Comment: Slaughtering horses, poisoning people

From Horsetalk

August 7, 2009

by R T Fitch

It's out in the open, there's no denying or running away from it now. The anti-horse people have been attempting to keep it under wraps for ages but, today, it's staring them right in the face and there's a great big draft horse standing in their living rooms; the EU now recognises that the meat from American horses, slaughtered in Canada and Mexico, is toxic and dangerous for human consumption due to the equine medications it retains.

For years Pro-Horse advocates have been telling us that besides being immoral and socially repugnant the business of horse slaughter was flooding the European and Asian specialty meat markets with tainted and toxic meat. Meat that is dangerous for humans to consume. Equine medications are clearly marked that they are not for use on food animals and horses have not and are not considered food animals by American society and government agencies such as the USDA. So what's the deal?

If all of us had our eyes wide open, then why did we allow foreign owned slaughter plants to operate within our borders for years without any federal intervention? The majority of the US public was crying out to stop this barbaric practice yet our government in DC appeared not to be listening. What does that say of our elected, federal representatives who continually dragged their feet and tied up pro-horse legislation in committees, year after year? The slaughter plants were closed in 2007 but, last year, we allowed 133,000 healthy American horses to be inhumanely shipped across our public highways and over our borders to be slaughtered in Canada and Mexico. Currently the bills H.R. 503 and S. 727 (The Equine Cruelty Prevention Act of 2009) designed to stop this practice, are going absolutely nowhere. "Hey boys and girls, we aren't just talking about killing horses, here, we are talking about poisoning and possibly injuring human beings, now!"

It looks like there might be more than just the blood of horses on the hands of our government leaders. One thing is for certain, within the world community, there certainly is egg on their faces.

But all the blame does not sit in the lap of our federal government. What about the state governments that have, as of late, been trying to jump upon the "horse killing/people poisoning" bandwagon hoping and praying that all of that blood letting might net them an extra buck or two. Take Ed Butcher from Montana for example. Butcher (no intentional play on words) ramroded a partisan bill through his state's government that not only opens the door to allow foreigners to come into the state to open horse slaughtering facilities but also impedes the rights of the public to protest the construction of such plants. Where is the moral compass in all of that mess? It sure doesn't reside in the offices of Montana's state government as it now appears that they publicly approve and endorse not only the butchering of a passive, companion animal but the poisoning of people in foreign lands.

We, the American public, do have the ability to turn this wagon train of destruction around and perhaps save some face in the opinion of the global community. We can pick up the phone, write an email or fax our elected representatives and tell them that we want them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 503/S.727 because enough is enough. The senseless butchering of our American icon has always been nagging at our soul but now the prospect of poisoning people is just going too far over the top. It's time to put an end to this dirty, bloody secret and cleanse our spirits by standing up for what is right, morale and just. Talk to your representative and ensure that they understand your passion and your commitment to take back into control the political machine that has been heading down the mountain without any brakes. Give them direction, pledge your support and if you are snubbed or ignored, vote them out, it's your right. That's the only way we are going to clean this mess up, if they won't listen and continue to ignore the voice of the people who elected them, then oust them at the very first opportunity.

It's time to clean house, its way past time to stop the killing and it's the perfect time to head off any further potential poisoning of human beings. Pick up the phone, make the call, we have the ability and the power to get this wagon train back on the trail. Let's make it happen.

May the Force of the Horse be with you.

R.T. Fitch is the author of the much acclaimed book "Straight from the Horse's Heart".

Further information at www.equinewelfarealliance.org