An End to Horse Breeding?

NY Times

To the Editor:

Commendably, “A New Destination for Status-Symbol Horses in Spain: The Abattoir” (Chapinería Journal, April 11) makes the case for an end to horse breeding, which creates a path to the slaughterhouse. Why, after all, should human beings assign other animals worth or worthlessness?

Viewed as status symbols by some and dinner by others, bred into commercial existence for racing, equestrian pursuits, carriage rides or other frivolous entertainment, horses have long been vulnerable to unchallenged greed and manipulation. But this should be challenged at every turn.

Meanwhile, policies for free-roaming horses on public lands should ensure that horses be allowed to live free. We have dominated horses long enough; it’s time to get off their backs.

EDITA BIRNKRANT
New York Director
Friends of Animals
New York, April 11, 2013