Like Lambs to the Slaughter
Pro Slaughter Groups Lure Unsuspecting Equestrians to their Cause

The American Horse Council will be presenting a forum on horse welfare issues in DC next week. Interestingly all of their speakers are pro-slaughter.

Speaking before the group "in an effort to inform attendees about welfare initiatives in all segments of the horse world" will be: Dr. Scott Palmer, a nationally renowned veterinarian and past-president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners; Gary Carpenter, executive director of the American Quarter Horse Foundation; Cindy Schonholtz, president of the Animal Welfare Council; Dr. Tom Lenz, chairman of the Unwanted Horse Coalition; and Dr. Gail Golab, Director, Animal Welfare Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association. All of these groups are on record as being pro-slaughter. Their presentations will include as the only possible solution to over the population of older, unwanted horses the use of slaughter and the reinstatement of slaughter plants in this country.

My question is who will be there to represent the other side of this issue?

The forces to build a coalition to promote the slaughter industry in this country are building and they are approaching various organizations under the auspices of concern for the unwanted, starving horses in this country. This week the Arabian Horse Association has "gone on record supporting horse slaughter with the passage of a resolution." This endorsement coincided with the rather propitious appointment of AHA president Lance Walters being appointed to the board of the AHC, leading one to surmise there are interests other than what is best for unwanted horses being advanced here.

Be aware! Groups approaching well intended smaller grass-root organizations know full well that they need to convince the greater populace that slaughter is akin to euthanasia, and a humane end for America's unwanted horses. You can bet that at this meeting they won't be wasting their breath on birth control or limits on breeding, because the birth cycle, sale and registrations are how many of these groups generate substantial funding.

In fact, there is nothing about slaughter that is humane. Those supporting pro-slaughter would have you believe that slaughter plants have a well organized humane march to the kill shoot. They practically describe it as a "cumbaya moment." Anyone who has ever been around a herd of horses knows full well the twitch of an ear can signal panic. This is no peaceful retreat to greener pastures in the great beyond. This is murder!

And the only way to stop the movement to bring back slaughter plants in this country is to make it illegal to sell horsemeat for human consumption. That's what The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 was designed to do. Don't let anyone tell you it needs to be changed! Slaughter plants are big business and those supporting them want the jobs and money and votes that they will bring. Without the opportunity to sell horsemeat they will not exist.

Slaughter plants are not the answer to dealing with the unwanted horse problem. There are alternative means to dealing with older and unwanted horses in addition to more humane ways to euthanize them. But far too many are being lured into a dance with the devil by signing on to promote this savage solution.

Why is this happening now? Last fall the BLM announced it would consider euthanizing 30,000 of America's wild horses ~ basically throwing up their hands and saying they no longer had a solution to a population problem that has been snowballing for the past 38 years, and for which the BLM and its own mishandling of herd management is largely to blame. In January the group tabled its decision until September 2009. With the government's new fiscal year beginning October 1st, the doomsday clock is ticking. Is it any wonder these groups are working so hard to close the gap between those on the fence or opposed to slaughter by gathering them into their fold and paving the way for America's unwanted horses to head unobstructed into the kill chutes?

Spread the word! Write your congressman! Tell your friends, professional organizations and anyone who will listen to you that "Equestrians don't eat their own!" We will not support the use of slaughter plants for the use of selling horsemeat overseas!

Nancy Cole
Publisher
The Equestrian News
Uniting Southern California's HorsePower