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Hi, a friend shared the email exchange he had with you, and I was moved by your
words. I am also a horse owner, breeder and have been showing for 40 years. I am
also a 20+ year Regular Army veteran, and no "bleeding heart". Your views mirror
mine from a few years ago. I also used to believe as you do, that horse slaughter
was a necessary evil. But the more I have researched horse slaughter in the last
2-3 years, the more I have realized that pro-slaughter arguments are basically myths
and propaganda. The majority of these horses are not old, lame, and "unwanted" horses.
America's horses are not slaughtered because they are "unwanted". They are slaughtered
because of the huge profits made by the foreign-owned companies operating illegally in
Texas. The meat is shipped to developed countries like France, Belguim, Germany and Japan,
where it brings prices close to beef prices there. Yet the US does not even get tariffs on
horsemeat like they do on beef. This industry is NOT providing us a service, they just like
to say they are.
According to the slaughterhouse records in Texas, only 10% of the horses slaughtered there
are old, lame, or otherwise "useless". They don't even bother with starved skinny horses.
The other 90% are healthy normal horses that were sold at an auction, just the wrong time
and the wrong place. Killer buyers also answer ads placed by people trying to find another
family to love and care for their child's outgrown pet; they do not have to identify themselves
as killer buyers, and many inexperienced owners have no idea who they are selling to. Many
slaughtered horses are stolen horses, and many are American mustangs that are supposed to be
protected under federal law. After California banned live horse slaughter, their horse theft
rate dropped by more than 40%. Those are hardly "unwanted" horses.
I hope you will http://www.saplonline.org/Legislation/ahspa/where_would_all_the_horses_go.htm
I have purchased several draft horses that were in feedlots and killer pens at auction where
the killer buyer was willing to turn a quick buck and re-sell a horse. Not one was over the
age of 6 years. Not one was sick, lame, or crazy. They are absolute sweethearts, and we are
riding some of them under saddle now, and will be training them to drive this winter. The most
of the others that were in those feedlots and killer pens at auctions were just as nice. They
want fat healthy horses to butcher, not old skinny ones. In fact, the companies in Texas will
charge sellers $50 to put down the old, starved, or sick horses, and send them to a rendering
plant. Those horses are not fit to eat, and they don't even mess with them.
A friend lives near one of the horse slaughterhouses in Texas, and has to drive by the horses
in the holding pen outside the plant that are waiting to be butchered alive. I hope you will
take the time to go to her website and look for yourself. These are beautiful, fat healthy animals,
that could have been wonderful mounts and companions for the people that were simply outbid by the
killer buyer. I have cut and pasted the links from her page at the bottom of my email. Please look
at the photos listed under September 1. These are not useless, "unwanted" horses just because
they ended up there.
The TB community has come out strongly against live horse slaughter, and are developing plans to
provide for off the track TBs that, up to now, probably went to slaughter. Instead, they are
re-trained for various other equine sports, or simply retired. John Hettinger, the owner of one
of the biggest TB auction houses in America, is helping develop these plans, which can be funded
by fees paid on each TB sold. Mr. Hettinger has written a very informative article about "Where
would all the horses go?", and he is much more knowledgeable and factual than I can be. I hope
if you did not already look at it, you will take a look now at this link:
http://www.saplonline.org/Legislation/ahspa/where_would_all_the_horses_go.htm
September 1, 2002 Dallas Crown horses waiting for slaughter, by Paula Bacon
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Date Unknown
Photos of
horses in the slaughter house, from Society for Animal Protective
Legislation
October 15, 2003 Freckles,
adopted by Regina Anderson, Lone Star Equine Rescue
October 5, 2003 MPulse,
saved from Killer-Buyer Jones, Stephenville, Tx Auction by Sherillyn Flick,
Flower Mound
September 30, 2003 Dallas Crown trailer comes loose from
truck...blood spills everywhere A B C D E F G
If you are still with me, thanks for reading this far. I will be happy to discuss any points or
questions with you.
Sincerely,
Martha Hahn
Magic Hollow Farms http://www.meriwalker.com Appling, GA
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