There are several articles and tons of outrage circling the internet and places like facebook right over the slaughter of horses here in the U.S. You can can read one such article at this link to see what I am talking about. Apparently, as slaughter plants where horses are processed into meat are reopened, people are forgetting what the last few years without these slaughter houses have been like for the horse population. As it exploded due to irresponsible owners and breeders, with no outlet besides Mexico and craigslist, prices dropped, conditions that horses were kept in became worse, and the market was flooded with creatures that should have been euthanized but weren't due to "costs". It's not right, I do agree with that, that someone should take on a cheap horse and then expect it to be The Black Stallion or Flicka...but at least with slaughter as an option those horses still have a way to make it over the proverbial rainbow bridge and off of their misery on this earth.
Now, my main thing here is this: Who is anyone to say that it's okay to eat a cow or pig but not a horse? Have you ever owned a cow or raised a pig from the day it was born? I have...guess what - pigs and cattle can be very intelligent! Heck...even chickens are pretty smart, and in my eyes everything here on our little farm is equal. Everything has a job, and some things are destined to be dinner while others are here to ride the fence lines on. But no one animal is more intelligent then the next, no one animal is exempt ever from being a meal if the need arose. I promise you this...if every one on facebook who is crying because the horses are going to slaughter had a starving family, and a fat horse in the yard, and it was a "zombie apocalypse SHTF" type of scenario...well....those same people now in a new situation would feed their hungry kids horse burgers before they'd let their children starve. Sure, last resort kinda thing, but meat is meat when people are hungry. So it seems hypocritical to me to bash the idea of horse slaughter purely because it's a horse we are talking about...
Yes, we do all of our own processing except cows because we don't have the facilities to handle something that big. See that? It's a pig, one I raised from tiny enough to hold in one hand, and guess what...He was smart as whip, would come right up to me, friendly as could be, and tasted like delicious sausage in the final analysis. Honestly, if I had to place him on the same scale as my horses, he was equally as intelligent as either one of them. He could open gates, knew when he was in trouble for breaking into the feed room, and came when he was called...yup...just as smart as my mare at least. When people say you can't eat a horse "because it is smart" it kills me....they've never had a beef calf that mooed when it saw you coming, liked to be rubbed between the ears, and followed simple verbal commands that they had made into hamburgers. But I bet they eat plenty of hamburgers and never stop to think that beef was once on the hoof alive and intelligent. No, not everyone has it in them to do what we do...but unless you are a very strict vegetarian or vegan how can you say what meat is okay and what is not?
Now, with horses, in general it can be said their job is to be ridden. Pasture ornament is even an okay title for an older or lame horse I suppose. But sadly, there exist plenty of people in this world who do not care for animals nearly as well as they should. Horses are too large to be "pets" for a great portion of the population...this leaves a heavy burden on shelters and rescues with abandoned unwanted animals that can cost hundreds of dollars a month to keep fed. Slaughter is one way to handle this over population. Is it the right way? Who am I to say...I can't say it's wrong as I eat meat. Would I eat horse meat? I dunno...never had it, can't tell you if I'd like it. But if others want to eat it I don't mind and I'm not going to knock them for it. As long as they follow at least the standards I set for myself I see no problem with anyone who eats horse meat or slaughtering horses.
Here, things are checked over bare minimum twice daily, and if it's an animal bound for the freezer it always goes that way with calm, quiet, dignity and respect. I do have a problem with people that don't slaughter, process or butcher as humanely as possible. I do have a problem with people that allow animals to be sick or ill with no treatment prior to being slaughtered. But, if my neighbor wants to raise and eat dogs - well - that's his business. Just raise them well and slaughter them with kindness and compassion when the time comes.
Then the cry is raised that slaughter is inhumane - but wait - did you have a chicken sandwich for lunch? Steak for dinner? So...it's okay to kill that chicken or that steer because why again? It's humane for them? Don't kid yourself...if you aren't producing your own food or very close to those that DO butcher and process your food all packing plants are equal. Sure, some may be better than others. But none are warm friendly places full of smiling faces. Any meat, be it beef, pork, poultry or even horse meat, has to die to get to your plate. Don't kid yourself that a chicken from the grocery store died a better death than a horse would - not even organic chicken - it's a factory style set up with disgruntled under paid employees. Things are going to be less than perfect in that setting, be it horse burger or chicken patties they are producing.
There are many other aspects about people getting all preachy over slaughtering horses that really get to me...the fact that the horse market has been flooded with half wild, crazy, ill mannered beasts for years now that would have been sent to the packing house in decades prior...yeah...makes it hard to find a good one. Also, having too much of something drives the prices down and it makes it even harder to get a good price for and sell a good one if the need arises. And, let's be honest now, we never stopped sending horses to slaughter. It just got harder to do...
You see, what all these people who cry over how terrible it is forget is that Mexico never closed the doors of the packing houses. Plenty of horses were shipped over there while we were busy being self righteous about it here. It was, to me, worse for the horses. A farther journey first of all, one that ended in a place with no regulations like we have here in the U.S. Sure, yes, there are cases of packing plants doing awful things here too. But at least we have some sort of checks and balances in place to make it slightly better...slightly more humane...and people the nation over armed with camera phones and youtube to spread the word when a facility is not doing right. Mexico...hmm....not so much....it's further away and not under the thumb of our regulatory agencies as far as how they work and what happens to those animals. SO if I absolutely had to pick, I'd send my horses to a place in the U.S. over Mexico if it was the only option.
So, trying to keep my opinion short and sweet here, when I see these posts on facebook about horse slaughter returning and how it's the devil I can only hope those same people get the chance one day to see how smart their bacon was or their KFC fried chicken that would willingly follow a human around looking for treats...and if horse meat is still wrong, they better start thinking all meat is wrong. Because the hypocrisy of someone chewing on a piece of bacon while they post about the evil behind eating horses is the worst part of all it.
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