An Unlikely Ally?

[Texan]

A Black guy from the city supports horse slaughter. From the Ft.Worth Star-Telegram...


Outrage over horse meat is perplexing and even hypocritical

BOB RAY SANDERS



In My Opinion

My high school band was always invited to march in the Fort Worth Stock Show parade. Of course, so were most other high school marching bands in the county, but we still thought it was special to have been asked.

Because the emphasis was on horses, every band except the lead-off group -- usually from Polytechnic or Paschal high school -- had to march behind mounted units.

And in those days, our all-black band from I.M. Terrell High School jockeyed with Dunbar High to be the last band onlookers would see and hear in the parade, which often had 100 or more units.

It's real tough to march in straight lines behind hundreds of horses. I couldn't avoid all the mess left by the horses, so at times I'd just have to take a deep breath and step in it.

It's just a coincidence that the Stock Show is in town, now that I'm about to step in it again, at least with horse lovers.

I'm on record in this column supporting the right of three U.S. plants to slaughter horses, including one in Fort Worth, and I am perplexed by the outrage expressed by people who insist that horse meat should not be sold for human consumption.

The three plants don't sell horse meat to be eaten in the United States, but they have a lucrative business selling to customers in other countries.

For several years, different groups have joined forces to try to shut down the slaughterhouses, mostly declaring that it's just inhumane to serve up an American horse steak, especially to foreigners. One tack they have taken has been to assert that the Texas plants violate a long-disregarded 1949 state law banning the possession or transport of horse meat for human consumption.

In 2002, an opinion by then-Attorney General John Cornyn held that the law was still enforceable, and Tarrant County District Attorney Tim Curry prepared to do just that. Even the Texas Legislature and Congress got into the act.

In a federal court case naming Curry as the defendant, the slaughterhouses contended that the 1949 law had been repealed by subsequent state law and also had been pre-empted by federal law.

A district judge here in Fort Worth sided with the slaughterhouses and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting Curry from prosecuting the companies under the state law.

Well, last week a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the lower court

The plaintiffs are likely to request a hearing before the entire 5th Circuit and, perhaps, take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

All of this is over horses, many of which are being abandoned and mistreated because their owners can't afford to take care of them.

Interestingly enough, leaders of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, who clearly understand the plight of many unwanted horses in this country, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the federal suit siding with the slaughterhouses.

Fifth Circuit Judge Fortunato Benavides, who wrote what otherwise might be considered a reasoned opinion, obviously bought into the Western myth of the godly horse.

Here's the opening line of his opinion: "The lone cowboy riding his horse on a Texas trail is a cinematic icon. Not once in memory did the cowboy eat the horse, but film is an imperfect mirror for reality."

That last phrase is probably the most important: "Film is an imperfect mirror for reality."

When the issue was before Congress last year, the American Quarter Horse Association issued the following statement:

"Sending a horse to a processing facility is unthinkable to many. And we respect that view. But for others, it is the best option. AQHA recognizes that the processing of unwanted horses is currently a necessary aspect of the equine industry, because it provides a humane euthanasia alternative for horses that might otherwise continue a life of discomfort and pain, or inadequate care or abandonment."

You would never catch me eating meat from a horse, or a deer or a lamb for that matter, but it's not for me to say that no one else should.

Frankly, I think it is hypocritical for politicians and the public who support this country's booming business in slaughtering animals for food -- chickens, hogs and cows -- to try to shut down three companies because their product is the horse.


http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/columnists/bob_ray_sanders/16533327.htm

[cowsense]

The horse slaughter ban should be a wakeup call for all in agriculture; There are large groups of well financed, very organized fanatics that will stop at nothing to see their ideals pushed onto the public agenda. Believe me, these groups could care less about the welfare of the producers that feed the continent! It's about time that agricultural producers stop infighting and work together to preserve our way of life before it is legislated out of existence!!

[RoperAB]

[Soapweed]

[cert]

[Faster horses]

Soap always nails it and in such a nice way.

[Texan]

[Texan]

On the heels of a Wednesday federal court decision upholding a Texas ban on horse meat for human consumption, both Delta and American Airlines indicated they won't transport the meat to overseas markets, where it generally is consumed.

Meantime, it was unclear whether Texas' two horse slaughterhouses were still processing the product.

"My information now is that the plants are not processing at the moment," industry lobbyist Charles Stenholm told The Dallas Morning News. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if you can't ship the meat, you can't process it."

http://www.texascattleraisers.org/daily%20update/1-29-07/skies_unfriendly_horse_meat.asp

[Soapweed]

There has to be some way to dispense with old and unusable horses. They are not humans and do not need to be treated as humans. Consider that they might be like deer or elk. Horses are beautiful graceful animals, much like deer or elk. Do we want to have a "hunting season" on horses, like we do on deer, elk, moose, or mountain goats. The equine populaton must be maintained and managed somehow. Instead of this problem being a big expense for all horse owners, with a thriving horse slaughter industry it is at least a break-even situation for the horse owners involved.

As far as taking a horse to an auction, I would rather a packer buyer end up with a horse I don't want as for it to go to a backyard pet project where it is confined to a small corral, with a good chance of not getting enough to eat. Realistically, horses will not live forever. Just because there is a ban on killing horses for slaughter, does not mean they will not die a suffering death.

As I have pointed out before, if this horse slaughter ban goes into effect, it will jeopardize the use of horses on ranches. Many cow outfits will go to using all ATVs, for the sake of efficiency and because they will no longer see any sense in keeping horses around if there is no floor price for old and unused horses. Mark my words this will happen. Horses will become a luxury that only very wealthy people will be able to afford. With a viable horse packing industry, most people that love horses can afford to keep one, because they know when the horse is old, there will still be a market value to the horse. This floor price will allow a nice down payment to be made on a younger replacement horse. This is the way that it should be.

[RoperAB]

[Faster horses]

Our son-in-law and daughter raise horses, ABRoper, and they
would beg to differ with you when you say the 'real' horse
industry in North America is stronger than any other time.
These young horses aren't worth much. What makes them worth
something is the TIME spent riding them.

Value added, you might say.

You can run at least a cow and a half to one horse in your pasture
and here lately you couldn't sell the colt for 1.5 times what you
would get for a calf. I mean across the board, not the exceptional
ones.

[RoperAB]

[quote="Soapweed"]There has to be some way to dispense with old and unusable horses. >>

There is.


<<They are not humans and do not need to be treated as humans. >>

You have that right. Horses dont lie, they have no hidden agendas. I have yet to meet an evil horse.

<< Do we want to have a "hunting season" on horses, like we do on deer, elk, moose, or mountain goats. The equine populaton must be maintained and managed somehow.>>

We have wild horses in Alberta that can legaly be hunted <without a liceanse, the year round>which is the way it should be.


<<As far as taking a horse to an auction, I would rather a packer buyer end up with a horse I don't want as for it to go to a backyard pet project where it is confined to a small corral, with a good chance of not getting enough to eat. >

I would rather sell a horse to some town guy who actually reads, watches videos, goes to clinics and or who hires a good trainer than to somebody who thinks that they know all about horses because they run some cows.

<< Just because there is a ban on killing horses for slaughter, does not mean they will not die a suffering death.>>

It does mean that irresponsible breeders and the disposible horse "trainers" will not be rewarded.
Ever have a so called "trainer" look you in the eye with a smile on his face and say that a horse only has three years in them anyway?

<<As I have pointed out before, if this horse slaughter ban goes into effect, it will jeopardize the use of horses on ranches. Many cow outfits will go to using all ATVs, for the sake of efficiency and because they will no longer see any sense in keeping horses around if there is no floor price for old and unused horses. Mark my words this will happen. Horses will become a luxury that only very wealthy people will be able to afford. >>

Well which is it? In other threads the pro slaughter crowd<cant remember if you were one of them >> but they were all hollering that this will take the bottom out of horse markets and that horses will be selling cheaper.
Quads cost about $10,000 around here. These quad cowboy types think nothing about buying new dually diesels to pull there quads with. Then these same types would roll there eyes at the thought of paying anything more than $2500 for a saddle horse
IMO im happy that the people who used to use horses because they needed them, not because they had any interest in horses. Im glad these people can now use quads.
My friends and or the people that I have sold horses to have no interest in quads for ranch work. If they had to use a quad they would do something else for a living.
Around here Quads are hated for the most part. I dont know of any outfits that would even allow you to drive a quad on their land.

<<With a viable horse packing industry, most people that love horses can afford to keep one, because they know when the horse is old, there will still be a market value to the horse. This floor price will allow a nice down payment to be made on a younger replacement horse. >>

The worst nickle and dimers to sell to for the most part are the ones who drive the fancy new trucks, pulling the expensive alunimun horse trailers. They are the ones you have to watch as far as personal checks go.
You cant buy an acreage around here for under $300,000 and ranches are worth millions. These people think nothing about paying $10 for a beer at the rodeo<Calgary Stampede>. They tend to go on expensive trips, have all the latest stuff but then cry about being hard up and make it sound like they have to do anything for a buck