLM see what they can do to create jobs and have wild horse sanctuaries and build a wild horse safari industry," added Gawne.
The estimated 2,500 horses expected to be rounded up from the Calico Mountains Complex in Northern Nevada will be headed to 'long-term holding facilities' in the Midwest. (NOTE: "long term holding facilities" - where they are cruelly imprisoned until AUCTION DAY. Sold to the highest bidder, then shipped to Mexico, Canada... to a slaughterhouse for human consumption.)
Nevada's wildlife agency stands behind their roundup, also saying that much of the horses' food supply is running out and affecting AFFECTING surrounding wildlife.
http://www.ktnv.com/global/story.asp?s=11735639#SELLING OUT TO SLAUGHTER - AMERICA'S WILDLIFE HERITAGE
A major roundup of an... more
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