I received this today from Jim Steers; some of you may know
him as having been around vetting rides forever. He mostly does Ride &
Tie now, but I believe he's done endurance as well.
My current job includes investigating complaints of large
animal abuse. Many of these complaints regard starving horses and I expect
it to be worse this year. Please do your part to protect our equine
friends and contact your reps to vote NO on this bill. Slaughter is a
horrible thing to consider, but its a better way to die than the slow agony of
being starved.
Dorothy Miller
Quincy, CA
If the attachment doesn't come through, it is a letter from
the American Association of Equine Practitioners urging a "NO" vote on this
bill. You can call the Capitol Hill operator at 202 224-3121 to connect
you to your representative's office to urge him/her to vote NO. The vote
is today...please call.
Subject: HORSE SLAUGHTER BILL, H.R. 6598 +++++NEEDS YOUR IMMEDIATE
ATTENTION
Dear Everyone, As most of you know I have devoted my
professional life to the welfare of the horse?as a horse owner, advocate, and
equine veterinarian. As such, you might think I would urge you to
contact your representative and senators to pass this bill. Not so. This
bill has unexpected consequences that will lead to the worse kind of
cruelty ?namely, horses will be turned out to starve. This has been a
common practice for many years but on the very small scale; pets of
all species are turned loose when people move, run out of money, or
just don't want the keep the animal for what ever reason. But now, with
the energy crisis, foreclosures on "Horse Ranchettes", and the
high cost of horse feed, we are in a "HORSE CARE CRISIS": Horses are being
turned out by their owners on the "range" because they
can't afford to feed them; nobody else wants them; the slaughter
houses are closed down and, if this bill passes, it will be a criminal
act to transport horses to Canada or Mexico where they can be
slaughtered. The BLM has so many surplus horses and burros for which
they lack range and do not have funds to buy feed, that they are
contemplating euthanizing the surplus animals. How will they dispose of
these carcasses? Cremation? Burial? Feed the poor? The most
humane and economic solution to this horse care crisis is to reopen the
equine slaughter houses, allow horses to be sold at auction yards and
transported to these slaughter houses, and humanely killed
for animal and human consumption. Yes, I know that most of you
can't imagine eating horse meat, nor am I advocating you do so. But I
do want you to be aware that, if you are not a vegetarian, that the species
of animal you eat is a cultural thing. Our 4-H kids raise all
kinds of animals from rabbits to lambs and calves, knowing these "pets" will
be eaten after they are auctioned off at the fairs. In much of Asia dog meat
is a delicacy and, even in Hawaii, our fellow Americans use dogs at luaus
when pork is not readily available?I have to admit canine meat was
rather tasty. During WWII, horse meat was not rationed and
many Americans ate i When I was home on leave, my sister in law
had "steak" in my honor. It was delicious and very tender, and
when I commended her on this, Margaret
said, "Jim, you just had your first taste of horse meat". The best report
I have seen on this subject is "The Alberta Horse Welfare Report: A
report on horses as food producing animals aimed at addressing horse welfare
and improving communication with the livestock industry and the
public." [February 2008. www. afac.ab.ca]. Please act now: Every law
maker in Washington has their own Web Site: ie, <Boxer.senate.gov>
< Feinstein.senate.gov>
<woolsey.house.gov>
