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[RC] The ethics of slaughter - Karen Everhart

Since I started the "ethical" discussion, I need to clarify. 
 
I did not make my "ethical" statement in regards to what people eat, but as an assessment of the slaughter industry itself. The Mayor of Kearney, TX, where one of the plants exists, calls horse slaughter "America's dirty little secret" and I think she nailed it on the head. 
 
If everything were on the table and horse owners "knew" that their horse was headed to slaughter when it left the auction ring, if killer buyers were "proud" of their vocation and openly disclosed their intentions, if the horses were housed in ways that respected their herd instincts, if they were transported in trailers which allowed plenty of room and comfort, if they were fed and watered along the way, if all horses were cleared for slaughter related to clear ownership, if horses were not stolen and sold to slaughter for peanuts so some idiot could buy another "whatever".  If, if, if.......then perhaps I would not be quite so quick to label horse slaughter (the industry) as unethical. 
 
I don't set back and make grand statements from my "high horse" about this subject.  I face it every day.  I see the conditions these horses are subjected to (I call it being "terrorized"). I pay ransom for horses which are healthy, trained, friendly, I accept and rehab those which have been injured significantly during transport.  I listen to heartbreaking stories from people who can no longer care for their horses.  I receive calls and emails from individuals and breeders who simply "don't want to" care for their horse(s) any longer.  This "business" is pretty ugly nearly every day and it is not the fault of the horse.  It is the fault of the "horse people".  We made this mess and we are going to have to clean it up.  It will get uglier before it gets better.  There will, undoubtedly, be taxes or fines or assessments.  Registration rates will probably rise, the government will get involved at some level and there will be people spending time in jail.  Some will spend LOTS OF TIME.  Judges are now saying "animals abuse will not occur on my watch" and people are "paying the price" for neglect, abuse and abandonment.
 
As Truman said, the tide has turned, regardless of your personal opinion.  I fully expect the anti-slaughter bills to pass both the House and Senate.  If not this year, then the next or the next, because AMERICA does not want horses slaughtered.  Just be prepared.  If you need to get a horse off your rolls, do so now.  Prices are around .32 per pound.  Get your money while you can and cut your losses now..
 
 
Karen Everhart MEd
President
Rainbow Meadows Rescue and Retirement, Inc.
www.rainbowmeadowsranch.com
620-725-3402
 
Owner/Operator Horse Calls - Equine Management Solutions
Centered Riding Instructor
Distance Horse Conditioning and Training
www.horsecalls.com
316-648-5082
A captive bolt in the brain is certainly "humane."   And to suggest that it is unethical for humans to consume horses is biased at best.