WALDROP’S WAFFLE
National Thoroughbred Racing Association CEO Alex Waldrop said his organization neither opposes nor supports a U.S. House of Representatives bill that would criminalize transportation of horses with the intention they be slaughtered for human consumption. A letter from Waldrop expressing the NTRA’s neutrality was entered into the record on Wednesday by Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) during a markup hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on H.B. 6598, known as the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008.
The bill, introduced in July, is sponsored by Democratic Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers of Michigan and 11 other House members.
In his letter to Congress, Waldrop said the NTRA supported 2003 anti-slaughter legislation, which failed to pass. He did not reference support or opposition to current legislation before the House (H.B. 103) and Senate (S.B. 311) that would prohibit slaughter and transportation to slaughter plants.
Those bills will prohibit slaughter, while H.R. 6598 criminalizes transportation of horses to slaughter plants for human consumption by amending federal criminal law and calling for fines and imprisonment. There currently are no slaughter plants operating in the U.S., the two in Texas having been shut down by a court ruling and a plant in Illinois shuttered after a state law was passed. There has been an increase in the number of horses being transported across the borders into Canada and Mexico, however, and this law provides enforcement for federal officials to end that. Horses confiscated would be under the jusisdiction of the attorney general, who, according to the bill, “shall provide for the humane placement or other humane disposition of any horse seized.”
Waldrop’s difficulty in supporting or opposing the bill stems from the makeup of the NTRA membership, which is funded in part by organizations such as the American Quarter Horse Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners, which have opposed anti-slaughter legislation.
Passage of the bills seems a longshot with time running out during the current session of Congress.
Following is the text of Waldrop’s letter, citing the NTRA’s neutrality and concerns with the bill:
It has come to my attention that the House Judiciary Committee plans to mark up H.R. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008. As you may know, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has previously supported another bill to ban the slaughter of horses, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 857), introduced in 2003.
We are now examining H.R. 6598, but have reached no decision as to whether we would support or oppose this legislation. After an initial review, we have some concerns with the bill and potential unintended consequences, notably that:
- The bill would require the Attorney General to provide for the humane placement or other humane disposition of any horse seized in connection with an offense under this section. As an organization deeply involved in the care of horses every day, we have concern that this requirement (for the Department of Justice, with no known capacity to care for seized horses) could result in improper treatment.
- Simply adding criminal penalties – while not providing procedural guidelines or funding for the care and treatment of abandoned horses – will likely only exacerbate the situation. While supporters of this bill might believe that adding criminal penalties would cure the problem, it could easily make it worse.
These are but a few of the questions that we and our members are examining.
With all due respect, I believe that prior legislation dealt with this issue in a more comprehensive way, was designed to address some of the possible unintended consequences that we find troubling, and was on the whole better legislation for horses and horse owners. We continue to examine this legislation but these concerns remain.
Finally, several anti-slaughter advocacy groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and Animal Welfare Institute, listed the NTRA as supporters of this legislation before consulting us. We trust that they, and any other third party with whom you may have spoken relative to the NTRA’s position, have clarified that they claimed our endorsement before discussing our concerns with them. Our association takes no position on this bill at this time.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Alex Waldrop
President and CEO
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
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Tags: aaep, alex waldrop, american association of equine practitioners, american quarter horse association, animal welfare, anti-slaughter legislation, aqha, bob goodlatte, congress, h.b. 103, h.r. 6598, horse slaughter, Horse Slaughter, john conyers, judiciary committee, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, prevention of equine cruelty act, s.b. 311, u.s. house of representatives, u.s. senate, unwanted horse coalition, unwanted horses
September 18th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Well this is very dishearting. What does it take to stop this inhumane treatment of our horses. The NTRA needs a lot of work still.
September 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Wow, this is the same story I get from the Veterinarians in my area. NO BACK BONE. I say to the breeders: If you can’t provide for the horses, DON’T BREED THEM. Especially now with the high prices of hay and the drought in the southeast. Thank the Lord for the Horse Rescue Efforts in our country. They are overwhelmed, but they still manage to care for the horses they save from being abused and slaughted. If someone truly cannot care for their horse, PLEASE contact the United States Equine Rescue League at : http://www.userl.org/ and they can help you find a solution. PLEASE, Horses ARE God’s Greatest Creation. Let’s do our part and protect them!
September 18th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Waldrop was talking out of the other side of his mouth in a recent NTRA blog posting, in which he claimed that safe retirement for Thoroughbreds was one of his top priorties. Moreover, his point makes no sense. So what if the DOJ isn’t ready to care for seized horses? At worst, they will probably end up euthanizing them, which is a lot better than what is happening now. Horses seized by the DOJ can hardly receive worse treatment than inhumane transport and brutal death that currently awaits them.
September 18th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Again, the inept talent of the U.S. government and some of its citizens trying to legislate what people can eat. They haven’t done a very good job of legislating against, and enforcing laws against shady business practices, what makes you think the government should turn over the care of unwanted horses to its AG? They cannot even deal with unwanted illegal aliens! I suppose the next piece of legislation will be to ban the transportation of cattle, fish, and chickens for human consumption? I say ‘no’ to inhumane treatment of any living creature, but ‘yes’ to those people that include horsemeat in their diet.
Your mileage may vary.
September 18th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Even worse, the NTRA flipped only two days after the passing of the racing industries true horse advocates John Hettinger. The NTRA has finally showed their true colors with this letter. Guess where their excuses came from - the horse slaughter lobby. Clearly Alex never read the bill or knew the issue. If he had he would realize the DOJ is better suited to deal with this. They enforce our nations laws and often deal with large scale animal seizures. Have you all heard of the Vick dog fighting case? That was DOJ, not the USDA. The USDA brought us the Hallmark slaughterhouse abuse and daily food safety problems.
The NTRA has enjoyed positive press for being opposed to slaughter, but that will all change.
Wake up Alex. Stand up for the horses, not your big salery!
September 18th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I am incensed. but I should have known. i made repeated requests for a meeting with the NTRA last fall regarding their work on the horse slaughter issue, when I was working at the Keeneland meet. those requests were simply ignored.
without horses we have no SPORT! don’t let our stars down like this.
September 18th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
These things are sometimes more complicated than they appear. The NTRA may oppose the slaughter of Thoroughbreds but has not taken a position on other breeds. Or perhaps the NTRA’s friends in Congress who help pass legislation favorable to owners and sales companies are not fans of this bill?
September 18th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Ver, very sad and dissapointing…
September 18th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Edmund, I am sure you are right. Doing the right thing may well be more complicated that we know. However that should not stop us from doing the right thing. Simply put, the NTRA needs to show it supports it’s stars. This “position” undermines the efforts put forth to end horse slaughter, and their timing could not be worse.
September 18th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Perhaps you need to follow the individual and pac contributions of some, including Alex Waldrop, to Capitol Hill, and there you will see that the opposition may not be to the bill, but the political affiliation of its sponsors. The NTRA does not serve a sport, it serves an industry, and has hereby shown it is a useless voice except to lobby for tax incentives and tax codes for horse owners. It is, and always has been, a racing entity in name only, and nothing more than a lobbying arm for the “industry,” which already has TOBA, Throughbred Owners and Breeders Association. You can’t trust The Industry when THEY are the problem with overbreeding and unwanted horses.
September 18th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
As a long time fan of horse racing,I was encouraged by all the reforms the NTRA has been
vocal about enforcing,and or examining.They want to broaden the fan appeal that has been
decreasing since Barbaro and Eight Bells,and they have been telling us they are all about the horse.Looking at synthetic surfaces,lighter whips,and on and on.
So I am confused and feel betrayed.
They do not want breakdowns on National TV,or excessive whipping,because they care about the horse.And yet they are neutral on the absolute horror that their stars face,when shipped to slaughter.
Sorry,do not buy it.These horses deserve better.Mr Waldrop,you are a disgrace to the race horses you claim to care for.Very sad.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I too was cautiously optimistic about some of the things Mr. Waldrop was recently saying about the NTRA and their role. I say cautiously because there always seemed to be subtle hedging on how to improve things without “offending” various stakeholders. Perhaps it is time some people were offended. I realize it’s not simple, and I realize money talks. But it is ironic if the long term and overall welfare of horses is not of paramount importance to everyone supported by this sport and industry.
It is very discouraging that the NTRA will not stand up and be counted for this bill. It seems a travesty that one of the very organizations which should be leading the efforts against slaughter is basically abdicating responsibiity. Sorry, I don’t buy the explanation either.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
This is a disgrace. I hope Alex will encourage the visitors to his site to write Waldrop along with their representatives in Congress and express their disgust with his position, or lack thereof.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
In 2003, the film Seabiscuit premiered. This inspiring movie created an upsurge in racing popularity. Would the upsurge in racing popularity because of the Seabiscuit movie prove to be long term? In 2008, Alex Waldrop, National Thoroughbred Racing Association CEO, disappoints antislaughter racing fans. The question has been answered. NO!
September 18th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
NTRA has shown it is about the money, not the horse, in its cop-out on slaughter. Not supporting a ban on slaughter now is the moral equivalent of supporting it, as Mr. Waldrop well knows.
Let’s run some numbers: Some 37% of TB race horses are now being dumped at slaughter. 36% (Gallup Poll) of Americans say horse RACING is inhumane and should be banned. (Maybe those 37% of race horses and 36% of voters could get together?)
The worst number of all: Upwards of 80% of horses “stunned” at the slaughter house wake up 30 seconds after the stun, before they are “processed.” (USDA veterianrian testimony, other grim first hand accounts) I don’t get why putting and end to that much deliberate cruelty could ever be a mistake.
Racing is losing fans at an increasing speed. Never mind the drugs; If the NTRA doesn’t step up to the plate now and take the moral high ground against slaughtering over a third of its equine athletes while the unlucky animals are awake and sentient, just to make a few last bucks off them, it will surely lose a lot more.
With the democratic power of the internet, it’s not business as usual behind closed doors: the gaming revenues currently subsidizing horse racing might look pretty good to overburdened property tax payors one of these days … especially with some 90% of Americans wanting to ban the cruel and uneccesary slaughter of American horses to feed wealthy foreign diners.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I, too, am disheartened and disappointed in the split personality that Mr. Waldrop is exhibiting with his latest stance. How can the NTRA be taken seriously about all their advertised improvements for horse racing when it will not publicly take a stand in favor of this legislation. NTRA is all about the money…and so is horse slaughter.
September 19th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Well, I knew it was “too good to be true”. NTRA doing what is best for the HORSE? Not now, NOT EVER. As somebody else mentioned, the only real function of the NTRA is to lobby Washington for more tax incentives. Maybe Alex is working on an additional tax break for owners that send their horses to slaughter….after all thats a terrible business loss, isn’t it Alex? Better get on it!!!!
I’m very glad that I have NEVER supported the NTRA with a penny.
September 19th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Ray, I submitted the following in response to the Waldrop blog, but thus far they have not posted it. I thought I’d share it here as well.
“The NTRA as an organization still opposes the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Nonetheless, the NTRA cannot in good conscience support H.R. 6598 as currently drafted because it is an unfunded mandate that puts seized horses in the hands of the Attorney General and not in the hands of those who know how to care for horses.”
Mr. Waldrop, with all due respect, the reason you’ve given for not supporting HR 6598 is nothing less than a pure load of horse manure. HR 6598 is not unfunded, nor does mandating that seized horses be remanded to the jurisdiction of the Attorney General in any way give cause for concern with regard to the welfare of seized horses. Need one remind you that it was under the same act (Title 18) that not only did the Attorney General/Justice Department seize and administer the proper care and subsequent rehabilitation of the pit-bull seized during the raid on Michael Vick’s dog fighting operation, but it was also the very same government agencies that were successful in obtaining millions of dollars from Vick in order to facilitate the proper care, rehabilitation, and rehoming of Vick’s canine victims.
That you would purport such ridiculousness as the reason “du jour” for NTRA’s lack of commitment in helping to end the slaughter of American horses, clearly indicates that the NTRA really doesn’t support a ban on horse slaughter afterall. One is either for horse slaughter, or against it. There is NO middle ground here.
That the NTRA is feigning some sort of concern for the welfare of horses that might potentially be seized should HR 6598 become law, is the epitome of hypocrisy when one considers the very REAL and ongoing suffering currently endured by hundreds of Thoroughbreds each and every week as this heinous practice of slaughtering horses is allowed to continue. What about the horses standing in the kill pens today at Sugarcreek and Shipshewana? What about the Thoroughbreds who as we debate this issue are RIGHT NOW standing in a kill pen with fractured legs incurred during their last race? Is it not these horses that should be of the utmost concern for the NTRA?
As a Thoroughbred owner and trainer for over 25 years, I am disgusted by the continued lack of leadership on the part of the NTRA and Jockey Club when it comes to implementing policies to better safeguard the safety and well being of our horses both during their career at the track and beyond. I am further disgusted by the lack of effort on the part of the industry to travel a path that will lead toward a solid future for our sport. Just how long does the NTRA think that horse racing fans are going to tolerate the continued abuse and slaughter of our equine stars before they finally walk out the door forever?
Perhaps its time for NEW leadership? Leadership that will finally put the welfare of the horses and the integrity of the sport to the forefront. For decades we have needed to rid our sport of gyp trainers, gyp, racetracks, and gyp leadership. Many tracks have already come to this realization and are taking positive and proactive steps to implement change. They are banning the gyps that send their horses to slaughter, and implementing programs to properly and humanely retire Thoroughbreds. NTRA’s action in not supporting this essential protective legislation for our horses is a sound kick in the gut to everyone in the industry who is working their tail off to do the right thing. Shame on you, NTRA. Once again you have failed us.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Waldrop’s letter is the epitomy of betrayal. This industry makes millions on the backs and sweat of these equine athletes. Worse, the NTRA has, for years, received the goodwll of the racing world and those who care about what happens to Thoroughbreds by backing anti-slaughter legislation. NOW, when horse racing has the worst reputation ever in the wake of expose’s that show what reallly happens to TB’s whose no longer are “usable” for racing, comes this complete flip-flop. In this spectator sport, many refuse to watch or be affilated with it in anymore as of late. Wake up NTRA!
How about the words “honor and integrity” Alex Waldrop? Take care of your own! NTRA is the last group I would expect to see turn their backs on the TB’s. NTRA needs a new set of leaders who will use their heads as well as their moral compass. Clearly, they don’t have that now.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Once again, the attitude of “let’s just sit on the fence” by NTRA and other organizations such as the Jockey Club, etc. Horses are paying everyday with their lives because of the inaction of people like Alex Waldrop and others. Words do not mean anything, it is action that counts. The racing industry has always turned a blind eye to the plight of thoroughbred horses when they cannot race anymore and it is absolutely no longer acceptable. Hey, Alex and Dan and all you other non participants do you even know how a horse is slaughtered? They should all be ashamed. I think Alex Waldrop, Dan Fick from the Jockey Club and many others need to visit the slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada and see what happens to these horses and then tell us what their positions are on this bill. I have no doubt that they would support the bill then.
The Thoroughbred racing industry is a multi billion dollar industry nationwide and we have advocated for the horse’s to receive a small percentage of the purse money to help with their retirement and welfare when they can no longer race. It is only right that the horses receive this revenue and that it is implemented immediately on a national scale. The industry always seems to find money for more drug research, etc.. The industries priorities need to change….
September 20th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Mr. Waldrop, when these horses are no longer money-makers, when they’ve done everything asked of them, and when they need your support the most - well, there is one word that comes to mind - TRAITOR
September 20th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
This is not only sad, but disgusting. John Hettinger would have felt the same. The integrity of this sport died along with him. I thought the NTRA was trying to take responsibility by taking standing up to ensure these horses would not be inhumanely slaughtered. Alex Waldrop’s letter proves otherwise. It’s a betrayal to the horses of this sport and to the American public. A previous commentor was right - Alex Waldrop is a traitor.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
They say that money is the root of all evil, and here is a prime example!
Humane treatment of horses should always take priority over tax incentives and funding from pro-slaughter groups like the AQHA.
The racing industry has suffered greatly in the PR department lately. The lack of compassion and concern shown for the very horses that line your pockets will further inflame the public. Racing fans will continue to turn their backs on the tracks.
Get off the fence and make a decision, Mr. Waldrop. Stand up for what is right. You can’t have it both ways.
America is watching.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I too submitted a comment to Mr. Waldrop, don’t know if it is/will be posted. It ended with the words, “Shame on you!”
This is indeed one of those situations where “you’re either with us or against us.” If you do not SUPPORT the bill (HR 6598) then you are in effect against it.
Reminds me of that great old Labor Song from the 30’s - “Which Side Are You On?”
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Blair.
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
It’s painfully clear which side Waldrop is on . . .
September 20th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I smell a rat! Funny how the largest organization AGAINST horse slaughter SUDDENLY turns the other way and comes up with some ridiculous reason for not supporting the current legislation. I think what we have here folks is the old trick of ‘Say what you want them to hear, but do what you want to do.’ —
I am saddened to hear this from the NTRA as I honestly felt they would be the group to usher in the end of horse slaughter for human consumption in the U.S. — Obviously something infiltrated their thinking. Gee, I wonder who that could have been! Hmmm —
September 20th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
When it comes to paying enormous stud fees horse racing people have all the money in the world. They’ll pay $100,000 or $300,000, or whatever. When it comes to buying yearlings horse racing people have all the money in the world. $200,000 and up is not uncommon, it’s pretty standard practice, and many of the yearlings sell for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
But when it comes to retiring horses suddenly the money pool dries up. And how much does it cost per year to board a horse? $7,500? I don’t know. Is that too high? I think you can probably do it for less.
I guess the mentality in the horse racing world is, “I will spend $300,000 on a stud fee, or $1 million on a yearling because I MIGHT win the Kentucky Derby. And if the horse is no good, I’ll just kill it.” Some of the pro-slaughter people say that if you are against slaughter that YOU should have to step in and care for all the “unwanted” horses. Oh really? So it’s now the responsibility of those who are against slaughter, those who do not own these horses, to take care of these horses, and it’s not the owner’s responsibility anymore? There’s no sense of logic in that, and there’s no decency or humanity about it either. I guess to a great many people involved in the horse racing world a racehorse is simply a commodity, something to be used up and then discarded, if it has no breeding value.
I understand the people who say “But it’s expensive to care for a horse when it retires.” Yes, it’s expensive, you’re right. It’s also expensive and tiresome for me to be taking care of my elderly dad, but I do it. I think that if it’s so “expensive” for you to take care of your horses, and you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t be in the horse business. How come the pro-slaughter crowd has enough money to pay huge stud fees and buy expensive yearlings, though? Stud fees are ridiculously high. Yearling prices are absurd. And then, at the end of the road, thousands of horses end up dead, stacked on top of each other outside the slaughterhouse. It’s not the horse’s fault that the false dreams you heaped upon him were not realized, it’s your fault. I guess it comes down to the simple fact that too many people believe in “using” horses (and other people, for that matter) until they’re used up, and consider money to be the only important thing in the world.
Money isn’t the most important thing in the world.
September 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
The NTRA does not GET IT! They give some “lame” excuse why they will not support HR 6598 while thousands of horses are sent to slaughter every year!
Maybe this is just a really bad nightmare. Someone wake me up and tell me it was all a big mistake and the NTRA does really care about the welfare of our equine athletes!
September 20th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Alex Waldrop made a very interesting comment to representatives in Washington. He stated
“As an organization deeply involved in the care of horses every day, we have concern that this requirement (for the Department of Justice, with no known capacity to care for seized horses) could result in improper treatment. ”
Isn’t it interesting that the NTRA would be concerned about the treatment of confiscated horses being sent to slaughter, yet the NTRA apparently has NO concerns about the improper and abusive treatment that our thoroughbreds endure week after week at the hands of the kill buyers and kill auctions.
Every week thoroughbreds are herded through kill auctions, beaten by auction employees who delight in inflicting terror and suffering on these cast offs. Our thoroughbreds endure days without water or food, they are subjected to freezing tempertures in the winter and brutal heat in the summer. They are herded into stock trailers like cattle, they are shipped from state to state WITHOUT the proper health papers required by federal and state laws, and they are often sold to slaughter with injuries that compromise their ability to stand much less travel. And all of the above violations are done with the full knowledge of the USDA and the auction veterinarians who are supposed to protect these animals from abuse and suffering. Alex Waldrop needs to take off his business suit and stuffed shirt and take a walk into the depths of the living hell that is the horse slaughter venue. Alex Waldrop needs to see the inhumanity of man for himself, and look each and every racehorse earmarked for slaughter in the eye, and touch their faces for the last time before they are loaded up and shipped to slaughter, and then he can climb back up on his soapbox and tell the American public that he has “concerns” about anti horse slaughter legislation.
September 21st, 2008 at 11:51 am
This disgusts me that the people who make so much money off the horses backs cannot support them in their retirement or at the very least make an effort to find them a new home or career. Use them, abuse them and throw them away seems to be the motto of the NTRA and for that reason I will NEVER support a pro slaughter organization. Find your money elsewhere but not with me or any of mine. Alex Waldrop, you are a disgrace to horse racing and a traitor to the horses that create your salary. You should be ashamed and you definitely need to find another job because your interest is NOT with the horses but with the money trail that leads to pro slaughter. The racing industry is dying and with the knowledge of this act of betrayal, it is destined to perish. John Hettinger, Nick Zito and Richard Fields at Suffolk Downs are Gods in my eyes. The rest of you are at the other end of the scale. Shame on you and your kind. Remember, what goes around, comes around!
September 21st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Alex you are so full of horse manure with your “concerns about the bill.” If you cared anything about the horses you would do like good Sam Elliott did and simply FORBID your members from sending racehorses to slaughter…..you dont need no freekin’ bill to do that. What are you waiting for?
September 21st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
has anybody else noted that 90% of the people posting here are WOMEN?? Maybe if there were more women in positions of power in this industry there would be hope for the horses, but that’ll NEVER happen.
September 21st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
How deplorable of the NTRA! Why don’t you and your board hold a few uannounced meetings in the loose pens or kill pens at known slaughter auctions counting the injured Thoroughbred racehorses going to slaughter and maybe then you will finally understand that the horses of “horse” racing need the Conyors’ bill passed immediately!
Without a doubt, the NTRA has just proven that the racing industry needs independent oversight by Congress to assure the welfare of its horses.
And by the way, per your radio interview a couple months ago with Keith Dane of the HSUS and Bill Rhoden of the NYT, racing commissions are NOT independent as you stated. They are paid by the state from the millions of dollars in tax revenues made from the number of wagers on the backs and broken legs of the horses they keep sending to race without prerace day lameness examinations. The same horses that then end up in these auctions, painfully limping onto slaughter trailers to die in a slaughterhouse if they do not die during the transport. You’re excuse for not supporting the Conyer’s bill is pathetic.
September 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I cannot believe that an organization such as yours would not support any legislation to help make the lives of the horses better. It seems to me that as usual it is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. I work as a humane investigator and can tell you that I know first hand about the abuse of horses, so why do you want to make it worse? Linda Headley
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
As all the above comments show, the majority of Americans want horse owners and breeders to take responibility for there horses and not discard them like trash. These animals suffer daily right now at auction houses, feedlots, & trailers on there way to Mexico or Canada. Its time to take responibllity for what we help create.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 am
Everyone comes up with excuses about not saving theses horses.Cause they don’t want to spend there time or money on them;after all these horses give;they should get better treatment in return.Our governor listen a little to the people of american and close the slaughter house in the usa.Thank GOD for that.Now our governor has the power to stop horses being ship mexcio and canada;and the question is do they want to stop it.God put all of use here for a reason including the american horses.Our governor should stop all breedings until all the horses we have can find a home.Its not like there not enough horses to go around.When people are caught breeding they should have to paid a fine.This fine could be use to feed and care for the horses until place in a home.Yes it will probably make the breeding made;but so what.Why? breed when we all know that there’s more horses now than homes.No horse is just a horse;cause my horse is my friend.
Save all the american horses.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:51 am
[...] letter (shown below) seemed to trump an earlier letter by NTRA president Alex Waldrop, which said the NTRA had “concerns with the bill and potential unintended [...]
October 8th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
[...] position statement, read into the record by Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, outraged a number of prominent [...]
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
You think it’s in an owners best interest to treat a horse badly that’s worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? Is that logical? I heard a horse racing analyst on ESPN state that in almost every situation the horses are treated better than the trainers. They are pampered and treated like royalty. Hmm, I guess maybe I’d like to sign up for this type of horrible suffering.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:25 am
In reply to Gail Meyer, and others. Of course it’s appropriate to legislate what people eat. For example, cannibalism (people eating people) and eating dogs and cats are illegal in the US. Nick, you need to read the evidence about race horses and slaughter. Two KY Derby winners were slaughtered for human consumption, and horses by expensive sires, including Dynaformer, who sired Barbaro and stands for $150,000, have been pulled from slaughter auctions. Happens all the time.
Horses are not raised as food and the cultural taboo against humans eating horse was there long before you and I were born. That’s why horses can - and do - receive medications banned for animals intended for human consumption - medications that are known carcinogens.
The Freedom of Information Act investigation just released by Animal Angels proved beyond any doubt (with evidence obtained from the USDA itself) that horses slaughtered in US plants suffered shameful and unneccessary cruelty.
USDA veterinarians have testified that some 80% of horses slaughtered in the US - under USDA supervision - woke up about 90 seconds after ’stunning’ to experience dismemberment alive and sentient, in some cases only expiring by drowning in their own blood on the kill floor.
With all the evidence, nobody except a fool or a sadist could argue horse slaugher is humane or morally acceptable. Why are we still having this discussion? Because paid lobbyists, working for foreign slaughter interests, have controlled the US Senate (up till now) and some eejits believe horse slaughter lobby spin that stopping the cruel slaughter of horses will lead to the banning of other meat sources. That makes as much sense as the Domino Theory that kept our kids dying in the Viet Nam War years after it was an obvious mistake. In both cases, corporate profits were at the root of the lies.
As long as some powers that be, including the NTRA, waffle on horse slaughter, fans will continue to leave the sport much as they did after the death of Eight Belles.
Racing has a public image problem. Responsible ownership, including retirement and retraining, are key to fixing that. Kudos to tracks that are enforcing their zero-tolerance policies for slaughter, and trainers who insist their vets and other workers sign no-slaughter agreements. It’s a step in the right direction.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Horse Racing Online…
Personally I won\’t bet on 8yo or older horses on the Flat other than in exceptional cases….