A Tragic and Brutal End for our American Horses

By: Stephen Murphy

Each time I write or pass along this information, my whole intention is to save at least one more horse. Alone I know I cannot save them all, although I whole heartedly want to, but to reach one more person's eyes, heart and conscious and they respond in kind then I suppose that is just as good. I purposely want these articles to strike a nerve and open the American public’s eyes to the senseless practice of horse slaughter.

Our American horses of all types are being slaughtered as would any domesticated food animal. Our Founding Fathers designated the horse a "favored" animal which means they are not bred or raised for food, not eaten in our culture. Why? Because the horse is part of American heritage, having played a major role in our historical growth and development. Extensive independent polling shows that voters think it is illegal to slaughter a horse for human consumption; however when informed that it is not, 88%-93% think that it should be. Now taking that in consideration here are the alarming facts: Over 3 million American recreational horses have been secretly purchased and slaughtered for the foreign markets in the last two decades. And because of the lack of disclosure on the part of the agents for the foreign owned horsemeat industry, people's horses can and have been stolen and their pets purchased under false pretenses. This practice has contributed to crime and consumer fraud. In the United States there are currently two horse slaughter plants in operation, both foreign-owned, both in Texas and a third in Illinois. In addition to the horses killed in the two US-based plants, thousands more are transported under deplorable conditions across our borders into Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered. Horses are often transported for more than 24 hours without rest, water, or food, while unprotected from weather extremes in thin metal-walled trailers. Sick and/or injured horses frequently are forced onto double-deck trailers that were designed for short-necked animals including cattle and sheep. Once at the slaughterhouse, the suffering and abuse continue unabated. Often, horses are left on tightly packed double-deck trailers for long periods of time while a few are forcibly moved off. Callous workers, using long, thick fiberglass rods, poke and beat the horses' faces, necks, backs, and legs as they are shoved through the facility into the kill box. Due to extreme overcrowding, abuse, deafening sounds, and the smell of blood, the horses exhibit fear typical of "flight" behavior pacing in prance-like movements with their ears pinned back against their heads and eyes wide open. The horses are then herded into shoots which lead to the stun box. Horses have a very keen since of smell so while they are being driven down this shute they can smell the death in front of them. They are shaking and very frightened and know the fate that awaits them. This is a cruel fate for a pet and any horse that has been be-friended by a human and they should not ever end up with this type of fate. What you do have to realize from this time on is that there are very devious buyers out there looking to buy any horse they can get their hands on. They very willing to lie by saying the horse they purchase from you will be taken to a great place to live out it's days with constant good care. These people are only driven by GREED and have BLOOD on their hands from the many horses they manipulated from good loving owners and taken them straight to the Slaughter House! The purpose of this article to open the American publics eyes to the senseless practice of horse slaughter. Our American horses of all types are being slaughtered as would any domesticated food animal. Our Founding Fathers designated the horse a "favored" animal which means they are not bred or raised for food, not eaten in our culture. Why? Because the horse is part of American heritage, having played a major role in our historical growth and development. Extensive independent polling shows that voters think it is illegal to slaughter a horse for human consumption; however when informed that it is not, 88%-93% think that it should be. Now taking that in consideration here are the alarming facts: Over 3 million American recreational horses have been secretly purchased and slaughtered for the foreign markets in the last two decades. And because of the lack of disclosure on the part of the agents for the foreign owned horsemeat industry, people's horses can and have been stolen and their pets purchased under false pretenses. This practice has contributed to crime and consumer fraud. In the United States there are currently two horse slaughter plants in operation, both foreign-owned, both in Texas and a third in IIinois. In addition to the horses killed in the two US-based plants, thousands more are transported under deplorable conditions across our borders into Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered. Horses are often transported for more than 24 hours without rest, water, or food, while unprotected from weather extremes in thin metal-walled trailers. Sick and/or injured horses frequently are forced onto double-deck trailers that were designed for short-necked animals including cattle and sheep. Once at the slaughterhouse, the suffering and abuse continue unabated. Often, horses are left on tightly packed double-deck trailers for long periods of time while a few are forcibly moved off. Callous workers, using long, thick fiberglass rods, poke and beat the horses' faces, necks, backs, and legs as they are shoved through the facility into the kill box. Due to extreme overcrowding, abuse, deafening sounds, and the smell of blood, the horse’s exhibit fear typical of "flight" behavior pacing in prance-like movements with their ears pinned back against their heads and eyes wide open. The horses are then herded into shoots which lead to the stun box. Horses have a very keen since of smell so while they are being driven down this shute they can smell the death in front of them. They are shaking and very frightened and know the fate that awaits them. This is a cruel fate for a pet and any horse that has been be-friended by a human and they should not ever end up with this type of fate. What you do have to realize from this time on is that there are very devious buyers out there looking to buy any horse they can get their hands on. They very willing to lie by saying the horse they purchase from you will be taken to a great place to live out its days with constant good care. These people are only driven by GREED and have BLOOD on their hands from the many horses they manipulated from good loving owners and taken them straight to the Slaughter House! Please BEWARE and do all you can to insure that your friends and companions are going to be out of harms way.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Stephen Murphy is a Horse lover and owner and the Operations Manager of Fairbanks Horse Rescue. You can read and keep up to date on his family’s efforts and see how you can get involved at http://wavisp.com/horse5050.html.
Email: saviors@wavisp.com