The horse meat industry

[Johanna]

Most of the leather we work with is a byproduct of the huge meat industry. Here are two sides to a recent controversy:

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2006 — The debate over the slaughter of American horses so that their meat can be transported and sold for consumption overseas galloped into a Capitol Hill hearing room today.

Critics call it America's dirty little secret. There are three horse slaughter plants in the country — two in Texas, and one in Illinois.

"These three foreign-owned plants slaughtered nearly 100,000 American horses in 2005," Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens testified today. "This is a black eye on our state and nation that demands action."

Congress is considering a ban on transporting American horses overseas for consumption. Horse meat is considered a delicacy in Japan and Europe.

"The American culture does not accept consumption of our dogs or cats for food, but there are other cultures in this world that do," veternarian Patricia Hogan, whose patients include Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones, told the committee. "Yet we do not allow the commerical slaugther of dogs and cats for export in this country because we as Americans find that practice deplorable."

Richard Koehler, the vice president of BelTex, a foreign-owned company that he said has a horse processing plant in Texas, called the claims of mistreatment "ridiculous."

He told the subcommittee his company takes great care to ensure that horses remain calm during the "euthanization," because, he said, "If a horse is under strain, it will lead to inferior horse meat."

He said American horse meat is "the best in the world."

Koehler testified that the horse processing industry is the only source of USDA-inspected horse meat for U.S. zoos. He cautioned members of Congress that the bill to ban transporting of slaughtered horses would lead to more, not less, horse abuse and neglect because if the slaughter option was taken away, some owners would not be willing to pay to put down their horses and would instead let them die of starvation.

Horse Slaughterhouses: 'America's Dirty Little Secret' by Laura Marquez ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2235175&page=1

Johanna

[pepin1948]

While I am an avid horse lover - and cat and dog lover too - I recognize that there could be a need to humanely euthanize a horse, and why waste its meat? I mean we kill cows every day, and use the leather AND meat. Of course I might have more of a problem RAISING horses for food...and I certainly have a problem with that where dogs and cats are concerned. But the one writer raises a good point: in certain cultures, these animals are not considered pets.

[$$hobby]

I love horses more then most of the people. but i would have to say that it would be a waste not to use the flesh. With all of the starving people in our own backyard, it doesnt make since that theres a posslibe source to help and not use it.

Edited September 2, 2006 by $$hobby

[wes]

I have no problem eating bovines, ruminants, and herbivores. I do not care to eat predators because of parasites and trans-species diseases.

Horse meat offers fewer health risks than pork.

I remember back in the late '60s and early '70s during the beef shortage that horse meat and earthworms were offered in the U.S. supermarkets and the pros and cons were discussed quite extensively on the national news at the time. There was even an episode on "All in the Family" about horse meat. That was the time that meat substitute soy products appeared on the market. It seems that soy was much more acceptable than horse or earthworm.

Edited September 3, 2006 by wes

[crissy]

the horse in all cultures, civilizations has been a utilitarian beast. but before that the horse was a beast of burden, before the Japanese even seen a horse, before they became food they were used to simplify mans life, then became a show his wealth then to fight his combats, making each man on the back of a horse a Superior worrier, keeping him company during his battle. hurting such an animal is unforgivable, we are far to smart to buy the "thats how they do it game" no horse was ever hunted for its meat. that is a result of starvation and careless abuse of a gift given to us that preforms every task we demand. for me it would be like eating my best friend. go check out the horse tripping that goes on in Mexico and the many other atrocities the animal withstands after providing man with the comfort of getting a job done well and quite fast.those injured horses from abuse. those are the animals that go to butcher and so no matter how humanly they are harvested, their quality of life has been compromised and we thank them by sending them to their death! not to leave out the abuse and the cheer of the most ruthless animal alive "MAN"

the horse is simply another gift we take for granted. he needs us to become the champion of his welfare. a horse will give and take nothing and we turn our heads looking another way, when they are broken so terribly that they have no decent life left to live the butcher being the finial breath. the horse harvesting industry is disgusting to say the very least. everyone sits by and dose nothing my goods will never be from the skin of a horse.

my opinon

how they are treated is a sin.

[King's X]

Just FYI. There some horse murdering going on in Florida right now. Ranches are being staked out and when the owners are not around or in the middle of the night, theives are going into the stable to get at the horses. They kill the horses, crave them up, taking mostly their meat and hides and splitting leaving the carcass behind for the owners to find and deal with it. There is no more information but they believe it is some form of band of subject because they are working really quick. Police have no information.

Just thought I throw that out for this thread and all of you horse owners in that region.

[rawhide1]

I'm against the abuse of any animal. So if ya want to eat a cow, dog, cat or god forbid a horse I don't care as long as it is put down in a humane way and not mistreated. What gives me or anyone else for that matter the right to tell someone what kind of animal they can and can't eat. It makes me laugh that it's okay to eat pig,chickens,goats,cows, and all kinds of seafood but mention eating a horse and people have kittens. I think there's a whole bunch of folks that need to get off of their soap boxes and quit putting ole trigger up on a pedestal. Because like it or not he is a animal.

And by the way I do have horse's and I've had them my whole life. And I'm right fond of them but if it comes down to it their getting ate medium rare!!

Mike

[MADMAX22]

I think alot of this comes from the use of the animal. Here dogs and cats are considered pets hence one of the big no no's of eating them but I garuntee if your starving youll cut that little bugger right up. I know I would.

Horses have been used for work for a long time in this country so as such they posed more of a value as a work animal then a food one. Horse has been eaten in many countries for a long time, even back when it was used as a war animal or a utilitarian animal as butchkitty said. Horse has also been eaten in the states during times of roughness that we dont see today.

Heck I remember growing up we had a couple horsed break a leg, we had to put them down. Once we did that we didnt waste them, if anything we cut them up and froze them and would feed them to the dogs. They loved it and it was free food. Im sure some suberbanites would cry and frown on that today but back then it wasnt even a second thought unless you wanted to pay to have it disposed of or you had a back hoe to dig a hole big enought to bury the darn thing.

Sure horses are pretty smart animals but I will wager a pig can learn as much if not alot more then a horse and have just as much a personality but we eat the heck out of those guys. Ofcourse if we could ride pigs then it may be a different story.

I think as long as the animal is raised in a good manner and killed in a decent way then so be it. It couldnt be any worse then veal. Now thats pretty horrible.

Edited August 13, 2009 by MADMAX22

[Randy Cornelius]

When they closed the slaughter plants the horse market dropped to the lowest level I have seen in my 50 years of life. It used to be that an unwanted or untrained or untrainable horse would bring a decent price for killer. But now those horses are being turned loose with the "wild Horse Herds" out west. Here in the mid west we see horses just turned loose on the roads for law enforcement to deal with. At one local horse sale you have to leave a 250.00 depost with a horse you drop off to sell just in case it does not sell so that you will come back and get it. The tree huggers and the animal rights people have ruined the horse market. Now all those unwanted horses that used to go to the killers are now being turned loose for someone to find a home for. Would I eat horse meat? No but that does not mean that I look down on someone who does.

Just my thoughts.

Randy

[wildrose]

I don't have a problem with those who want horse meat to legally aquire it, and for horses to be legally slaughtered for a valid reason. I have a HUGE problem with stealing someone's pet from their field or barn, butchering it, and leaving the carcass for some distraught owner to find. That is cruelty, and also does irreparable harm to the owner's emotional state. Such people should be caught and jailed for a very long time.