North Texas E-News

http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_33414.shtml

Horse slaughterhouses: say nay!
By Peter Stern
Apr 16, 2006

Beltex of Fort Worth; Dallas Crown of Kaufman, Texas, and Cavel International of Dekalb, Ill. are the only horse slaughterhouses inside the U.S. Because of basic economics and special interest contributions, most legislators have opted NOT voting to close the horse slaughterhouses. Let's face it, horse slaughterhouses are good business. Horsemeat is sent overseas for human consumption to France, Belgium and other countries, where they are willing to pay top dollar for their horse flesh.

Slaughterhouse owners tell Americans that they are providing a needed and humane service of eliminating unwanted, old and sickly horses. The truth is far from that point. There is little distinction made of these categories and of healthy horses. Furthermore, the slaughtering of horse is NOT a humane process as may be seen below. We've lost our horse-sense when we let these creature die such horrific deaths.

THE TERRORS OF HORSE SLAUGHTER

Before shipping American horses to slaughterhouses in Texas, Illinois and as far away as Canada, the horses are placed into over-crowded holding pens often standing in disease-infested muck. Often sick, the horses are crammed into double-decked cattle trucks. Without sufficient room to hold their heads upright, they travel for 36 hours through summer heat or brutal winter cold without stopping for rest, food or water.

At the slaughterhouse, the horse is electrically prodded into the "kill box" to be repeatedly bludgeoned in the skull by a dead-bolt gun with a four-inch nail. Alive, and often conscious, the horse is then shackled by a rear leg, hoisted into the air, its throat slit and body dismembered.

No horse is spared this ordeal. These hungry, dehydrated, fatigued and terrified horses include not only the old, sick, blind and crippled, but the young and healthy, our children's pets, mares with helpless foals standing at their side, and our wild mustangs.

A positive example: During 1998 California's Save the Horses Prohibition of Horse Slaughter and Sale of Horsemeat Initiative, Proposition 6 makes it illegal for anyone to "possess, buy, sell or export from California any horse where that person knows - or should have known - that any part will be used for human consumption."

Save the Horses

Again, this abuse is being inflicted upon an animal that has never historically been considered a food animal, but rather a working partner and friend to man. An animal used primarily for pleasure, work, recreation and sport.

The lies of the horse slaughterers can't stand up to the graphic footage of the realities.

Help expose horse slaughter and help expose the people who secretly support it!

Save the Horses

Horse slaughterhouses are vile and contemptible options for destroying the horse population by inhumane methods. The pro-lobby for horse slaughterhouses has bought the support of many legislators. Only the voice of the American people can put an end to the torture and murder of these noble creatures.

Say "Nay" loudly and clearly to elected officials. Horse slaughterhouses must go the way of the dinosaurs and so should killing horses in the U.S. for human consumption abroad. It is interesting that two of the three horse slaughterhouses are based here in Texas, where historically cowboys only ride and work their horse partners --- NOT eat them.