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Should it be legal to slaughter horses for human consumption in the United States?
The article linked below notes that since Texas and Illinois outlawed the slaughter of horses in 2007, (a) jobs in that industry have moved to Mexico and Canada, (b) horses in the U.S. are transported farther (sometimes inhumanely) to be slaughtered, (c) cases of horse neglect and abandonment have increased, (d) the prices of horses in the U.S. have dropped, and (e) the number of slaughtered horses is virtually unchanged.
The article cites a number of reasons that horse slaughter has begun to be outlawed in the U.S.:
<< Horse meat is considered an appropriate part of human diets in many countries and was consumed in the United States as recently as the mid-1940s, the GAO said.
<< But the 68-page study noted how the now-contentious equine slaughter issue has divided Americans.
<< Many animal-rights groups and horse enthusiasts cite the horse's iconic role in helping settle the West, its use as a rural work animal and its continued importance as a show, racing and recreation animal, the GAO said. As a result, some view horses as a companion animal or pet. >>
Article:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/04/3199121/number-of-slaughtered-us-horses.html
>The article linked below notes that since Texas and Illinois outlawed the slaughter of horses in 2007, (a) jobs in that industry have moved to Mexico and Canada, (b) horses in the U.S. are transported farther (sometimes inhumanely) to be slaughtered, (c) cases of horse neglect and abandonment have increased, (d) the prices of horses in the U.S. have dropped, and (e) the number of slaughtered horses is virtually unchanged.
While I could care less about eating horse (I wouldn't!!!) I have a problem with item B.
Does it really matter if they are transported inhumanely to die?
Its like the idiots on death row arguing against the lethal injection because one of the expiration dates on the drug has passed. You are about to die for your crimes against humanity. Heck, we should just use bleach and antifreeze or use a firing squad or hanging with silly arguments like that.
Personally, I think horses are cool, and they are companions and pets. I wouldn't eat a horse, or a dog, or a kitten, for that reason, but that argument simply isn't rational.
Paul
While I could care less about eating horse (I wouldn't!!!) I have a problem with item B.
Does it really matter if they are transported inhumanely to die?
Its like the idiots on death row arguing against the lethal injection because one of the expiration dates on the drug has passed. You are about to die for your crimes against humanity. Heck, we should just use bleach and antifreeze or use a firing squad or hanging with silly arguments like that.
Personally, I think horses are cool, and they are companions and pets. I wouldn't eat a horse, or a dog, or a kitten, for that reason, but that argument simply isn't rational.
Paul
>Does it really matter if they are transported inhumanely to die?
Hmm. For myself, I do think it makes a difference. I would much rather animals that I eat be killed in such a way that they don't suffer much or any pain (assuming that they have enough intelligence to notice anyway . . . a chicken's pain is not the same thing as a horse's pain). Being killed is one thing, being tortured is another. The former is really only an issue for extremely intelligent animals (perhaps only humans), since we have a consciousness that lets us see and fear our own pending lack-of-existence. But pain is something every animal, down to earthworms, can experience on various levels. (Again though, there's significant variance there, such that an earthworm's pain is pretty much just electrical signals, with no true suffering, while a horse/pig/dog/cat's pain involves true mental anguish.)
So I would much prefer horses be allowed to be killed in the US, and if anything, the rules simply to be for more humane ways of doing so.
- Greminty
Hmm. For myself, I do think it makes a difference. I would much rather animals that I eat be killed in such a way that they don't suffer much or any pain (assuming that they have enough intelligence to notice anyway . . . a chicken's pain is not the same thing as a horse's pain). Being killed is one thing, being tortured is another. The former is really only an issue for extremely intelligent animals (perhaps only humans), since we have a consciousness that lets us see and fear our own pending lack-of-existence. But pain is something every animal, down to earthworms, can experience on various levels. (Again though, there's significant variance there, such that an earthworm's pain is pretty much just electrical signals, with no true suffering, while a horse/pig/dog/cat's pain involves true mental anguish.)
So I would much prefer horses be allowed to be killed in the US, and if anything, the rules simply to be for more humane ways of doing so.
- Greminty
<< Does it really matter if they are transported inhumanely to die? >>
Even if you don't think there is a moral issue to the humane treatment of food animals, consider the practical issue that stressed animals have tough meat. Who wants tough horse steaks?
"You think if Catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the lambs." Do screaming lambs have tough meat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd7e1fXYIuM
Even if you don't think there is a moral issue to the humane treatment of food animals, consider the practical issue that stressed animals have tough meat. Who wants tough horse steaks?
"You think if Catherine lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the lambs." Do screaming lambs have tough meat?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd7e1fXYIuM
