Tiny Missouri community welcomes horse slaughterhouse

by | 06.16.2012 | 4:11pm
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A horse slaughtering plant that was rejected by one Missouri community was welcomed by another whose economy was devastated when a beef packing plant was closed over a year ago.

Residents of tiny Rockville expressed delight that their community about 100 miles south of Kansas City could soon be home to the first slaughterhouse for horses to operate in the U.S. since 2007. Nearly half of the town’s 150 residents packed a City Council meeting Wednesday in support of the proposed plant and the more than 50 jobs it could bring.

“The town is all for it,” Rockville Mayor Dave Moore told the Kansas City Star. “I think it’s great.”

» Read more at NECN
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  • Figless

    yikes

  • JC

    “Residents of Rockville say they just want a way to make an honest living.”

    I can think of a lot better things to do.  Not to mention, another good reason for me to be mainly a lacto-ovo vegetarian.  I don’t agree with horses treated as livestock, because the majority of them are not raised as livestock, and there is a huge difference in sending your pets or money-makers off to slaughter.  But I don’t like the way the livestock are treated, either.  I believe it was Mary Tyler Moore who had a point–”If it has a face, I really don’t want to eat it”.  I understand and agree with that more every day. 

  • ttowntony

    I just dont see how people can call themselves humans, who kill horses in this horrible, cruel fashion. Makes me sick to think about…hey Ray, please dont post anymore slaughterhouse articles…please???

  • Dzpendragon

    I’LL never set my foot in that town or state!!!!!!!Well we can thank Pres Obama for making it legal again.DOn’t get me goin on this horriable subject.

  • Breezetowin

    WHERE IS PETA, NOW ???????

  • ziggypop

     Oh no!!! This is so bad.

  • Convene

    Funny how people honor human heroes in their history but quickly forget that nothing could have been accomplished without the HORSE! Wherever you find a footprint in history, you will find a hoof-print beside it. So we honor these vital parts of our journey to “civilization” how? By slaughtering it! Don’t it make you proud to be human!

  • http://Bellwether4u.com James Staples

    jobs r no jobs this is a NATIONAL DISGRACE to treat a NATIONAL TREASURE n this manner…PERIOD…ty…

  • giftoffaith

    How in the world can a town be all for a slaughterhouse that kills horses. How can a decent human being think “it’s great”?
    I’m so disheartened by this and hope PETA, the Humane Society of the US, and all other groups descend on the place in force.
    I am so disgusted by this I can’t put it into words. All of the wonderful horses who will die there in that horrible way, is sickening.
    What kind of town can be happy about that?
    Oh yea, and, thanks Mr. President.

  • http://www.facebook.com/SusanKayne Susan Kayne

    Tragic. A ban should be placed on breeding until a clear and humane plan is in place to manage the horses this country already has….each was “wanted” when it was bred, when it performed…and now this. As long as one horse is being slaughtered, one too many is being bred. Susan Kayne

  • Carrie

    so you are saying that horses just should not exist because there is horse slaughter? Do you have any idea how many non rideable horses are in the population? ony 2% of the horses to slaughter houses are Thoroughbreds.   The Amish dump all their used up work horses in the slaughter sales.  What about dogs? Cats? are you going to say that there should be a ban on anyone breeding them until EVERY dog and EVERY cat has a same and happy home? this is a totally unrealistic stance to me.

  • Wishfulthinkingfarm

    This is so horrible I can’t find words. Those horses in the picture know. I true horseman once told me any person that sends a horse to slaughter never has good luck. I pray it’s true

  • Rachel

    You do notice they will only take healthy, fit and fat horses…so much for the old, lame, ill, infirm, neglected horse…

  • Rachel

    10% are TB’s

  • ziggypop

     Exactly.

  • ziggypop

     many, many of the Amish’s horses are standardbreds.

  • ziggypop

     How can HORSEMEN think it is great? The AQHA (imagine that) at one time had a line drawing of the various cuts of meat you can get off your quarter horse.

    And it was a committee of three congressmen that added the language into a major bill…Kohl, Blunt and Kingston.

  • ziggypop

     Nope, three congressmen are to blame for this debacle.

  • ziggypop

     CALL TO ACTION: Contact JO ANN EMERSON in MISSOURI
    Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri Congresswoman is pro-slaughter and sits on the
    House Agriculture Appropriations Committee. She needs to hear from all
    everyone across the country that she is wrong on the horse slaughter
    issue. We have only a couple of days to set her straight before she
    votes to continue funding the inspectors, thus perpetuating the brutal and unnecessary slaughter of horses. Here is what she says on her website: “Horse Slaughter
    In recent years, aggressive efforts have been made to ban horse
    slaughter. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues do not fully understand
    the negative consequences such proposals would have on the horse
    industry. Along with depriving horse owners of the market value for
    their horse, significant costs associated with caring for an unwanted
    horse and euthanasia would be transferred to horse owners and taxpayers.
    Additionally, I have serious concerns regarding the precedent set by
    excluding an animal from slaughter for reasons beyond health concerns
    derived from science. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on
    Agriculture, which I serve on, removed the restrictions in the Fiscal
    Year 2012 Appropriations bill that prohibit funds from being used for
    horse inspections.”

    She sure has bought or the pro-slaughter lobby has paid her, hook, line and sinker. Let’s set her straight. There is a vote on this issue at the beginning of this week. The horses need all they help they can get. Call your congressmen!!!

    2230 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-4404

  • anonymous

    Take emotion out of the arguments and there is no reason to oppose horse slaughter. It is as simple as this: there is a market for horse meat, and people who choose to supply this market should be allowed to do so. Don’t get me wrong, as someone who has grown up in the racehorse business, and currently works in the industry, I would much rather prefer other options for racehorses at the end of their careers, but the argument is moot when you realize that very few of horses bred for racing purposes are taken to slaughter (depending on who you listen to, somewhere between 3-10% of all horses). 
    When a horse is processed, the carcass has use: meat for zoo animals, dog food (though I think that practice has stopped), and, of course, meat for human consumption (in countries that do not have the same taboo on it that we do). A quick end and use of the carcass is more humane than letting horses starve to death (see Central Kentucky) or releasing domesticated horses back into the wild, shoes and all (see Idaho and California). 
    Supply and demand, there is a demand for processed horse meat, and we have a supply to meet that, not to mention the property rights of the people that own these horses. You people want the government to step in and tell people what they have to do with their property, because at the end of the day, the horses is a person’s livestock. (For the record, I am as super-liberal as they come, and I also believe that the government should protect people and their property rights.)
    So, by all means, continue your misguided outrage of the horse-owning individuals either making a profit or cutting their losses (the most common outcome) by using their livestock resources to meet a market demand. Of course, it you were really so morally aghast, you could always put your money where your mouths are and create a market to keep horses out of slaughter houses. Then they would be your property, you get to do what you want with them, and would also be responsible for the financial upkeep of the animals. But you would rather just force other people to keep these animals and spend their money to make you emotionally satisfied and reinforce your backwards moral stand. 

  • ziggypop

    Is that you Sue Wallis?  Or is that you Larry Craig, the pro-slaughter lobbyist?

  • desertrailrat

     Standing outside of a store in California…throwing stuff….then going to a cocktail party.  I wish none of us who have looked into the eye of a horse had to see these pictures.

  • Matthew Martini

    Advocating a culture of barbarism neither improves the human spirit, nor does it improve the industry in the eyes of the public.

    I work in collections for a financial institution. The economy is bad, of course. I hear about it 40 hours a week. But we can do better for our communities and the horses by developing economic solutions that are viable and allow us to maintain our dignity. Humane euthanasia is far preferable to horse slaughter. You can research the data on various sites to learn that the means by which horses are killed are abhorrent. Horses are different and, yes, to many people on this site, they are special.

  • Ssk12955

    Move to France, you can eat as many horses as you like. Scared to put a name to your post, chicken little?

  • giftoffaith

    You are right I for one do have emotions regardng horse slaughter. I don’t care how you justify it, it is horrendous to send the magnificent animals to a death like this. If they eat horsemeat in France or where ever they are,let them take care of their own supplyy.
    As for our morals and cramming them down other peoples throats, oh well, I have had other peoples morals crammed down mine for some time now. This is a free country, so we who have “emotions”, different “morals”, from you and others can express them and try to make changes for the better as we chooes. We may n ot win but it is our right to fight these horses who have no voice.
    It seems that horseslaughter in this country is being crammed down a lot of peoples throats who did not ask for it, don’t want it, and are fighting against it. And, I have taken some horses who may have ended up there and I promise you I would put them down before I would allow them to be traumatized before being killed and eaten by some French folks.

  • anonymous

    Neither, actually. Nice to see you are looking to attack a person instead of an argument.

  • anonymous

    You mean a real name, like Ssk12955? I work in the industry, and anyone who does and holds a logical, albeit contrarian, stance on this emotional issue faces career ending consequences. And, are you bringing anything to the argument, or making a pathetic attempt at a snide comment? (France? Chicken little? Do I think that the sky is falling?)

  • Cass

     Many of us have put a great deal of money where our mouths are and there are countless people doing their utmost to protect horses.  Horses have to die at some point and yes their carcasses are very useful but they should be able to be euthanized where they live, not go through the terrors of a slaughter house.   There are a lot of solutions to unwanted horses but many horse owners cannot be bothered to find them.  I apologize to the exceptions.
    That is one scary town where the citizens ‘are delighted’ to have that kind of operation going on

  • Grarick

    OK, one more time: You DO all know that the “steak a cheval” you see on almost every French menu is ground BEEF served with a fried egg on top, right? Just wanted to make that clear. Yes, horse meat is still eaten in small quantities in France, but demand has been rapidly declining for decades and most French people find horsemeat about as appetizing as your average American.

  • Cass

     which industry are you talking about,  the slaughter industry?

  • Jimculpepper

    I was a water quality technician  for 31 years and I noted that since horses are typically not considered a food animal in the USA the chemicals frequently used on them renderturn  horse meat into toxic waste. I suppose the good news is that the amish  don’t use many of the 200 priority pollutants, or much of the remaining eight or nine thousand invented in the past century.

  • Meyer1127

    If our President can make broad sweeping changes in the law allowing illegal persons to stay in this country (not taking a side on that one) just using as an example of his power to make changes.Then  why can he not ban horse slaughter and the transportation for slaughter within and out of our borders without waiting on Congress to pass the legislation.Perhaps he is who we need to focus on to stop this thing.People against the slaughter of horses represent A LOT of voting power.

  • ttowntony

    The only horse I ever owned was a thoroughbred mare who I had the pleasure of riding for 11 years. She was a mare who had lots of issues. She was always the lowest on the pecking order, she was picked on a lot. She had other health problems as well which I wont get into.  She was my best friend, and I nurtered her for 11 years. She fell in her stall on April 1st 2007, and couldn’t get up..she never did. I had her put down, and she was buried on the farm where she lived. I felt as though I lost a child. People who kill horses in slaughter-house fashion are not human, they just can’t be.

  • anonymous

    How useful is a carcass if it doesn’t go through a processing plant?

  • Jimculpepper

    Oh Yes! They are very human and that is the problem. How often do you hear of horses killing anything to eat it.

  • anonymous

    So, we live in a free country where you advocate the government and other people telling one what they have to do with their property? You become the ultimate arbritar of morality regarding the processing of horses to use their carcass in meaningful ways? You would needlessly kill a horse instead of finding a use for their carcass?
    It boils down to this: A horse is a person’s personal property, classified as livestock. If a person wants to satisfy a market demand by racing, showjumping, farming, whatever, they are allowed to do so. If, after their usefullness has been fulfilled, they want to satisfy a secondary market that involves the processing of its carcass, why are they not allowed to do that in the same way that other livestock owners do? I don’t hear you weep for cows, pigs and chickens, do I?
    And another French comment. Wow, it seems like people who still make fun of the Frenchies are conservatives holding on the the “Freedom Fries” notion. Where are your conservative, government get out of my life values in this instance? Oh, not when you are building faux moral outrage high ground. Not when you want government to try to govern what your idea of morality is.

  • Ida Lee

    I can’t stand it…that photo is heartbreaking. These horses know what is going to happen to them. Dear Lord, why do we have this kind of suffering for helpless animals who depend on human beings to care for them. When I see these photos, I think of my beloved Ferdinand and the horror of his death. If a Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup winner was butchered so the French could have horse meat. what chance does an “ordinary” have.?

  • anonymous

    You may need to work on your social skills, or at least get out a little more often if a horse was your best friend for 11 years. And horses are killed in slaughterhouse fashion to make use out of what otherwise might be useless. You owned a horse, it was your property. You did what you wanted with your horse, your property., Good. Now, let others do the same. Do not infringe upon other’s property rights for own emotional satisfaction. And Jim, what a stupid statement. Horses are animals preyed upon, with flight instincts that have evolved over eons. They are not predators, not even carnivores.

  • anonymous

    Do you feel the same way about cows?

  • Grarick

     Ida Lee, please see my post above and stop blaming the French. Ferdinand didn’t end up here, anyway. The very small amount of horsemeat that some French (and Italians and Germans and other Europeans) actually eat usually comes from South America (I’m not passing judgement here, I just want to clarify that there is not a waiting list in France for horsemeat from other countries, and certainly not from America, where, as someone pointed out, most horsemeat amount to toxic waste in any case.)

  • Ida Lee

    For the record, when reading the account of how my beloved Ferdinand was butchered by the Japanese, it was stated that his meat was sent to France and Sweden. Maybe I should have mentioned the Japanese and the Swedes also. But when I mentioned the French in my previous comments. it was in reference to Ferdinand.  Do I sound bitter? Yes I am. I will never forgive anyone associated in any way with the death of my Ferdinand.

    As to whether I feel the same way about cows…yes and chickens also…but I can’t change this except trying not to eat red meat or fowl etc. But I don’t see the issues as the same. Horses were not specifically bred for consumption. The vast majority of these horses are butchered because they have served their purpose. When Dr. Hansen saved Lady Primrose and her baby from being butchered, there is something very wrong with somebody’s heart. 

  • May Flower

    He could, I guess, but he won’t because saving horses from slaughter won’t buy him millions of votes like what he just did.

  • ttowntony

     You can say what you want anonymous, your snide remarks dont bother me, and I stand by my statement that people who kill horses in slaughter-house fashion are not human! It’s my opinion. I would bet there are more people against horse slaughter in this country than for it.

  • Convene

     Not them! They’ll just muddy the waters impossibly and throw all reason to the four winds!

  • Hotselover

    Dear karma,
    I have a couple hundred lists of people that you’ve missed, there all from a horse slaughter house!!!! How could people be so cruel???? It amazes me that that many people are completely brainless!!!!! >:-(

  • Abudzise

    i dont understand why people do this im like what did they do to u like for real we need to find a way to stop the it a bunch of crap

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