Commentary by Wayne Pacelle ~President/CEO of the Humane Society of the United States
The Strange Bills of Senator Larson Need to be Defeated
Wayne Pacelle ~ President/CEO of the HSUS
The bills related to horse slaughter introduced by Sen. Tyson Larson are way out of line, especially the one to require humane societies and horse rescues to accept and care for any horse that is presented to them, and to make it a crime, a class IV misdemeanor, if those groups do not have enough space or money to take in animals dumped on their doorsteps. (“Does new legislation make horse sense?” Telegraph, Jan. 16)
Senator Larson’s astonishing bill turns moral responsibility on its head, allowing reckless animal owners to casually dispense with animals they’ve acquired without proper forethought and shifting the care and cost burdens onto struggling local organizations that are already up to their ears cleaning up the messes of irresponsible parties. For the government to require these local organizations to care for every animal presented to them, and to make a crime of their inability to take them in, is akin to requiring homeless shelters to pay for hotel rooms for every person on the streets when their beds are full, or requiring conservation groups to cover the costs of every environmental polluter and to require nothing of the very polluters who create the problem in the first place.
In the news story about this legislation, one ally of Senator Larson made an outrageous claim about the Humane Society of the United States, essentially arguing that the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization doesn’t care about animals. He used a dubious 18-year-old quote in support of his absurd argument. Several years before I joined the HSUS, in 1992 or 1993, I appeared at an agricultural forum and addressed the issue of animal welfare in American agriculture. In the question-and-answer session, a question was directed to me about whether there should be an attempt to preserve all breeds of exotic livestock. I was specifically queried about so-called “heirloom breeds” (older breed variations that have been around for a while and whose continued survival may be in jeopardy) of domestic agricultural animals and their passing out of existence. At the time, I did not consider the fate of such breeds an ethically significant dilemma. I replied by saying that I did not believe that we had a moral obligation to preserve such breeds; in short, I said we did not need an endangered species act for rare breeds of livestock. It’s a tremendous leap and failure of logic to equate such a comment with a dislike of animals or to agricultural and animal ownership in general. Frankly, it’s laughable.
The outlandish claims of our critics needed to be quelled, and the strange bills of Senator Larson defeated.
Related Articles
- Nebraska Bill Would Slaughter Horses and Penalize Rescues (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
If people would ever be responsible. They have access to internet it seems ? There is help available. Just look and find it.
The lazy way is becoming a trademark, creating a misery for all involved, rather than stepping up the plate and consider doing some work for change.
The perilous slaughter of horses is not that. It is an industry cleverly disguised to deceive unsuspecting people with the whining of “unwanted”, excess horses… who so brutally starve etc, – well how about putting your spare time to good use and start a hay bank ? There is one in Colorado, very successfully helping horses in four other states, they only started two years ago. Solutions are here, but in those is NO profit… just brains and compassion. Larson’s stance is lazy, ignorant and based on untruths. Over breeding is the cause of all evil, the profit-driven, exploitative breeders who promote slaughter as a cheap dumping ground and lie thru their teeth to make it plausible… Anyone in public office with such regressive mindsets ought to be booted off his seat. Seems Nebraska has a few who prefer to play mindgames and abuse their power with twisted fabrications instead of doing a job, that shows true leadership to be commended on, setting an example instead of a nightmare just because they can.
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Tyson Larson is doing something important here, folks! He’s proving- for once and for all, that a pretty face CAN get someone elected to a high public office, even if there’s absolutely nothing in the brain bucket behind it!
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This dude is drinking way to much Kool-Aid.
I will be happy to give him an enema and ship him home in a shoebox!!
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The real radicals and threats to the American way of life are radical agriculturalists who wish to remain in a pre-conventional stage of moral development. They attempt to justify their moral bankruptcy and lack of moral development on what has been the case in the past; the blatant exploitation of sentient beings in order for them to turn a profit. They will fight and fight hard to hold on to the old ways but because those ways are no longer reaonably justifiable in a world in which humanity has realized that the moral community extends between humanity to the environment and other species that call this planet home, they must abandon reason and its logical conclusions. When reason takes a holiday (as it has done in their case) the only recourse to wage battle against the encroaching moral development of our species and the threats that development poses to their illogical and fallcious claims is abusurdity. Their arguments and positions represent reducio ad absurdum (reduction to the absurd)..
In light of the absurd bills recently introduced, it would appear that in some instances the absurdity has infected certain levels of government and what we have with Senator Larson is a concrete example of the inmates attempting to run the ASSylum. Perhaps recalling the internal causes of the Fall of Rome we need to seriously consider raising the bar on the requirements for holding public office.
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Nebraska legislators, and Nebraskens in general, need to know about the increase in thefts of personal horses when the slaughter plants were in operation. Considering the economic mess we’re in, I think thefts would increase. Even a few healthy horses a week equals a decent paycheck.
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Oh, thefts increase all right. I’ve told my tale of horse theft when I lived in Dallas when Dallas Crown and Beltex were operating at least a hundred times, but no one seems to listen.
I tell those who will be living within a hundred miles of these hell holes that they WILL regret it. Falls on deaf ears. I hate to think that innocent horses will suffer because their owners are idiots.
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There is so much talk these days about bullying and this is a clear example of it. He is simply trying to bully everyone into giving him what he wants, a horse slaughter plant here in the United States. He is like a little kid that didn’t get his own way during the slaughter summit when Bob Abbey stated “They’re part of our nation’s heritage, and they need to be protected. . . . We are not entertaining the use of slaughterhouses or selling horses for slaughter at all. . . . we believe that there are better options available to us.”
So go stand in the corner and face the wall Senator Larson. Shame Shame Shame on you!
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I think that this bill is ILLUMINATING the ATTITUDE of the pro-slaughter folks. Instead of placing the responsibility on those who caused the problem, they want to shift ALL responsibility on those trying to fix it. They would effectively SHUT down all rescues, therefore FUNNELING ALL horses to slaughter. NO rescue would be able to take in all horses, so they would shut down. Then, their weird logic would “prove” that there are SO many unwanted horses that NEED to be slaughtered. It would basically justify slaughter. This bill is so ridiculous that it will not be taken seriously or pass.
Thank you Sr. Larson for being a moron! And, showing the public how ridiculous this whole thing is….and immoral.
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If all the officials in Nebraska are as STUPID and LAME as Larson it COULD pass I’m afraid. Look what happened in Wyoming….you’d think that with everything that has been exposed about Slaughterhorse Sue, she would not have been re-elected. But sad to say, she was.
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http://www.petprints.org/nebraska.html
Email
Coalition for Animal Protection, Inc.
P.O. Box 11760
OMAHA, NE 68111
Tel: + 1 (402) 453-1868
Fax: + 1 (402) 493-6480
Email
Here is the email for COALITION FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION–NEBRASKA:
animal_protection@hotmail.com
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The only way this bill would have any right to demand a thing from any animal rescue is if the government provided funding. Otherwise they have no claim to justify punishing rescues or sanctuaries when they are full and out of funds to help. Whichever animal the government funds they can demand that they are cared for.
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I am one of the only TWO horse rescues in Nebraska. Larson never made any attempt to contact me, and as an expert on this issue, I would think anyone wanting to know both sides of this issue would be willing to discuss it with those on the front lines. Larson has not answered my email to sit down with him, and discuss this. This whole bill is asinine. We can’t even get Nebraska Law enforcement to inforce laws on humane treatment of horses, they always moan about their budgets, so abusers go free. Now they want to enfoce a felony If I don’t take in a horse. This is purely to close down any rescue,and stifle any that might want to start. Therefore leaving slaughter as his main goal. There is nothing economical about this. It is all about big money, for a puppet politician.
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I still don’t understand WHO he thinks he’s going to sell his adulterated horse meat to. Nebraskans? I doubt it. He can’t export it, so…….?
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I found out about this sick, disgusting bill on twitter (WickedGlitter1). I follow other people who are concerned about the welfare of animals. We retweet pictures of animals who are up for adoption, or lost. The reason I’m bringing up twitter is because it’s one way for us to connect with each other about what we are going to do about animal cruelty. This bill has to be stopped, and politicians like Larson, and Sue from from Wyoming need to be kicked out of office. We need to let these states know that we will be boycotting anything made, grown, or slaughtered from these states. We need to let the political parties of these politicians know that we will not vote for anyone in their party as long as they support animal cruelty. Larson is tarnishing his parties reputuation. In light of the things that are going on lately (Arizona) I don’t think they want to be associated with anyone who is clearly greedy, selfish, and abusive. I would think that a certaim party would want to change how the world percieves them.
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This bill is insane which makes me question the sanity of Senator Larson! Rescue groups do an amazing job to rescue horses and donkeys on a shoe string budget based 100% on donations. They get no government funding! Now that the economy is down, so too are the donations.
These dedicated organizations adore the animals they sacrifice to care, feed and house and are distraught when they simply do not have the money and thus have to refuse taking in an animal. It is a very difficult decision to refuse a needy animal, but it is also a decision that must remain totally in the hands of the non-profits.
Not taking in an animal is not because the charity does not care, it is a lack of resources, land, fencing, barns, feed, and mostly money. If your foolhardy bill passes, Senator Larson, forcing rescues to taike in every abused horse or donkey, most will quickly go out of existence! Is this the real, hidden agenda behind your bill?
How about introducing a sensible bill that is fair, requiring those who abuse, negilect or choose to drop off an animal to a rescue be held responsible in some way to pay for the animal’s care-be it money, hay, fencing, or even volunteer hours that rescues determine and not the government. But since irresponsible owners are often unreliable, that is where a government bill can come in and guarantee a sum of money for each animal willingly, not forced, the rescues take in. Lack of resources, which all comes down to not enough money, is why a rescue turns away an animal. These committed volunteers have their hearts broken over and over, because they simply cannot afford to keep up with the demand of abused and negilected creatures that are never-ending.
Senator Larson, I am doubtful that you have ever volunteered for a horse or donkey rescue, am I right? Have you ever tour such a facility? How about given a donation?
To honor the death of my father who loved horses, I am doing my part to honor him by purchasing a three-stall horse barn for Equine Advocates at the cost of $8,500.00 and believe me I am far from rich. What are you doing? Trying to pass a bill that would ultimately put all of these fabulous sanctuaries out-of-business?
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I hope that Mr. Lawson has some other line of work that he can fall back on because anyone this unschooled in Life 101 should be a short termer. I just hate when someone who has obvously had some sort of lobotomy gets elected to office and no one knows until after (no disrespect intended toward anyone who has had a member of his or her family treated with this procedure) the election is over that the character is wearing a mask with nothing behind it.
I can not imagine that veterinarians who work with horses every day, and who understand their natures would ever go along with supporting the slaughter of young, healthy horses. I believe they would offer discounted gelding clinics and euthanization services before they would ever endorse slaughter.
Who is Ty Lawson’s benefactor?
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One thing for sure is that horse advocates and people who want these annimals to live safe, humane lives are getting under the skin of those unable to get it.
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