Do we need horse slaughter in America? This question has proven to be a divisive one within the equestrian community, but with the recent federal budget changes that lower the barrier to opening a slaughter facility in the United States, discussion of the issue has become necessary.
In response to a planned Summit of the Horse by slaughter advocacy group United Horsemen, the equine welfare and anti-slaughter group Respect4Horses planned its own “Summit of the Live Horse,” which takes place today in Oklahoma City. United Horsemen recently announced that they would be postponing their summit for next winter in order to focus on other projects, but the Summit of the Live Horse will continue as planned.
In addition to questions around domestic horse slaughter, the Summit of the Live Horse will address issues related to wild horse management. Panelists at the summit include:
To view the live webcast of the Summit of the Live Horse press conference from 12 p.m . Central Time (1 p.m. Eastern), visit www.respect4horses.com
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Such controversy and mainly based on emotions.
Horse slaughter house's will not reduce the amount of unwanted/neglected horse's. It will only give the racing community, breeders and kill buyers and the BLM an easier access to horse's that are not matching their expected potential's.
Horse slaughter house's will not bring any economic benefit to the USA. They will only create pollution, leaving millions of dollars in unpaid penalities/fines and cost the community in which they are built millions of dollars. The USA does not need to contribute any tax payer dollars to these establishments.
Horse's were not breed for human consumption and in most case's, have been submitted to chemicals that are deadly to humans.
In the past, Canada and States in America have thrown out horse slaughter entities because of the reasons listed above. In no way does the USA need this again.
People who obtain horse's should know the amount of expense and time it will take to care for a horse. It's people who created the excess horse population and it's people who need to be trained.
Horse sterilization should be used by the BLM to control the Mustang/Burro population, not the outrageous expense to the tax payer in roundups and long/short term facilities. Taking advantage of the available Mustang sanctuaries is also another opportunity to relieve expense.