VOTE on ABCs poll to stop HORSE SLAUGHTER!

[ClevengerPaints]

There is a link on the left side of the page for voting - do it and
pass this along to everyone. This is ABC News!

abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2233495

Please keep this bumped at the top! Thanks!

[Heather T]

I've tried twice and can't get the poll to load. Maybe I'm too late???

[mistymoon]

I tried to vote as well - but couldn't.
Please everyone - we need to try to stop the slaughter. This link was sent to me in an email from another concerned horse person. The videos are extremely graphic and so very sickening - I don't think anyone could imagine the horror that these horses go through - until you see the videos. They are not for the faint of heart and in fact I couldn't watch the majority of them - we must stop this horrendous injustice to our beautiful friend the horse.

www.sharkonline.org/horseslaughter.mv

[ClevengerPaints]

yay im glad to hear two good remarks on the stop horse slaughter stuff. Man I posted this on another thread and all of them went on and voted they dont think its wrong.. blah I guess if horse slaughter has to be my only request is that they do it more humanly then what they do so far!

Oh and not sure why link is not workning now..

[Golden Girl]

Hi everyone. I am glad jackismacki brought this subject up as I recently watched a special on Animal Plant the other day, and about fell out when I realized what had I just saw!

First & for most I am AGAINST the slaughter of 'our' beloved horses food. What I mean by 'our' horses, the horses & ponies raised to be our companion animals. There are thousands of TBs out there that were bred just so people can gamble. Where are they supposed to end up if not successful or when their racing carrier is over? I have saved 2 so far. My oldest is 20yo now, and unsound & partially blind yet I feed her twice a day and love her very much.

Anyway...I learned that exotic large cats, Lions, Tigers etc., zoo or privately owned, are also being fed the meat from slaughtered horses Thats right, and these big cats eat allot! There are more large exotic cats around than you might think, and they eat many many pounds of horse meat daily!

So are we wanting to ban horse slaughter for just human consumption, or also for food for these (except for zoos) unnecessary pets? I am at a loss for an answers

[ClevengerPaints]

Well, you have brought up a good point. I personally myself do believe that horses are not ment to be consumed by humans they are a pet, were transportatoin, etc. We have cows, pigs, chickens, etc to eat so why do we need to eat the horses too? Anyways alot of those poor horses that go to slaughter have not been taken care of real weel so are sick, skinny, etc. Why would you want to eat something like that? Now if we still had slaughter but it was not for human comsumption but for the zoo animals like stated then maybe I might be for it. As long as they killed the animals humanly. Cause to me hitting them in the head with a bolt to knock them out is not human. For one they dont always get them the first try and they have to go back a second sometimes third time!! Then if that isnt bad then they hand them upside down still alive then cut there throats tell they bleed to death! How cruel is that? Who knows!

[AZLynn]

From what I've read the horses that are being slaughtered are supposed to be "humanely" killed first by a blunt shot to the head. However, some of these horses are merely stunned but sent on to be pulled up and hanging by one rear leg and their throat slit when they are still conscious. I'm sorry that it so graphic BUT that is the reality of horse slaughter. According to some statistics 90,000 in one year. Not just race horses but backyard pets, show horses, etc. The life span of a horse could be as long as 30 years and the horse could go through many owners in that time. When you sell a horse, there's no telling who's hands they end up in. This is why the Humane Society of the U.S. strongly urges anyone breeding horses think about why they're doing it. When I bought my first horse he was on a feedlot awaiting slaughter. He was AQHA registered with foundation blood and was a great barrel/trail horse. How did he end up there? How anyone could vote FOR slaughter is beyond me. There are plenty of other "meat type" animals to be consumed by big cats, etc. In my opinion.

I will be voting against horses for food and have also contacted my state representatives, etc.

[Golden Girl]

AZLynn, on the program they did in fact feed this particular Tiger another animal. It was a whole white rabbit, but that was in addition to a large 20 lb piece of lean horse meat. That was why the care takers feed mainly horse meat, but cause it is so lean.

Still turns my stomach to know about & witness a Tiger eating a piece of a beautiful animal like a horse. I would have thought that the young children that observed that particular feeding would have been traumatized seeing that Tiger eat the bunny too!

Well personally I would prefer that older, humanly killed horses go for large cat food, but never mass slaughtering for human consumption! I say let all those people become vegetarians!

[mistymoon]

azlynn said:

From what I've read the horses that are being slaughtered are supposed to be "humanely" killed first by a blunt shot to the head. However, some of these horses are merely stunned but sent on to be pulled up and hanging by one rear leg and their throat slit when they are still conscious. I'm sorry that it so graphic BUT that is the reality of horse slaughter. According to some statistics 90,000 in one year. Not just race horses but backyard pets, show horses, etc. The life span of a horse could be as long as 30 years and the horse could go through many owners in that time. When you sell a horse, there's no telling who's hands they end up in. This is why the Humane Society of the U.S. strongly urges anyone breeding horses think about why they're doing it. When I bought my first horse he was on a feedlot awaiting slaughter. He was AQHA registered with foundation blood and was a great barrel/trail horse. How did he end up there? How anyone could vote FOR slaughter is beyond me. There are plenty of other "meat type" animals to be consumed by big cats, etc. In my opinion.

I will be voting against horses for food and have also contacted my state representatives, etc.

I agree - why would anyone vote FOR slaughter. Everyone - take a look at this link - you may think that the slaughter horses are killed instantly and don't know what has hit them - but you will think differently if you look at some of these video clips (if you can watch them that is - they are tremendously graphic).

www.sharkonline.org/horseslaughter.mv

[Heather T]

I'm sorry- I have problems killing just about anything so I can't watch this. Yes, I eat beef and fish and shrimp and I realize that they are also slaughtered. So I'm probably a hypocrite, but I think that the slaughter of horses is wrong. I think it's more of the way that it's done than the actual slaughter. If I were old and/or abused, I think that being put out of my misery would be better, but in a more humane way. I believe in deer hunting (done correctly) because I'd rather die being shot than starving (overpopulation). But this knocking them in the head and hanging them up by the leg...the fear....the pain - it just blows my mind that anyone would want this to be approved.

I sure wish the link worked so I could vote. Hopefully they were bombarded and had to take it down.

[catg06]

If each of us contacts our state representative, by phone or email, it will probably make as much or even more of an impact as the vote on ABC. There is strength in numbers and congress does pay attention if bombarded with opinions!! If each of us complains to our rep, then asks just one other person to also do the same, we can make a difference!!

[Shannon]

Horse slughter just disgusts me. That's why I hate making the meerkat diet at the zoo...it's make of horsemeat I think they should just get their fruit, eggs, and bugs like in the wild. and yes, all the carnivore diets at our zoo are horsemeat-based. Everything fromth emeerkats to the eagles to the lions. Supposedly it's better because it's more lean, and it has all the horse parts for extra proten. (Aparently they just send the entire poor horse through the grinder for ground horse meat:(). I'm sure they could find something else to feed the carnivores. I heard of one zoo that feeds them all chickens, rabbits, and other small game. Oneof the newest volunteers asked the keeper where the horsemeat came from, and she said "I don't know if it's from old horses, or if they're bred for it, or what. Really, I never wanted to know." I think that's the problem. People just don;t want to know, because if they can get away wth being ignorant they feel they won't have any responsibility for what goes on:(

I can't get the poll to work, either...

[Golden Girl]

Once again I just have to post on this issue.

I consider the horses & ponies that I own part of our family. I also breed a couple animals (one a year a most) to sell, and try to place each & every one to the best possible home. BUT I can not be sure that these are forever homes. I can only interview each prospective buyer, and chose the best one to own one of our babies! Then I just have faith that the horse has a great life after leaving my farm

I have also had to put down a aged horse/beloved friend, and bury him on our farm. I am faced with owning an age horse again , and the decision of when it will be time to put her down, and BURY her on our farm.

The is the promise that I make to my animals,is to take care of them, and either find them another great home, or keep them, love & feed them , and then when the time is right, send them along to the Rainbow Bridge.

I do not want my animals eaten be anyone or thing! If I catch a critter, opossum, snake, snapping turtle, I relocate it. I do go fishing, I'm the one that wants to release the fish. My husband keeps them, and we eat them. I DO NOT eat Veal! How those farmers raise those pour little calves IS inhuman! And don't get me started about PUM farms.....

OK, I am through. We can only do the best by the animals in OUR personal care. Learned that a long time ago so I wouldn't go crazy worrying about all the horses I have seen that were abused & mistreated. If you have faith enough in our government, then vote, email etc., and maybe the power of the govt. will work for us, and our beloved horses for once.

The day that horse slaughter houses are CLOSED will be a great day! Sign me up on the "Against" list

[ShainaTN]

I am absolutely disgusted and tired of horse slaughter. God put livestock on earth to be consumed by humans... HORSES are by no means part of that livestock! Horses are majestic creatures and for anyone to be so cold-hearted as to see a horse go through the horrible death that they do in a slaughter house, they must be messed up in the head. I wished that all horse slaughter would be banned and made illegal in the USA, but that would take many people to get together. Knowing that horses are zoo animals main diet... this upsets me even further. You know that in the wild, in their own natural habitat, they don't eat horses, BUT they do eat zebras(talking about the big carnies). And Shannon said that the Meerkats eat horses!?! That isn't right. If they can't feed them anything besides horses, they ought not have the animals....

Okay that's enough, but I AM HIGHLY AGAINST (aha!) horse slaughter!!!

[jesspetey]

I can’t help but comment on this topic:

I love my horse, and all horses. My filly and the couple other horses I have been fortunate to own are loved, cared for, and treated as one of the family. That said, I am not against the HUMANE slaughter of horses. Here’s why:

The reality is that there are THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of horses in the U.S. that are unwanted, neglected, and abused. This “excess” is not driven just by the racehorse industry, it is also due to irresponsible backyard breeders who breed their mares because they can. Eliminating horse slaughter will NOT change the breeding practices of anyone. Thousands upon thousands of horses will still be bred each year. The horses that would have gone to slaughter will accumulate. In addition, the people who neglect their horses are NOT going to suddenly change their ways and start feeding and caring for their animals if slaughter is stopped. Many of these horses would be left in pastures, hungry, sick, and face even more horrible deaths.

The killer market also sets a base price for the value of a horse. Even if you don’t like to think of it that way, without the killer market, the base price of any horse is $0. Eliminating horse slaughter would decrease the monetary value of all horses and make it even more difficult for responsible breeders of quality animals to make a living.

I don’t like to think about any horse going to slaughter. However, ending slaughter is not going to eliminate the problem of horse abuse or remedy the fact that there are so many unwanted horses. As much as we’d all like to give them homes, there are not enough people, facilities, or resources available to care for the 100,000 horses that are slaughtered each year. Think about it – even if we could take in 100,000 horses this year, where are the next 100,000 going to go next year, and the next?

**Instead of lobbying to eliminate slaughter, we need to work for responsible ownership and breeding practices. Until we can control the population in this manner, we should be fighting for HUMANE practices of horse slaughter.**

Please consider this angle on this difficult issue.