cows/Carla/slaughter

["Broken Bell" <broknbel@compuwise.net>]

If we looked at Cows as Horses and Horses as cows this would be a same
conversation right?
Do I agree that there should be better transport laws. Oh YES..But give me
a break guys. It is ALL
around you. 1000 years ago a horse was a precious comodity as a food
source. You can't save all the
horses, You can make a better life for some that have something to offer.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm not going to torch you, Carla, because I do respect your opinions, however, I would like to address your comments.

 

We can not look at horses the same as cows.  In a slaughter situation (as opposed to a riding situation), there are several key factors to a cow's ways that differ from that of a horse.  When a cow gets scared, he lowers his head.  When a horse gets scared, he raises his head.  Cows necks are shorter than horse's necks.  There is not the same variation in cows sizes that there are in horses.  All adult cows are basically the same size, as opposed to an adult mini vs. an adult shetland, or an adult Welsh vs. an adult Saddlebred.   This is pertinent because

 

(warning, stop reading now if you have a weak stomach)

 

when the hydraulic bolt is shot into the skull, a bolt that is specifically designed NOT to kill the animal but only to stun it long enough to make it fall down so it's leg can be hooked up, it can be scooped up into an upside down position, so that it can have it's throat slit and be skinned in the fastest, most efficient manner possible, a horse's head is a harder target to hit.  It might be way down low in the chute, it might be relatively high, it might be swinging all over the chute causing the shooter to shoot several times before a wound is created that knockes the horse out.  Many times, the head is missed entirely and the horse is shot in the neck, then the shoulder.  The horses who only requre one blow to the head are the lucky ones.  They don't have bone slivers driven into their brains and suffer gran mal seizures to the cheers of the slaughter house workers.  It is much easier to hit a cow the first time than it is a horse.

 

Also, horses are inherently intelligent animals.  When is the last time you heard of a "cow whisperer"?   And, I don't know if you read or heard of the article about the medical school that is requiring it's students to train horses using nothing but body language in order to make them more aware of their body language and how much it says when interacting with patients (students are raving about the program), but there is a reason why this class is not taught using cattle, sheep, pigs, or other kinds of animals.  It is because all other animals, horses rein superior in their sensitivity to small detail and body language.

 

 

Just because something is "all around us" does not mean we should just accept it and go on about our business.  This wasn't a good idea in early Nazi Germany, and it isn't a good idea today.  There is a reason why our great country was set up in a democratic manner - to allow us to speak out when we see something wrong.

 

 

Please furnish some statistics or historical documents stating conclusively that horses were a "precious commodity as a food source" in the United States.  I know you didn't say United States, but we are talking about American horses and American slaughter houses.  I'm no history buff, and most of what I have to go on involves watching movies such as Gladiator or old westerns or movies about frontier times.  In all the movies I've seen, the people are riding the horses, not eating them.  Horses are plowing fields in the movies, not smoking in a cast iron pot over the fireplace.

 

And, please explain what horse doesn't have anything to offer and by whose standards this would apply to?  There aren't many horses that can't be or aren't already, tamed enough to pet out in the pasture or watch romp around the pasture in a rain storm.   There are very, very few horses that cannot be tamed, and there are none that I can certify actually "cannot" be tamed.  It all depends on the trainer(s). 

 

I hope my tone hasn't been misinterpreted here.  I also thank you for taking the time to read this.  I understand this is an off-topic subject and I welcome replies via private e-mail in order not to further disturb the list, as there were some questions in this message.   I apologize if my description of slaughter has offended anyone.

 

Thanks,

Antoinette