Do you think awareness of the unwanted horse is growing within the Thoroughbred industry and the larger equine world?
This topic has been in the media recently with controversy over legislation regarding slaughterhouses, and is a very emotionally charged issue for many. Many more rescue and equine welfare organizations exist all over the country today than ever before in history. A number of these groups have programs concentrating on retraining these horses for new careers and do an excellent job of adopting out. There are stalls at each Kentucky racetrack where owners or trainers can anonymously donate an unwanted horse with no questions asked. In many show horse venues, there are now classes and incentives for thoroughbreds/ex-racehorses.
Unfortunately, these are all small hills in what remains a mountain of a problem. Money is limited, and resources don’t even begin to cover a fraction of these horses. We need to start to try to reduce the number of unwanted horses by continuing to raise awareness and help owners realize that they have a responsibility. One goal is to increase education enough that many horses will be donated before catastrophic injury forces retirement to give them optimal potential in a new career. It is much more straightforward to find a home for a horse with strong athletic potential than one that has sustained career ending injury and will never be ridden. Much progress has been made in the plight of the unwanted horse, however our goals are nowhere near achieved.
CANANDA STOPS ACCEPTING U.S HORSES FOR SLAUGHTER!
The United States market for slaughter horses was thrown into confusion Friday after slaughterhouses in Canada appeared to have closed their doors abruptly to U.S. horses, according to slaughter buyers, lower-market horse dealers, and the auctions they frequent.
U.S. horse auction officials said that the situation remained unclear, but it appeared the sudden closure might also apply to Mexico and could be related to European Union concerns over U.S. slaughter horses’ medication histories and veterinary documentation. As of late Friday night, slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico had not issued statements regarding their policies on U.S. equine imports, leaving auctioneers and slaughter buyers across the U.S. in limbo as auction houses canceled or postponed sales.
“We canceled upon hearing from some of our buyers that they would not be on the market because they would not be accepting horses into Canada,” said one Western auctioneer who did not want to be identified because he was concerned there could be public backlash against the auction house with which he is affiliated. “Nobody really knows right now if it’s coming from the Canadian government, the EU, or the packing plants.”
“They don’t want our horses, because they can’t ship the meat overseas,” another auction operator said.
Word of the Oct. 12 closures came one day after the European Commission’s Health and Consumers Directorate-General issued its report covering an 11-day audit of Mexican equine slaughter facilities. Although the report found many practices satisfactory at facilities audited by the commission’s Food and Veterinary Office, it called verification of slaughter-bound horses’ veterinary records “insufficient.”
Effective July 31, 2013, the European Union – a major market for meat from U.S. horses slaughtered in Canada and Mexico – will require lifetime medication records for slaughter-bound horses. Both Canada and Mexico have attempted in recent years to tighten their requirements for veterinary records, responding to EU concerns over medications, such as Bute, that it bans from the food chain. But equine welfare advocates have long contended that the affidavits or Equine Identification Documents that are supposed to accompany slaughter-bound U.S. horses, and which detail their veterinary histories, are easily and frequently forged or fabricated as horses pass through the pipeline to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses. The recent FVO audit of Mexican slaughterhouses, which said 80 percent of horses killed in Mexico’s slaughterhouses originated in the U.S., did not use such stark terms but raised serious questions about the affidavits.
“[T]he systems in place for identification, the food chain information and in particular the affidavits concerning the non-treatment for six months with certain medical substances, both for the horses imported from the U.S. as well as for the Mexican horses are insufficient to guarantee that standards equivalent to those provided for by EU legislation are applied,” the Oct. 11 European Commission report said. The report also noted that Mexican officials “are not allowed to question the authenticity or reliability of the sworn statements [affidavits] made by owners of imported horse from the U.S. on veterinary medical treatments,” and that “there is no system in place to verify the declarations” on those horses’ documentation.
The situation could be complicated politically by the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will audit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency later this month. That word came after a late September E. coli outbreak prompted a Canadian meat packer to recall beef in more than 30 U.S. states, though the Canadian agency has said the audit was planned well before that outbreak and not in response to it. The Canadian agency has suspended the beef packer’s export permit.
Earlier this year, the Quebec slaughterhouse operated by Viande Richelieu returned two former racehorses, Canuki and Cactus Cafe, to Mark Wedig, partly because anti-slaughter advocates were able to show that the horses had been given medications and partly because of publicity surrounding the horses’ sale to the slaughter plant, the anti-slaughter advocates have said.
Leroy Baker, who operates Sugarcreek Livestock Auction in Sugarcreek, Ohio, said Friday night that the tighter EU regulations on horse meat already had contributed to a sharp decline in low-end horse prices, even before word filtered out among slaughter buyers that U.S. horses would not be welcome across U.S. borders.
“I told people the last couple of months who complained about the price, I said, ‘It’s coming, by the first of the year I think the borders will be closed down, so instead of worrying about the price, you better start worrying about getting rid of them,’” said Baker. “It’s probably down, oh, 35 percent. And if it’s shut down, there won’t be any market for 85 percent, maybe even 90 percent, of horses. If they don’t get it worked out and get those places opened back up, there will be absolutely no market.
“Starting the last six months, any horse would bring $150 to $550,” he added. “Now, it’s down from nothing to $400. Today, with the market shut down, it’s from nothing to $100. And that’s just little traders who didn’t realize what happened and they think they’re going somewhere else tomorrow or the next week and sell the same horse over and someone will buy it. But news travels fast. By tomorrow at noon, everybody in the country will know that they’re shut down.”
“It’s going to kill the horse industry in the U.S.A.,” said horse dealer Brian Moore.
Baker said he first heard about the slaughterhouses’ closure to U.S. horses at 6 a.m. Friday morning and said the news took him by surprise. He said he called some horse sellers he knew and told them not to bother bringing their horses to Sugarcreek.
In Davenport, Wash., the Stockland Livestock Auction canceled its Oct. 13 horse sale, saying on its website that “Stockland has just become aware of a possible situation regarding horse exports [as of 10/12/12]. We have reached out to numerous experts and traders in the business and as a result and due to the uncertainty surrounding the information we have so far we have decided to cancel the horse sale. We hope to reschedule later this fall or early in 2013.”
But early Saturday morning it still wasn’t clear how long the market might be tied up, the Western auctioneer said.
“Even if it’s just a 72-hour thing, it still crushes our market,” the auctioneer said. “I’ve heard anywhere from 72 hours to six months or better. It depends on where it’s coming from. If the Canadians are putting a stop to it because of inaccurate EID forms and they want the USDA to get tougher on those, then it could be a short deal. But if this is coming from the EU or it has to do with the European economy, then it could be a lot longer. If the U.S. is not going to guarantee that these horses haven’t had these medications that are banned for food in the EU, and if they can’t find a way to make those records more accurate, then it’s going to be a long deal.”
Meanwhile, many anti-slaughter groups cautiously hailed the apparent shutdown as they, like participants in the slaughter market, scrambled to find clarification on whether policies have, in fact, changed permanently in Canada, Mexico, or the EU.
“The most likely explanation for the sudden move is that the expanded residue testing program has yielded worse than anticipated results,” theorized the Equine Welfare Alliance’s John Holland.
But Sugarcreek’s Leroy Baker countered that a slaughter shutdown would still be bad news for U.S. horses.
“These animal rights people want to save them, but all they do is prolong the agony,” Baker said. “They think they’re saving them. They think they saw starving, thin horses that weren’t [taken] care of before when people could sell them and get something? Just imagine: they will turn them out on the roads and in empty fields and everything now.
The United States market for slaughter horses was thrown into confusion Friday after slaughterhouses in Canada appeared to have closed their doors abruptly to U.S. horses, according to slaughter buyers, lower-market horse dealers, and the auctions they frequent.
U.S. horse auction officials said that the situation remained unclear, but it appeared the sudden closure might also apply to Mexico and could be related to European Union concerns over U.S. slaughter horses’ medication histories and veterinary documentation. As of late Friday night, slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico had not issued statements regarding their policies on U.S. equine imports, leaving auctioneers and slaughter buyers across the U.S. in limbo as auction houses canceled or postponed sales.
“We canceled upon hearing from some of our buyers that they would not be on the market because they would not be accepting horses into Canada,” said one Western auctioneer who did not want to be identified because he was concerned there could be public backlash against the auction house with which he is affiliated. “Nobody really knows right now if it’s coming from the Canadian government, the EU, or the packing plants.”
“They don’t want our horses, because they can’t ship the meat overseas,” another auction operator said.
Word of the Oct. 12 closures came one day after the European Commission’s Health and Consumers Directorate-General issued its report covering an 11-day audit of Mexican equine slaughter facilities. Although the report found many practices satisfactory at facilities audited by the commission’s Food and Veterinary Office, it called verification of slaughter-bound horses’ veterinary records “insufficient.”
Effective July 31, 2013, the European Union – a major market for meat from U.S. horses slaughtered in Canada and Mexico – will require lifetime medication records for slaughter-bound horses. Both Canada and Mexico have attempted in recent years to tighten their requirements for veterinary records, responding to EU concerns over medications, such as Bute, that it bans from the food chain. But equine welfare advocates have long contended that the affidavits or Equine Identification Documents that are supposed to accompany slaughter-bound U.S. horses, and which detail their veterinary histories, are easily and frequently forged or fabricated as horses pass through the pipeline to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses. The recent FVO audit of Mexican slaughterhouses, which said 80 percent of horses killed in Mexico’s slaughterhouses originated in the U.S., did not use such stark terms but raised serious questions about the affidavits.
“[T]he systems in place for identification, the food chain information and in particular the affidavits concerning the non-treatment for six months with certain medical substances, both for the horses imported from the U.S. as well as for the Mexican horses are insufficient to guarantee that standards equivalent to those provided for by EU legislation are applied,” the Oct. 11 European Commission report said. The report also noted that Mexican officials “are not allowed to question the authenticity or reliability of the sworn statements [affidavits] made by owners of imported horse from the U.S. on veterinary medical treatments,” and that “there is no system in place to verify the declarations” on those horses’ documentation.
The situation could be complicated politically by the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will audit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency later this month. That word came after a late September E. coli outbreak prompted a Canadian meat packer to recall beef in more than 30 U.S. states, though the Canadian agency has said the audit was planned well before that outbreak and not in response to it. The Canadian agency has suspended the beef packer’s export permit.
Earlier this year, the Quebec slaughterhouse operated by Viande Richelieu returned two former racehorses, Canuki and Cactus Cafe, to Mark Wedig, partly because anti-slaughter advocates were able to show that the horses had been given medications and partly because of publicity surrounding the horses’ sale to the slaughter plant, the anti-slaughter advocates have said.
Leroy Baker, who operates Sugarcreek Livestock Auction in Sugarcreek, Ohio, said Friday night that the tighter EU regulations on horse meat already had contributed to a sharp decline in low-end horse prices, even before word filtered out among slaughter buyers that U.S. horses would not be welcome across U.S. borders.
“I told people the last couple of months who complained about the price, I said, ‘It’s coming, by the first of the year I think the borders will be closed down, so instead of worrying about the price, you better start worrying about getting rid of them,’” said Baker. “It’s probably down, oh, 35 percent. And if it’s shut down, there won’t be any market for 85 percent, maybe even 90 percent, of horses. If they don’t get it worked out and get those places opened back up, there will be absolutely no market.
“Starting the last six months, any horse would bring $150 to $550,” he added. “Now, it’s down from nothing to $400. Today, with the market shut down, it’s from nothing to $100. And that’s just little traders who didn’t realize what happened and they think they’re going somewhere else tomorrow or the next week and sell the same horse over and someone will buy it. But news travels fast. By tomorrow at noon, everybody in the country will know that they’re shut down.”
“It’s going to kill the horse industry in the U.S.A.,” said horse dealer Brian Moore.
Baker said he first heard about the slaughterhouses’ closure to U.S. horses at 6 a.m. Friday morning and said the news took him by surprise. He said he called some horse sellers he knew and told them not to bother bringing their horses to Sugarcreek.
In Davenport, Wash., the Stockland Livestock Auction canceled its Oct. 13 horse sale, saying on its website that “Stockland has just become aware of a possible situation regarding horse exports [as of 10/12/12]. We have reached out to numerous experts and traders in the business and as a result and due to the uncertainty surrounding the information we have so far we have decided to cancel the horse sale. We hope to reschedule later this fall or early in 2013.”
But early Saturday morning it still wasn’t clear how long the market might be tied up, the Western auctioneer said.
“Even if it’s just a 72-hour thing, it still crushes our market,” the auctioneer said. “I’ve heard anywhere from 72 hours to six months or better. It depends on where it’s coming from. If the Canadians are putting a stop to it because of inaccurate EID forms and they want the USDA to get tougher on those, then it could be a short deal. But if this is coming from the EU or it has to do with the European economy, then it could be a lot longer. If the U.S. is not going to guarantee that these horses haven’t had these medications that are banned for food in the EU, and if they can’t find a way to make those records more accurate, then it’s going to be a long deal.”
Meanwhile, many anti-slaughter groups cautiously hailed the apparent shutdown as they, like participants in the slaughter market, scrambled to find clarification on whether policies have, in fact, changed permanently in Canada, Mexico, or the EU.
“The most likely explanation for the sudden move is that the expanded residue testing program has yielded worse than anticipated results,” theorized the Equine Welfare Alliance’s John Holland.
But Sugarcreek’s Leroy Baker countered that a slaughter shutdown would still be bad news for U.S. horses.
“These animal rights people want to save them, but all they do is prolong the agony,” Baker said. “They think they’re saving them. They think they saw starving, thin horses that weren’t [taken] care of before when people could sell them and get something? Just imagine: they will turn them out on the roads and in empty fields and everything now.
**********************************************
Third Horse-Slaughter Company Added to Restraining OrderBY DAN FLYNN | SEPTEMBER 23, 2013Rains Natural Meats in Gallatin, MO, was to have begun processing horsemeat for export today, but instead finds itself added to a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in New Mexico. This means USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) must “suspend or withhold the provision of horse meat inspection services to Rains Natural Meats until Oct. 4, 2013.”
FSIS is enjoined from “dispatching inspectors to the horse slaughterhouse facility operated by Rains” until further order by the court.
Rains joins Valley Meat Co. of Roswell, NM, and Responsible Transportation of Sigourney, IA, as would-be horse slaughterhouses now pinned down by a federal lawsuit brought against USDA by multiple horse rescue and animal welfare groups, led by the Humane Society of the United States.
The plaintiffs claim USDA is required to conduct certain environmental and administrative reviews before equine inspection services can resume in the U.S.
The government and the groups have agreed to fast-track arguments before U.S. District Court Judge M. Christina Armijo in Albuquerque, with a trial court ruling coming as early as mid-October. Rains is late to the party, having met all the statutory and regulatory steps to require USDA to provide equine inspection services only after the court case began.
In her order, Judge Armijo referred the Rains matter to federal Magistrate Robert H. Scott, who will decide whether her order should be extended after Oct. 4 and whether an injunction bond will be necessary from the plaintiffs to cover the inclusion of Rains in the case.
Department of Justice attorneys representing USDA told the court last week that Rains was about to receive equine inspection services and the plaintiffs asked that the company be brought under the restraining order.
© Food Safety News
Third Horse-Slaughter Company Added to Restraining OrderBY DAN FLYNN | SEPTEMBER 23, 2013Rains Natural Meats in Gallatin, MO, was to have begun processing horsemeat for export today, but instead finds itself added to a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in New Mexico. This means USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) must “suspend or withhold the provision of horse meat inspection services to Rains Natural Meats until Oct. 4, 2013.”
FSIS is enjoined from “dispatching inspectors to the horse slaughterhouse facility operated by Rains” until further order by the court.
Rains joins Valley Meat Co. of Roswell, NM, and Responsible Transportation of Sigourney, IA, as would-be horse slaughterhouses now pinned down by a federal lawsuit brought against USDA by multiple horse rescue and animal welfare groups, led by the Humane Society of the United States.
The plaintiffs claim USDA is required to conduct certain environmental and administrative reviews before equine inspection services can resume in the U.S.
The government and the groups have agreed to fast-track arguments before U.S. District Court Judge M. Christina Armijo in Albuquerque, with a trial court ruling coming as early as mid-October. Rains is late to the party, having met all the statutory and regulatory steps to require USDA to provide equine inspection services only after the court case began.
In her order, Judge Armijo referred the Rains matter to federal Magistrate Robert H. Scott, who will decide whether her order should be extended after Oct. 4 and whether an injunction bond will be necessary from the plaintiffs to cover the inclusion of Rains in the case.
Department of Justice attorneys representing USDA told the court last week that Rains was about to receive equine inspection services and the plaintiffs asked that the company be brought under the restraining order.
© Food Safety News
Horse slaughter compounds surplus equine problem, doesn't solve it!
Horse slaughter compounds surplus equine problem, doesn't solve it
Holly Gann, horse slaughter campaign manager
Humane Society of the United States
Posted: 08/09/2013 03:17:19 PM MDT
Horse slaughter is a cause of, not a solution to, any surplus of horses in this country. The option to send horses to slaughter perpetuates overbreeding of horses, and more than 100,000 horses are sentenced to die yearly in slaughterhouses.
Former show horses, family pets and racers are purchased at auction, often by people misrepresenting their intentions. Slaughter actually hinders rescue efforts, as rescuers are routinely outbid by kill buyers seeking healthy animals bringing the best price per pound.
We have found that so-called unwanted horses, if rescued from the slaughter pipeline and given a second chance, go on to win shows, ride trails and provide joy to people. Slaughter supporters wish to dismiss the role horses play in our society and detach us from our emotions for them as our companions.
But they can't shake the majority of Americans' belief that these loyal, noble creatures deserve better than a cruel death in a slaughterhouse.
Horses deserve our protection, and the solution we seek is a ban on the slaughter of American horses, not only in the U.S. but throughout North America. The Safeguard American Food Exports Act (H.R.1094/S.541) will do just that.
AWI NEWS RELEASE!
Washington, D.C. (August 6, 2013) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction of S. 1459, the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013, by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The bill, which prohibits the hauling of horses on livestock trailers containing one level on top of the other, has garnered bipartisan support in Congress, as well from the welfare, veterinary and agriculture communities.
“It is time we put an end to the inhumane and unsafe practice of transporting horses in double-decker trailers,” Senator Kirk said. “A 2007 accident in Illinois involving one of these trailers killed 15 horses. It is not only a cruel way to transport horses, but it also puts motorists’ lives at risk.”
Double-deck livestock trailers on the road today were built to meet the specific design and engineering requirements of short-necked livestock species, like cattle, sheep, and swine. Unfortunately, some irresponsible haulers use these trailers to transport horses, leading to inhumane travel conditions for equines and unsafe roadways for drivers. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the National Agriculture Safety Database (NASD) have recommended ceiling heights no lower than 7’–8’ to transport horses safely, while average double deck trailer ceiling heights range from 4’7” –5‘11”. The U.S. Department of Transportation only requires bridges to have a vertical clearance of 14′–16’ in rural and urban areas, making it impossible to build or modify a trailer large enough to transport equines on two levels.
“Double-decker trailers are designed for cattle and hogs, not horses,” said Senator Menendez. “This legislation would put a much needed end to the inhumane and unsafe practice of transporting horses in trailers with two or more levels stacked on top of each other, regardless of the purpose. Not only is this type of conveyance cruel, but it also jeopardizes safe roadway conditions for New Jerseyans and all of those who travel through our state.”
“AWI is pleased that Senator Kirk has reintroduced this important bill with his colleague Senator Menendez during the 113th Congress,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs at AWI. “The humane transportation of animals has long been a top priority for AWI and it is time to eliminate this inhumane practice with respect to horses.”
The Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013 (S. 1459) is necessary to protect horses from being transported across the United States for any reason in a trailer having more than one level. To learn more about this issue or to write a letter to your senator in support of S. 1459, please visit www.CompassionIndex.org.
Washington, D.C. (August 6, 2013) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction of S. 1459, the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013, by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The bill, which prohibits the hauling of horses on livestock trailers containing one level on top of the other, has garnered bipartisan support in Congress, as well from the welfare, veterinary and agriculture communities.
“It is time we put an end to the inhumane and unsafe practice of transporting horses in double-decker trailers,” Senator Kirk said. “A 2007 accident in Illinois involving one of these trailers killed 15 horses. It is not only a cruel way to transport horses, but it also puts motorists’ lives at risk.”
Double-deck livestock trailers on the road today were built to meet the specific design and engineering requirements of short-necked livestock species, like cattle, sheep, and swine. Unfortunately, some irresponsible haulers use these trailers to transport horses, leading to inhumane travel conditions for equines and unsafe roadways for drivers. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the National Agriculture Safety Database (NASD) have recommended ceiling heights no lower than 7’–8’ to transport horses safely, while average double deck trailer ceiling heights range from 4’7” –5‘11”. The U.S. Department of Transportation only requires bridges to have a vertical clearance of 14′–16’ in rural and urban areas, making it impossible to build or modify a trailer large enough to transport equines on two levels.
“Double-decker trailers are designed for cattle and hogs, not horses,” said Senator Menendez. “This legislation would put a much needed end to the inhumane and unsafe practice of transporting horses in trailers with two or more levels stacked on top of each other, regardless of the purpose. Not only is this type of conveyance cruel, but it also jeopardizes safe roadway conditions for New Jerseyans and all of those who travel through our state.”
“AWI is pleased that Senator Kirk has reintroduced this important bill with his colleague Senator Menendez during the 113th Congress,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs at AWI. “The humane transportation of animals has long been a top priority for AWI and it is time to eliminate this inhumane practice with respect to horses.”
The Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013 (S. 1459) is necessary to protect horses from being transported across the United States for any reason in a trailer having more than one level. To learn more about this issue or to write a letter to your senator in support of S. 1459, please visit www.CompassionIndex.org.
In America, no horse is bred for food. He is bred for
sport, industry and agriculture. Our country was built on
the back of horses who still serve our country to this
day. Horses protect our borders as well as helping
police protect our cities. They provide programs that
help those with disabilities and bring smiles to many a
face..changing them forever!
When you ask people about the practice of horse
slaughter, the vast majority find this practice
shocking and indefensible. Horse slaughter is NOT
euthanasia but it is the painful butchering of these
American icons. Most of these horses are young,
healthy and well suited for placement in loving homes.
Please take a stand and help to prevent horse slaughter
beginning today. Sign petitions, be their voice. They all
deserve to live!
sport, industry and agriculture. Our country was built on
the back of horses who still serve our country to this
day. Horses protect our borders as well as helping
police protect our cities. They provide programs that
help those with disabilities and bring smiles to many a
face..changing them forever!
When you ask people about the practice of horse
slaughter, the vast majority find this practice
shocking and indefensible. Horse slaughter is NOT
euthanasia but it is the painful butchering of these
American icons. Most of these horses are young,
healthy and well suited for placement in loving homes.
Please take a stand and help to prevent horse slaughter
beginning today. Sign petitions, be their voice. They all
deserve to live!