OpEd by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/Director of HfH Advisory Council
Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Any Stupider
I had a difficult time turning my mind off and getting any sleep last night. No, it had nothing to do with the fireworks that went off outside my hotel window at 2 AM or the roster that thinks the sun comes up at 3. Instead, sleep was kept at bay by thoughts of smug politicians standing behind podiums spouting lies, untruths, fabrications and even making false accusations. How do they get away with it?
"I am sick and tired of STUPID!"
Yesterday we ran the article on the insanity that is the Nebraska Senate and it’s perverted pursuit of bringing bloody horse slaughter to their state. When you consider the source I can understand why baby faced and immature Sen. Tyson Larson thinks killing and eating horses is a cool thing to do, hell, he has hung out with “Slaughterhouse” Sue Wallis and Davie “Doink” Duquette and in so doing he has caught the disease; it’s highly contagious you know…where I come from it’s called “butt ugly stupid”. By rubbing elbows, and God knows what else, this little newbie legislator has contracted the cancer of dumb and dumber so he has been coached on ignoring the facts, speaking falsehoods and worshiping special interests as that is where the good ole money comes from.
But now Nebraska is further embarrassed by a Sen. Tom Carlson who not only supported the bill but went on to use incorrect figures and flawed methodology while kicking things up a notch and getting all over HSUS who all the horse eaters fear as the big, bad boogie man. These guys are screaming, raving maniacs. How does the public let these corn jerker’s get away with it?
This is the sort of stuff that nightmares are made of and that is exactly what kept me awake when I should have been dreaming about home, my wife, our horses and the possibilities of ridding the political systems of such obvious whores to the dollar.
I am disgusted, not tired, just angry, pissed off and sick of the nonsense. I don’t do “stupid” very well and my Fun Meter is about pegged at zero.
Perhaps it’s time to take the gloves off, maybe we should be picking up the phone and letting these idiots know just exactly what we think of them. We clog the faxes of the BLM and our federal representatives maybe these little piss ants need to hear from us. They think that we are all radical “animal rights activists” anyway why not verify the fact that we have clout and the ability to be heard. For a fact they need to read the facts on the horse slaughter issue as so eloquently put by John Holland, recently. Spam their email boxes with the truth and then see what these boneheaded bastards have to say. We can’t let this slip under the table without banging on a drum or stepping on their crooked toes.
Take a second and read their rhetoric (HERE) then read, copy or forward John’s information (HERE) and let these bubble headed Bozos know what you think of them. I don’t care if they don’t represent me, they need to know that the bulk of taxpaying, law abiding Americans are against slaughtering and eating our companion horses.
Sen. Tyson Larson’s email is tlarson@leg.ne.gov and phone is 402-471-2801
Sen. Tom Carlson’s email is tcarlson@leg.ne.gov and phone is 402-471-2732
And no insult to the good folks of Nebraska, who these soulless pieces of crap represent, but where I come from we have a saying, “Cowboys don’t eat their best friend.”
But who knows, these guys might…remember, they are politicians.
Related Articles
- EWA Prez Wins One for the Horses in Slaughter Debate (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Nebraska Horse Eating Senator is “Out of Line” (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Horse Slaughter is Bad for the Economy, the Community and the Taxpayer (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Nebraska Bill Would Slaughter Horses and Penalize Rescues (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, The Force of the Horse
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
And we have the sleepless nights with you my friend, it seems like there is just no end to the madness. How is it that we still have to fight this kind of idiocracy in this day and age in this America? Are we the only ones to see? Are we the only ones to hear? Are we the only ones to care?
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Dear Simone, i feel the same,We all walk this walk everyday in hopes that we can make the real difference for all our wonderful horses ,in lots of ways i can see that we are helping , it has been a slow process, but bottom line here is it still isnt enough our horses still suffer everyday……………….. These beautiful horses need us to stop their suffering, Sometimes I believe there is only one way to end their plight, and that is just to have a massive land buying, pooling all our resourses really unite and and start serious no holds barred and just take them and have a place to put them, it makes no sense the way it is going , we talk and beg and get no where,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nobody cares but us…..they look at them and see dollar signs, we look at them and see the future and the past and we all know they belong, they are essential……..I have no doubt that it is the right thing…………and the right way for them, i cannot stand the treatment they are getting, they are innocent they are and have been our allies….. That is all that is needed to know………..
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Important correction:
Tyson Larson’ email is tlarson@leg.ne.gov and phone number is 402-471-2801:
Tom Carlson’s email is tcarlson@leg.ne.gov, his phone number is correct.
Their full contact information is at http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov.
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Thanks for the heads-up…problems corrected and appreciate your help.
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Has anyone else noticed the huge rash of bills coming to light that deal with some aspect of horse slaughter and how to promote it?
Seems to me since the start of the new year almost every day you hear another politician spouting off about starting a slaughter plant or how eating horse is safe. And how we are called tree huggers or radical animal rights activists.
Just in case one of these politicians see this–horse meat is NOT SAFE for human consumption. We have ginormous amounts of information on this and how it really isn’t healthy for humans and is in fact DANGEROUS to consume.
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One more thing, the entire legislature votes on Larson’s bills. Every single senator needs to learn the truth about horse slaughter. Contact every last one of them. Make sure they know what a pro-slaughter vote means to the horses, responsible Nebraska horse owners, and the state’s reputation nationwide.
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The people who are pushing horse slaughter do not care that they will be selling toxic meat. They are greedy and only care about the money. Time and time again we tell people the horrors of the horse slaughter house and still some say it is a necessary evil. Really?? Have they not heard of rendering? Why are they not looking for new ways to use the renderings? Why not a new rendering plant instead of a slaughter house where the horses are still alive when they face the knife to the belly or the chain saw cutting off their legs. How can people be so cruel to an animal who gives it all? A horse will run until its heart burst for its rider. What is the matter with people today?
I do know that there are many more of us who love the horse then those who want the blood money. We need to get out there and stand up for the horse and stop all this nonsense of opening these hell holes.
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I want to know where they find the sicko’s that work in the plants. The local mental institute for the criminally insane? Maybe Sue the whale Wallace and her cronies need to go in and do the deed, or clean up afterwards. No they just want to collect the $$$$ and forget about it. I absolutely despise her and her horse eating group. I hope if there is a place called hell they end up on the front row. This epidemic of killing has got to end and I personally wish that we could all ban together and physically take action against these fools.
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Please don’t raise SS to whale standards. Whales are a whole lot smarter than SS and beautiful too.
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Not only is Slaughter a heinous word , the ramifications of its use is devastating to say the Least, it should be eliminated from the the English language, We are now civilized, civilized people do not Slaughter……… Especially an animal of the horses Magnificence, I also cannot rationalize what in the heck these mentally challenged people are thinking, It does not take a Philadelphia Lawyer to figure out that a horse is essential, they are our allies, have been for forever, what kind of a person would ever deliberately harm a horse, to me its like killing a brother or sister, what the horse means to America is and has been a harmonious and loving adventure, and one that has with stood time…………..they are in almost every page of history, always a huge ally to us, and a loving and trusting one also………they are our future, why cant these people understand that ????????
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RT, “Cowboys don’t eat thier best friend”, remember we are not the ones eating our horses. It is people who have no horse culture, they do not see the horse as we do. They don’t have a long history with the horse, they are so removed from their history where the horse was used they don’t even remember the horse as a factor. And as long as people like Wallis and her bunch can see their retirement years subsidized by horse slaughter they are going to push for it. She cares nothing about the horses, she sees them only as a way to make money when she gets voted out ( and I have faith, they will vote her out, hopefully before she can do any damage to the horse industry.) When our elected officials get in office they are each and every one looking for their gimmic to carry them through after they are out of office. They have chosen the slaugther issue, and they chose it again and again. We as American’s may just be in this battle alone, so we are the ones who are going to have to stop this once and for all. It’s pretty sad when our elected officials have no other way to make an income than horse blood money. Just my opinion.
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I have sent countless emails to all of the idiots involved. I have gotten but one response…the reply asked..”where do you live”. I replied that I live in Canada, but noted that Horse Slaughter is an internaional problem as they are transported to Canada for slaughter. No response…go figure. That lead me to believe that they will only maybe reply to comments from Nebraskans. The people that I have had contact with have all tried to contact Loser Larson, he just deletes and blocks you. He does not want to answer to anything negative. But aren’t ALL elected politicians suppose to answer the questions posed? Good or bad. I think what has to happen in this case is a mass intervention at the state capitol, where the unicameral government meets. I have enlisted the help of Julie Caramante, an animal cruelty investigator, who was involved with the slaughter houses in Texas. I to, am involved with the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition to end slaughter in this country. To the Nebraskan politicians…Stupidity Never Prevails!!!
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One more thing about Larson and his cronies… All of the politicians that voted for this bill were sent a copy of the Food and Chemical Toxicology report put out by Doctors Dodman, Blondeau and Marini which stated…Association of phenylbutazone (bute) usage with horses bought for slaughter: A PUBLIC HEALTH RISK. The study is on Google. The names of the politicians that received a copy of the study along with a CD that was secretly filmed showing the horrific cruelty that is carried out daily on horses in one of the Canadian slaughter plants is as follows: Senator Tom Carlson, Senator Bloomfield, Senator Brasch, Senator Harr, Senator Karpisek, Senator Wallman. Larson wasn’t included because he would have thrown the study in the trash anyway. The man is ignorant. They have totally ignored a professional study that was given to the FDA after it was completed about the dangers to human health of the Veterinary drugs given to horses in the United States that are sent to slaughter in Canada/Mexico.
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Here is that REPORT that Becki mentioned:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20176071
Thank you Becki! Good Information to pass on to Senators as well!!!
Bonnie
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I have posted the link to this study in Nebraska newspapers until I’m now blue in the face. Interestingly, when I posted this and a link to the FDA site during the Big Debate, all of a sudden the paper banned the posting of ANY links in comments. The timing struck me because others were posting such links as well, and not only were links banned from new posts, the old links were deleted from OLD posts.
I guess that when debating people who DO have documentation to support their comments and you don’t, you just take the low road and ban their links. I wrote another comment to the editor and said that no matter how they spin it, American horses are not safe to eat. I wonder if ANY of them have yet eaten any horse meat?
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Write to the editor and all reporters of that Cheese paper. I tried to post a link, it didn’t take it as I could wait for my account to be activated until I turn gray.
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Now your talking!
Perhaps they all need to see this:
Have a great day RT. 🙂
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@ Suzanne….I know how you feel. They will not debate anything! They do not want to hear statistics, or how harmful horsemeat can be. They only see money. Like I said earlier, hundreds of people need to show up and demand answers and challenge all of them. A protest if you will. I think that is the only way that anyone will get heard on this issue.
@Jasmine…I love your description of Slaughter House Sue!! I think if the “whale” could slaughter horses in her backyard and get away with it, she would. As for the employees of the slaughter houses, at Dallas Crown and Beltex in Texas, most were illegals. I beleive that they employed a total of approximately 46 people. Obviously these people had no self-worth, or respect for anything. And yes, everyone needs to ban together in person in Nebraska to end this travestry!!
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I have a Facebook page and recently I clicked on a page called “Summit of the Horse”. I thought originally they were a good page about horses but as close as I can tell they are supporters of horse slaughter and are linked with that group “United Horsemen” or something like that. I no longer support the AQHA because they support horse slaughter and enocurage breeding. That’s more money in their pockets they don’t care either. I am not quiet sure yet about the APHA, I love paints but if they support slaughter then I will not bother with sending them any paper transfer money as I don’t show in APHA shows anyway. This Sue Wallace woman sounds horrible and so are these other people. How do these idiots get elected?
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Thanks RT for this…you’re so right about Nebraska’s shame on horse slaughter. I posted a convenient cut/paste email list of all the Nebraska Senators on twitter (twitlonger) at @wildhorsewrites If anyone wants to reach all 49 Senators about horse slaughter just cut/paste the email list into your To email field or Bbc field and address it to Dear Senator. One click and your email reaches them ALL. They certainly need to know more than their Nebraska constituency is watching them and if they become the horse killer state it will adversely impact their state.
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Forward the information, including any links of raw video footage to:
Jane@CNN.com
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This is the email that I sent to Senator Larson and received no reply to…so if you send an email to him, don’t expect a reply!
I also sent it to the rest of the NE State Senators with a couple of additions (I don’t have a copy of those). Two of the senators have replied and they are also concerned with some of the issues I brought up. They are talking about bringing them up at the next debate.
My message to Senator Larson:
Nebraskans and Senator Larson need to consider some items about slaughter houses for horses before they come to a decision on LB 305. These are questions I have sent to Senator Larson several times without even an acknowledgement that he received my communication, much less answers to my questions.
1.) How are we going to protect the people eating the meat from the toxins that most horses have come in contact with? Is every horse going to have to have a passport like they do in Europe? Many of the items that are used in horses are specifically labeled not for use in horses intended for human consumption. Many warn to wear gloves because they contain carcinogenic substances! Are we going to have to examine every fly spray, de-wormer, etc that we use on our horse and write it down in their passport on the off chance that it MIGHT go to slaughter? Are we going to have to have a vet administer every vaccination, medication, etc? Many horse owners prefer to purchase vaccinations and medications (that are banned in Europe in horses for human consumption) from their local feed store or livestock supply company because it is cheaper.
2.) How are slaughter houses going to prevent stolen horses from being slaughtered? It has been proven that the easiest means of disposal for stolen horses is slaughter. Is every horse that shows up at the slaughter plant going to be positively identified and verified as not being stolen? Right now the slaughter plants don’t check with Stolen Horse International to see if a horse is on the stolen or missing list. They don’t check brands. There isn’t even a guarantee that every stolen horse will be listed with Stolen Horse International because not every horse owner knows that it exists. This means that even if slaughter houses checked with that organization, there would be horses that will slip through the cracks.
3.) How is Nebraska going to guarantee that horses weren’t sold to slaughter by unscrupulous buyers by owners that don’t want their horses slaughtered? There are owners who have the buyers sign contracts that are supposed to protect their horse from being slaughtered. These owners have often later learned that their horse was slaughtered! Read the numerous news stories from across the nation of owners who have done their best to protect their horses only to find out that their horse was sold to slaughter almost immediately after the sale was made.
4.) What is Nebraska going to do as the horse slaughter market continues to decrease? Many countries are decreasing their consumption of horse meat. Australia, Canada, Italy, and Ireland are already working on legislation to make horse meat for human consumption illegal. In England the decrease is starting because more people are becoming aware of the toxic substances that our American horses are coming in contact with. Some countries are working on bans specifically aimed at meat from American horses because of their concerns about toxicity.
5.) What is Nebraska going to do if a horse slaughter plant is opened and the US government bans it on a national level? Is the legislature going to come up with an alternative plan for the horses then? What are we going to do with the “excess” of horses then?
6.) What is Nebraska going to do if the past repeats itself and major environmental issues come up with the slaughter plants? How are we going to protect the land owners near the plants? How are they going to force the plants to pay? How is our state going to afford to do the necessary clean up?
7.) In the interest of animal welfare, how are we going to make slaughter humane for the horses? Based on what I have seen of the processing of horses, their reactions make it impossible to use the captive bolt correctly. The majority of the time the horses are either not stunned or injured horribly. Most horses react to the smell of blood and death, they are not used to the confines of a chute, and they react strongly to strange items being brought near their heads. They also fight restraint when scared. I just can’t see how horse processing can be made humane based on the knowledge of horse behavior and reactions.
Until we can answer all these questions, horse slaughter is not the solution. I think that we need to work to solve the issue of “unwanted” horses in a different manner. I don’t have all the answers, but from working with horse owners who are trying to find homes for their horses, the vast majority are owners who have fallen on hard times economically. Most don’t want to give up their horses, but they feel that they have no choice. These horses are not “unwanted”, they are just unlucky.
Brandi M. Qualset
Meadow Grove, NE
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Excellent comments. John Holland’s article is so right on the money. I personally
was involved with a group of wonderful people who FOUGHT TO CLOSE Cavel in
DeKalb, Illinois. The information regarding horse slaughter needs to be posted all over the place for the citizens of the state. I agree with the other posts, everyone
MUST JAM the emails of these idiots and support rallys against opening these PLACES OF HELL! The citizens of Illinois MADE IT CLEAR WE ARE NOT NOW
OR EVER WILL BE IN FAVOR of this business in our state again. Environments
around these slaughterhouses are damaged. Ask the people of Kaufman, Texas
for they certainly know. Its disgusting and I will FIGHT FOREVER TO SAVE OUR
MAGNIFICENT HORSES. We all must keep posting in newspapers and push to
have our media report the TRUTH about horse slaughter. We also need to push
for legislation on the national level too. Greed only begets Greed and they will
all face their maker one day! But today out HORSES need us to be their VOICE!
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It would be really effective for the citizens of any state that have had to endure a slaughter plant to let it be known to ALL OF NEBARASKA, what a nightmare it was for their communities.
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From: TCourt5096@aol.com
To: jyoung@journalstar.com
CC: tlarson@leg.ne.gov, tcarlson@leg.ne.gov, llouden@leg.ne.gov, adubas@leg.ne.gov
Sent: 3/31/2011 11:35:02 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time
Subj: Your article / Policy
RE: Your article http://journalstar.com/news/unicameral/article_aee9ea3c-e0be-58d8-9c27-9b8538eec0d5.html
Hello,
It is with great concern that I read on the attitude of the NE state Senators who would benefit from taking an educational class on the truth of horse slaughter and the risks it pertains to. Horses are not raised for food consumption, period. Even with regulations as EU passports, there is never a guarantee. Seems also that the profit-driven state decision makers choose to conveniently ignore the fact that most horse meat is tainted, adulterated and poses a serious public health threat.
Horse slaughter is not necessary to address an over-population. Breeding is. If slaughter returns, it will allow the vicious cycle of a cheap dumping grounds for horses to continue, which also promotes irresponsible horse ownership. There are other alternatives, but they require more work and ethical commitment, not just the cheap disposal mentality. Slaughter allows the suffering of horses to continue, who end up at killer auctions such as Sugarcreek, Ohio, which was recently again exposed for its horrific abuse/neglect -whereas many horses arrive dead or die on the premises. Evidence of serious chronic violations was recently presented to the public with FOIA documents. Many such auctions across America are such horror houses, when investigations shed light on the unspeakable conditions, it sends shock waves across the nation. Most Americans do not know about this. Those who promote slaughter ignore it at will, dismissing the concern for humane treatment for all horses as rubbish brought on by emotions… the usual tactics to distract. The facts speak clearly. The truth is a picture that the NE state Legislators ought to take a field trip to discover.
I wanted to share a letter with you, from Laura Bell, who addressed an article in the NPTelegraph a few months ago. It will explain in detail why we need to abolish horse slaughter once and for all.
Thank you for your time. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am happy to share more ideas on alternatives and/or solutions other than the un-American proposal of horse slaughter, which serves no one but to line the pockets of those with an agenda to keep deceiving the nation, driveling on the same old propaganda attempts and coming up with new twists as needed to maintain their profit driven racketeering.
Sincerely,
Monika Courtney, Colorado
P.S. An outstanding, much awaited film on the topic was recently released, revealing the truth and what is wrong with horse slaughter, in depth – by Katia Louise of http://www.savingamericashorses.org
I encourage you to check it out. It has great reviews.
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Dear Monica , beautifully written………………………
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From: source1propertyservices@gmail.com
To: TCourt5096@aol.com
Sent: 1/20/2011 10:41:39 P.M. Mountain Standard Time
Subj: Re: (no subject)
Dear Mr. Saner,
I feel the need to send you an email to clear up some misconceptions regarding the so-called “excess horses” in the US that in my opinion are misleading the majority of the American public.
First, my background in many facets of the horse industry spans 40 years. I am a successful trainer and instructor in many disciplines including dressage, hunter/jumpers, western pleasure (which became abusive with the “fad” training beginning in about 1988, so I do not train for that anymore), western riding and trail class, trail trials, 3-day eventing, driving and just plain old pleasure/trail riding. I’ve also taught a Horse Management/Holistic Horse Care course at the college level for 7 years. I’ve been a carded judge with various breeds and also Open show associations, have managed many boarding, training and breeding facilities, ran an animal assisted therapy program at a juvenile offenders “boot camp”, and “back-in-the-day” (the early-mid ’70’s), I galloped TB racehorses at a training farm in CA (and really found out how abusive that industry was). I’ve pretty much “been there, done that” when it comes to most aspects of the horse industry, so I welcome discourse with other horse people with various areas of personal and professional expertise and experience.
In that article in the Telegraph in which you were also quoted, it would appear that Sen. Larson is as misinformed as most Americans when it comes to the issue of horse slaughter and why we have excess horses. Either that, or he will be benefiting in some way from reopening processing plants for horses. Whenever I encounter people who are in favor of horse slaughter, it usually comes down to either of those two things regarding their position: they either don’t know what is really going on or they benefit in some way from horse slaughter. And to compare horses with other livestock is nonsense plain and simple. Cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, etc, are typically raised to go into the food chain to be consumed by Americans because we as a culture do eat those types of livestock and poultry. Now while I do have a 15 year old, 1500# pet steer that I bottle raised from less than a day old, I can tell you that if he wasn’t gentle, he would be impossible to keep around because he is still highly destructive to fences and other equipment, especially when he gets loose on the property. Bovines are not usually raised to be pets (and we also have him to eat moldy hay that I won’t feed to my horses). Either way however, the only reason we have excess numbers of horses in the US is because NO ONE seems to want to regulate the out-of-control mass production “foal mill” breeders, who individually produce hundreds of foals every year, to hopefully get that small handful of “shining stars” who can go on to win in reining, cutting, reined cow horse, hunter, etc, futurities, and also racing, etc. The rest are discarded at the kill sales, where they are bought by the pound and shipped to slaughter. Then there is also the area of the horse industry who start long yearlings-early- 2-year-olds in heavy, hard training in order to get them ready for the 2 and 3 year old big $$$ futurities and for racing. Many of these horses get crippled up during training, and maybe are too broken down by 3, 4 or 5 years old to be good for anything except for breeding (perpetuating the problem) if they are well bred enough, (and it is a death sentence for a gelding who is crippled because they can’t even be bred), and the rest go to kill sales.
The bottom line is that these breeders, trainers and owners do NOT want to pay to humanely euthanize and dispose of the horses body (which is expensive), so horse slaughter allows them to keep operating irresponsibly and not have to pay for their excesses and bad training practices that cripple horses at a young age. Its a racket, and we as taxpayers are forced to pay for these callous, irresponsible people to operate their businesses at the expense of the horses paying with their lives with a horrible death. Why don’t our Senators, Legislators, and other Representatives, support legislation, or introduce a Bill, to establish a quota of foals to be produced by these mass production breeders, and if they go over their quota, they get taxed for each foal over the quota, and/or pay a fine? Going further, why don’t these Reps also require these breeders to microchip each and every foal they produce and if a horse they produced ends up at a kill sale and goes to slaughter before the age of 5 years old, they will be taxed and/or fined?
Anyone involved in the horse industry in a serious way, and who doesn’t benefit from horse slaughter in any way (such as myself), knows that it is NOT your typical backyard horse owner or backyard breeder who is flooding the market with excess horses. It is the mass production breeders, and the areas of the horse industry who start horses too young, too hard and cripple them by the age of 3, 4 or 5 years old, so if you smack them in the wallet and it actually costs them to humanely euthanize their excess horses they produce and/or cripple and also pay to dispose of their bodies, believe me, you will see a lot of these greedy shmucks police themselves and reduce their excesses, because once it costs them money, that is the only way they will stop, or reduce, their bad behavior. Its like dealing with children: you have to teach them that there are consequences for their bad behavior. Some of these people who have a hole in their chest where their heart should be go on and on about how much it costs to keep a horse annually, pay for training (which most backyard horse owners don’t do), etc, but when I attend the kill sale in Fallon, Nevada to perhaps rescue another horse (I currently have 35 horses and 3 burros), what I usually see are young horses that were never started (and many aren’t even halter-broke) and are being disposed of because they didn’t make-the-cut regarding potential while being observed froliking in the pasture or pens, have “defects” where they aren’t perfect, are wash-outs from training programs where they didn’t show enough potential, broken down young horses with crippling injuries from being started too young, too hard, and broodmares (and some stallions) that were never broke to ride and have out-lived their usefulness or are rejects from a breeding program. And when these breeders who lack empathy and are always looking at their bottom line go on-and-on (if they are taxed and/or fined for going over on their foal quota) about the government infringing on their rights as personal property owners and how they should be able to do whatever they want with their horses without controls? I’ve got a newsflash for these folks: slaves (actual living, breathing people who were thought of by many to be animals) used to be personal property too, and just like with slaves, there are some of us who will never stop until we get lawmakers to do the right thing and stop your misbehavior through whatever means are necessary because unless forced, you will not act with common decency toward your “personal property” who happen to be living, breathing creatures who were unlucky enough to be born into your “care”. Further, all of the people who are so in favor of bringing back horse processing/slaughter to the US: since in-depth studies prove (and here’s the link to just one of many: http://www.animalstudies.msu.edu/Slaughterhouses_and_Increased_Crime_Rates.pdf) that there is a significant rise in crime rates in towns, cities and counties where slaughterhouses are located (and these are not just petty crimes, but are crimes such as rapes, homicides, assaults/battery, armed robbery, etc), I believe these people should be required to have to live nearby a slaughter facility, and if they have daughters and wives, guess they’ll have to hire fulltime body guards to make sure nothing bad happens to them. Then there is the issue of the wild horses and burros on BLM/public land, the reservation horses, the State horses, and the so-called “feral” horses, which is a whole ‘nother story, and one I can discuss with you if you’d like.
In closing, it would be nice if you did more research on what’s really going on related to you by those of us who are in the trenches everyday trying to stop these irresponsible “foal mill” mass production breeders from continuing to run rampant. However, perhaps you are a part of the group that does benefit in some way from horse slaughter so that is why you have the opinion that you do. If that is the case, perhaps when you’re interviewed for articles, you could give all of us your resume so that we can better judge what you have to say based on your background rather than having to take everything you say at face value.
Sincere Regards,
Laura Phelps-Bell
Starwood Farm
Dressage/Hunters/Western/Behavioral-Rehabilitation Training
http://www.starwoodfarm.com
Animal Waystation and The Starlight Sanctuary
http://www.animalwaystation.org
775-223-9620
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AWESOME MONIKA
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I can attest to the fact that slaughter plants do bring in those who cant do the very hard manual work thus end up unemployed in these towns. They then turn to crime (drug dealing, murder, theft/robbery, ect.) mostly Hispanic and Somalians (the pirates off the cost of Somalia).
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Slaughterhouse Sue is a cancer that permeates and destroys everything in her path. It is beyond me that ANYONE even listens to her. Tyson Larson has no business being in politics and, like you, RT, I am so pissed off with all of these mindless individuals who have no concept of what a horse represents. Sleepless nights have become a way of life for many of us fighting this fight, but I’m sure Wallis, Duquette and Larson sleep very well. After all, ignorance is bliss.
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For the folks here who have facebook, Julie Caramante, who is an animal cruelty investigator and is all too familiar with the texas horse slaughter plants, has created this site. Please join it. Thanks a bunch.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tyson-Larson-Americans-oppose-horse-slaughter/164055066977189?sk=wall#!/pages/Tyson-Larson-Americans-oppose-horse-slaughter/164055066977189?sk=wall&filter=1
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The horror of what these greedy monsters are planning to do to our wonderful companions is making me sick. If you read some of the profiles of these ‘politicians’ you’ll find that just about everyone of them use horses for their family businesses. They are passing these bills so they can directly make money off of the horses they own, and their friends own. Sue Wallis even had the nerve to gloat on her twitter page that she and the other ranchers are finally taking back their industry. ‘Their industry’! If that isn’t an admittance of using your position in office to line your own pocket then I don’t know what is. How can this be legal? We have to organize against them. We need to boycott the businesses in these states, especially new businesses that are thinking about operating in these states. These arrogant bastards have been raised to abuse animals. Their no better than the KKK, or Nazi’s. They brainwash their children, and desensitize them to abuse. Their way of life is so barbaric that it makes my skin crawl.
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in “boycotting business in these states” you also condemn the innocence in this issue to economic depression. Nebraska doesn’t have a high paying economy such as you find on the east or west coast or Texas. We survive on 8 to 12 dollars an hour, hunting for food and canning food from our gardens. If you must condemn anyone, then concentrate on the politicians and the businesses who profit from the slaughter of horses. Not a blanket boycott. That will cause people who have horses and love them in Nebraska and other states to have to sell them and they will end up in the very slaughter houses you are trying to keep them from.
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Excellent post, Nada. However, I’m not sure I’ve ever done business with any Nebraska companies anyway. If I were to though, I don’t think I would refuse to do business with a company that had absolutely nothing to do with politics or slaughter.
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To try to introduce a bill, to start a slaughterhouse for Horses, is unspeakeble!! It will be a BLACK mark on the map of the United States. Why not introducing a slaughter house for CHILDREN? Lives are Lives. Even to THINK, to kill those beautiful companions,is already a CRIME. , To have them taken away with and from their families, from the land what was given to them, . The wild Horsesares, who are part of the American History. No, its INSANE. The people, who are behind this all, should never have been born. They are the BAD SEEDS, who are bringing this country down. PLease, BECOME CIVILIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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These two should just go away, their rediculious ramblings are not only stupid , they are the ramblings of morons, they should return to the woodwork from where they came from, our Horses and Mustangs have enough problems that need to be dealt with immediately, they do not need distractions of this sort, Horse slaughter has been dealt with umteen times in the past , it is a dead issue for which no one in their right mind would condone…………………..or be a party to…………….
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I wish that I had had more support from Nebraskans when I went to testify against the bilsl on Feb. 8th. Not only was I the ONLY rescue speaking against this bill, but there were far less opponents, than proponents. The Humane Society of Nebraska, while eager to take any donations, and who supports a lobbyist refused to take a stand against this atrocity.
It is hard enough to stand against such a biased and uninformed committee, who didn’t want the answers, and be labeled “emotional” to boot with no support from other rescues. The fanantical bashing of the HSUS by the committee was shocking to say the least. Tyson Larson will not respond to any negative comments on these bills. We must continue to spread the word, as many Nebraskans have no idea what this bill really entails, the slaughter of our horses.
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I work at JBS Swift in Grand Island Ne. I worked on kill floor for 4 months. One day I was trimming the contamination off the hind quarters of a cow that had been stunned, hung from a chain, skinned to the belly, hind legs cut off at the hock and tail cut off. I noticed that everytime I cut with my knife the muscle contracted. The girl across from me made the sign of a beating heart and put her hands across her eyes meaning don’t look. I looked into the eyes of this poor animal in extreme pain and fear as someone was trying to sever her spine. It is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It happened to me 3 times in four months because the mexican who was responsible for slitting her jugular vein after being hung from the chain was to busy sharpening his knife or talking. Nothing was ever done. I moved over to fabrication. For those of you who condemn me for working at Swifts, I have very few options in this small town. And I have to pay my bills, feed my family, support the U.S. government, illegal and legal immigrants and foreign countries with my tax dollars and hope and pray I have enough to retire on, maybe. My point being is cattle slaughter is not perfect and at times downright cruel. So what makes horse slaughter any better. Nothing. Just that much more horrific to animals who were mostly hand raised by humans and treated in most part as family and mostly by economic reasons end up in slaughter houses. As for stopping the slaughter of horses, sadly all I can say is good luck. As long as there is financial gain, politicians and big business will do as they please, to hell with those who elected them. Just remember, all you are worth to our government is your taxes and votes, after that you are a liability. God help us and our horses.
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Nada, I don’t believe anyone here would blame you for doing what you had to do to keep body and soul together. Also, I don’t think we are naive enough to believe that the slaughter of cattle ALWAYS comes off without a hitch. It’s just that, because of the vast differences between cattle and horses – both physical and emotional – the horrific situation you described is more the norm than the exception.
You are also correct about slaughter being such a terrible betrayal of a creature that has been bred and taught to trust people. And, the fact is that most of the time, the owners did not intend for their horses end up at slaughter plants. Slaughter buyers have no hesitation to lie to a seller about the wonderful home they plan to give their horse. Many, many horses are also outright stolen. This is the part that I know far better than I would prefer. Then, with horses, there is also the problem of drug residues which most pro-slaughter activists remain totally silent about. Hopefully the European Union – where most of our slaughtered horses are taken – will just stop accepting American horses completely as Belgium has already.
Like you, I don’t expect much help from our government. They’ve had years to pass anti-slaughter bills and so far all they’ve done is allow the bills to die in committee.
Take care of yourself.
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