Horses: Companions Or Commodities?
http://wamuanimalhouse.org/shows/2012-09-01/horses-companions-or-commodities
The recent repeal of a ban on processing horses for human consumption in the U.S. has ignited a debate between those who see horses as livestock and those who view them as companion animals. Wyoming legislator Sue Wallis is planning to open the country’s first horse processing plants in five years, and she explains her position to Sam Litzinger. Then, Rhonda Van Lowe of the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program talks about using horses to help treat people living with mental and physical disabilities. Litzinger also speaks with Michigan veterinarian Dr. Jan Pol, the central figure in a new TV show on the NatGeo Wild channel, The Incredible Dr. Pol. After that, it’s The Loh-Down on Science with Sandra Loh.
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Horses are companion animals in the USA. I really don't understand how this is happening again. And - am completely aghast at how so called "horse people" say things like "Well, at least if they are slaughtered then they aren't suffering anymore". In the overpopulation of other companion animals, like dogs and cats, they are usually put "down" by lethal injection them cremated. Why is this not considered as humane for the ending of life for a horse? And, FOR GODS SAKE, why do people want to see them as protein again? Why not just let Chinese restaurant chefs line up at the local humane societies on Euthanasia day for dogs and cats? Any "horse person" or so called animal lover who thinks this is okay is dim and cowardly. Sue Wallis - I read your blog. I'm all for local & nutrition and have several farmers whom I work with for our meat. What you are advocating to do is WRONG on so many levels and your justification is dated, weak and self serving. American's need less sugar and better nutrition education. There are enough sad protein sources on the chopping block already.
I would strongly urge Animal House to present the view of the 80% of Americans (Lake Research Partners poll, 2011) who adamantly oppose the slaughter of horses for human consumption. To present the facts about the effect a horse slaughter plant has on communities, contact Paula Bacon, the former mayor of Kaufman, TX where Dallas Crown, a Belgian owned company, operated a horse slaughter plant until 2007. A horse slaughter plant basically leaves communities economically devastated with environmental damage and a decline in the standard of living. No one wants this for their communities.
Horse slaughter is very costly for the taxpayers - up to $5 million for inspectors. There are no economic benefits. Americans don't eat horses so the meat produced is shipped and sold abroad at a profit to what are usually foreign investors. They don't pay income or sales taxes. (Dallas Crown paid $5 on $12 million in sales and that was typical.) The few jobs created are very low wage and usually only illegal aliens want them. Local govts spend hundreds of thousands enforcing wastewater and waste disposal permits which these facilities regularly violate. These plants lower the standard of living for everyone and leave the communities with blood, waste backing up in sewers and overflowing treatment facilities. Then there is the stench. They drive away good business opportunities.
It is also well-established that USDA cannot enforce the laws that are supposed to regulate the transport and treatment of horses sent to slaughter. These animals suffer terribly; it is a cruel process, a business that profits from animal cruelty. It is not a service for excess numbers of horses as 92.3% of horses that go to slaughter are healthy. Slaughter actually increases the numbers of horses in need.
Then there is the issue of food safety. The FDA doesn't regulate horses as food animals because Americans don't eat horses. Yet, the USDA/FDA allow horses and horse meat to be exported for consumption, dumping on the foreign market meat filled with dangerous drug residues.
I couldn't believe it when I heard that the Animal House was going to interview Sue Wallis, pro-slaughter advocate. Did you notice that she did not anwer Sam L's question about HOW horses are slaughtered?
Why did Animal House not uncover her ulterior profit motive, AND the fact that slaughterers often do not want old, sick starving horses? They want healthy horses. And her argument that the meat is needed around the world is a lie--- it is exported to rich countries and eaten as an expensive delicacy. It is not safe, but tainted with drugs.
"Slaughter" Sue is also a known apologist for "horse tripping" at rodeos. She does not "love" horses and want to minimize their suffering. She wants to make money for herself and her constituents.
I am appalled at the Animal House apparent endorsement of Sue Wallis's presentation of the horse slaughter, as "humane". Anyone who has followed this issue, knows that there is nothing humane about it. I would call on the Animal House to air an opposing view, by R.T. Fitch, a well spoken authority in this battle. His website is: http://wildhorsefreedomfederation.org/
Over 80% of Americans are opposed to the slaughter of horses, as found in a national survey done by Lake Research Partners poll, 2011. Personally, my horses were well loved, not 'livestock', as Wallis likes to use the term that would serve to distance us from our animals.
The "humane" method Wallis speaks of is called the captive bolt gun. Often it only stuns the horse, as evidenced in videos found to be too graphic for youtube. Here is a site that talks about it: http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1303.
Wallis is self serving in her statements that horses are suffering. Mr. Litzinger ask no questions on any of her specious and outrageous statements, and instead, allowed her a public forum to further her agenda. To top off this extremely disappointing interview, Mr Litzinger had the temerity to ask, "when can we expect to see the first slaughterhouse open for business in the US?" Really?
If you have a hard time finding opposing views of this horrific subject, I've taken it upon myself to provide you with just a few. Please peruse them at your convenience.
http://www.aspca.org/Pressroom/press-releases/020112
http://www.apnm.org/mailbox/horseslaughter/Poll%20Memo%20-%20ASPCA%20Hor...
http://cowildhorse.org/
http://www.gentlegiantsdrafthorserescue.com/horseslaughter.html
http://wildhorsefreedomfederation.org/?page_id=48
http://www.americansagainsthorseslaughter.com/
And need I put in here, PETA, COK, MFA, Farm Animal Rescue, and others? Very, very, disappointed.
Utter shame! Ms. Wallis was allowed full and unchallenged use of the Animal House broadcast for nothing other than her own propaganda. Mr. Litzinger's failure to offer even the slightest rebuttal to her string of ridiculous statements unfortunately calls into question the host's ability to speak to animal issues at all. Really, USDA oversight and inspection insures humane treatment?
Enjoy undercover video from Central Valley Meat in California, yet another house of horrors inspected and regulated by our cherished USDA.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57496998/usda-slaughterhouse-shut-af...
Unbelievable!
If Animal House truly cared about horses, they would not even be interviewing someone like Slaughterhouse Sue Wallis. Many of us have had first hand contact with her plan to slaughter ("process" is her wording and completely the most incorrect wording) horses when she tried to put a plant in Mountain Grove MO. She ws run out of town by us and her MO attorney, Dan Erdel, was given a letter informing of probable lawsuits for misrepresentation. Nuff said.
Horse slaughter is not humane. It never will be. I cannot believe that anyone would believe a word that Sue Wallis has to say. If you want the truth about every aspect of horse slaughter it is at this site.............http://kaufmanzoning.net/
i am so discussed even to think about how anyone can even eat horse meat. with so much medicines in them that clearly state on packages "not for use in animals intended for human comsumption". so take you're own life in you're hands please. i will not. horses are companions . and i don't understand how people say they love horses yet they agree with slaughter . u can't have it both ways, either for or against. plain and simple. we are not some 3rd world country ! there is no need to slaughter these animals. i guess people haven't seen the video's as i have where it took 13 hits from captive bolts to finally bring down 1 draft horse. or the picture of a pregnant mare with her belly sliced open and full grown foal on floor afterwards dead! with 100,000 homeless horses every year it could be controlled by stopping the back yard breeder . i consider them homeless not unwanted! i support many rescues , and yes i am horse owner not breeder and surely not horse eater!!! i truly hope our senators will pass S.1176 into law with the james moran amendment attached to it , hope they listen to the 80% of americans who voted against horse slaughter ! i will never support horse slaughter . respect them to much to eat them!!!
Sue Wallis wants to make money. She doesn't care about the welfare of horses. She doesn't even own a horse. Any media source that thinks she is on the up and up just needs to do some google searches. She hasn't done one thing that she claims to have done. Not one. All she's done is get people in small depressed towns hoping that they will have a job to go to. She shows up, makes statements and isn't heard of again.
We know our USA horses are not raised as food. Just last month one of mine received a banned substance when he injured himself kicking the stall wall. Bute is banned in any animals for human consumption. It causes cancer in humans. We as USA citizens don't want to pay for USDA inspectors to inspect horse meat when we don't eat it. Why should we line the pockets of foreign businesses which is who Sue Wallis is in cahoots with. She has no money to finance horse slaughter plants. I feel for the people that believe her. Many are figuring it out. It's September now, summer is over so where are these horse slaughter plants that would be up and running by the end of the summer? ;
How much money has her not for profit been paid by members thinking she was really going to help them out? She is involved in so many companies that she keeps creating I would hate to be her CPA.
Horses are companions and should be treated with respect. They need to be cared for and animal cruelty laws need to be enforced. People are working hard to help horse owners get through the hard times. Slaughter is not the answer, we don't eat horse meat in the USA. Horses are not what's for dinner.
As a loyal listener of Animal House, Ian so disappointed you had Sue Wallis on your show today. This is not the kind of content your listeners have come to expect from your show! We need to here from you Animal House. Please have an opposing view on horse slaughter on your show!
The definition of slaughter is
THE BRUTAL KILLING !!! ^..^
I am incredibly troubled that the only person available for this interview views horses as disposable items. Why isn't someone speaking FOR the horses? Please remember that recently there have been cases of horses being starved at feedlots, the places that hold horses until they get on the trailer bound for slaughter. As well as cases of companies who transport the horses being involved in questionable actions such as; driving equipment that is not road safe, allowing drivers without the proper CDL to drive semis, allowing overworked drivers to take loads (resulting in flipping a truck), allowing faulty equipment to be driven AFTER a failed inspection (resulting in a truck splitting in half on the highway), being shut down to the numerous amount of fines they have occurred. There have also been cases of horses being stolen for slaughter and most importantly... recently there have been cases of illegal and banned drugs being found in the meat of horses that have been sent overseas. Besides the environmental issues, rise in crimes in areas that have slaughter houses, lowered real estate prices in these areas, the stigmata that surrounds them... Why would anyone want a slaughter house in their town? To create jobs? I have news for you! In ANY slaughter house the majority of workers are illegal immigrants and some slaughter houses even "trade in" some of their workers so that immigrant officials will allow them to keep some of them employed. It's a dangerous job that is low paid and often is a tax on the local health community due the health issues that are associated with it. If that is the kind of thing that you want for your community you really should think of stepping out of the dark age.
The show and this web site are badly mistaken - there is NOT a "debate" about horse slaughter: There are fabrications and misrepresentations by people, Wallis, and organizations, AQHA, who hope to make money destroying rescue-able animals (Wallis) or encourage over-breeding and need a way to dispose of animals they injudiciously create. A debate requires honest exchange. That Wallis is lying about the efficacy of her proposals can easily be seen in the Missouri case where she touted a start date while she had never pulled appropriate permits or in fact completed negotiations for the building site. One of Wallis' key supporters funding this push is a Belgian meat packing company - it's all about greed and money and has nothing to do with proper treatment of animals.
WAMU and Animal House, you have failed miserably...again.
"Horse processing" is horse slaughter, and allowing someone who stands to directly profit from the slaughter of horses to be portrayed as a caring member of the horse community is beyond the pale.
Wallis has failed to gain any ground in any community she claims to be opening a horse slaughter plant in, and has been caught in more lies that one can count. And Litzinger...do some homework please.
This is not the first time that this pro-slaughter faction has been given free access to your station, without so much as anyone to refute the false claims and manufactured "facts". Leads one to believe someone associated with WAMU and/or Animal House will benefit in some fashion from horse slaughter.
PS: To those unfamiliar with American University, it is a bit of a regional joke to be associated with that particular institution of "higher" learning.