The plants in Mexico owned Beltex so it was only common sinse that there slaughter production increased. The false stories are that the pro slaughter call us emotional peta people that created the problems. Yet it was the Texas Cattle Raisers Association that was getting paid $3.00 per head slaughtered in Texas. Seems the livestock industry is having a hard time selling beef to foreigners because of there E.coli problems in the states. Not to mention the inhumane handling of a california processing plant that was exposed.

Fact is slaughter exports are only raising because the lost of one plant in Canada called Natural Valley which was shut down by Canadain Officals for many violations and the newly adopted program of Passports on horses in Europe. As stated in this article from france.. http://equinerescuefrance.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/facts-about-the-horse-meat-trade-in-france/

Slaughter will NOT make irresponsible people responsible it will only reward and promote abuse and neglect. IF the AVMA and the AAEP really cared about horses and lived up to there Oaths they would at lease be neutral on our horse bills HR503 and S727

Instead they turn the head and allow horses to be collected at auctions in bad conditions because the wrong people have them for trading commodities and NOT responsible obligations. Then traded with killer buyers for profits and hauled to feedlots which by the way there are allowed to haul horses with out coggins or health papers as we responsible people are subject too.

Just recently a horse was dump on the side of the road and officals recovered the horse and had notice the brand marking had been removed. This clearly shows these are criminals with bad intentions not caring for the horse or anyone that may have an accident with there vehicles or that they proved they did not want to be caught for there crimes.
http://www.dailysentinel.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Abandoned_Horse_Cruelty.html

Survey participants, listen up. An aggravation of the so called “unwanted horse” problem cannot be “caused” in any way by the absence of processing facilities in the United States. Since the closures of the last such facilities, in Texas and Illinois, USDA statistics show that more American horses have been shipped to and processed in Mexico and Canada on an annualized basis than were being processed in all three countries prior to those closures. Clearly, if an owner chooses to “un-want” his or her horse, whether racing stock or other, slaughter is the option for disposal that it always has been - and more.

Perhaps Mr. Lenz and the UHC should worry, by the unhappy and confusing confrontation of their survey participants’ conclusions with actual USDA data - a period of more “unwanted” horses corresponds to a period of more slaughtered horses - that the establishment of new processing facilities in the United States will “cause” an increase in the “unwanted” horse population? But, since I read the UHC’s literature to almost define an “unwanted” horse as one that is slaughtered, that might be a natural conclusion to draw.

Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue, like Tranquility Farm, also was not asked to participate in the UHC survey.

As I have said on different posts, equines are not raised as a meat animal for human consumption in the US. Therefore they are not managed as a food source with regard to handling, medication and production records for same by the USDA and FDA. In other words, dangerous meat for humans to consume on top of the cruel death for equines.

Joe:
Depends on the State HBPA…nationally speaking, I don’t know. Some are trying; some don’t give a damn.

Keep up the good work KyEHC and thanks.

Is the HBPA against horse-slaughter? Should I even ask?

but then you have to create the space and people to take them on in that role

more infastrucuture is easy and that can happen quickly but we would need lots more land and people which may not be easy task to create

The “survey” from the Unwanted Horse Coalition, in which Tranquility Farm did not participate even though we are the largest TB adoption organization in the western US, was from first reading a not too cleverly disguised rationale for resuming horse slaughter in the US. “Processing” has no place at the table when valid discussions take place between legitimate welfare organizations on solving the unwanted horse crisis.

There are 10 million equines in the US, with about 120,000 being exported for slaughter each year. Close to ninety-nine percent of the horse population in this country dies of natural causes or is euthanized by a veterinarian. Somehow responsible horse owners manage to afford the cost and have avoided a environmental damage with their disposal.

The Thoroughbred industry is just now awakening to their responsibility for creating approximately 20% of the unwanted horse problem, and should have taken action long ago before it came to a humane and public relations crisis. But it didn’t, and today underfunded and stressed organizations all over the country are struggling to deal with the fallout.

There is a simple solution for removing retiring racehorses from the unwanted horse population. Change the rules of the game to make it impossible for an owner to simply walk away from an injured horse and tell the trainer to get rid of it like so much trash. Countless horses could be diverted from slaughter if owners were required to leave a deposit in the racing office at every track where they run to cover costs in case their horse is injured and needs to be donated to a non- profit. There are retirement organizations all over the country standing by helplessly when horse are injured and no longer wanted by their owners because they do not have the resources to accept them into their programs.

This situation is a disgrace to the industry and could be rectified with the slightest amount of forethought and contingency planning. We know that every horse in training will some day become non-competitive, and we know the vast majority of these will be unwanted by their owners at that time. Let’s quit making study groups and deal with it. Horses are dying.

Under strict guidelines, what is preventing tracks nationwide from adopting such a practice? After the finish line is where this industry fails in the litmus test in the court of public opinion. And having task forces go over the same issues time after time after time after time is not going to sway anyone outside a segment of individuals within the industry who believe it’s 1969…not 2009.