Hope on the Horizon re: American Horse Slaughter
Lifesaves Wild Horse Rescue
Dear Friend,
There is hope on the horizon of the fight to ban horse slaughter plants from opening in the U.S.
As a Lifesavers follower you know that there are some states in our country that are very close to dropping the proverbial axe on the heads of innocent American horses. New Mexico's "Valley Meats" are geared up and ready to grind away - just waiting for the legal go ahead. And Oklahoma's governor has signed off on a bill that will allow her state to kill hundreds of thousands of horses each year. There are numerous other states who are chomping at the bit to ship the meat of horses to Japan and Belgium and other European countries so they can serve it to their high paying customers in restaurants and butcher shops
Even with all the recent controversy in the U.K. where they are appalled to find their beef products tainted with horse meat, certain greedy livestock producers in the U.S. are sure there will be a market for American horse meat once the dust settles across the pond. And, it's no secret that horse meat contains high levels of toxins from medicines and supplements that horses are routinely given by their owners such as Bute paste, a pain reliever, and worming pastes used to rid the intestines of parasites. These drugs are not food safe and the EU has said they will not accept any horse meat from the U.S., yet the United Horsemen (a pro horse slaughter organization) are still lobbying to kill our own horses for the foreign markets.
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This group of 158 mares and foals were sent to a slaughter auction, but Lifesavers rescued them all! |
Do you wonder why the pro slaughter group is so determined to bloody the floor with the very animal that they claim to want to protect and care for? It's actually very simple. It's all about money. It's not the money that comes from selling horse meat, because that's fairly minimal in the big picture - and most of the money from horse meat will be made by the foreign distributors - non U.S. businesses. It's about the money that these horse industry leaders make by breeding and breeding and breeding more horses every year for their particular trade. Like race horses - thousands of thoroughbred horses are bred and born every year in the hopes that one will make their owner rich, or richer, and the ones that don't win races are disposed of. This is the same practice across the board of other horse industry markets - sport horses and show horses. They produce a great deal of "waste" when they breed for specific things such as speed, endurance, color or athleticism.
The pro slaughter folks want the general public to believe that horse slaughter is providing a service to the horses they want to brutally dismember on the kill floor. They would like you to believe that only the sick or old horses will have their head punctured several times until they drop to their knees unable to resist any longer, and then hoisted by one leg to the ceiling to be bled out while their hearts are still beating. But the truth is that the younger healthy horses with lots of meat on their bones are the ones that bring the most money at the killer sales. So when you really look at who profits from horse slaughter you can see clearly who the killing actually serves.
They would also like you to believe that slaughtering a horse is better than letting it starve to death in someone's backyard. Well I have to say that neither of those options are better than the other - they are both unacceptable choices.
The answer is humane euthanasia. It is a different process than horse slaughter. Horse slaughter is not humane and never will be. Don't let their twisted propaganda fool you.
Most horse owners and welfare supporters understand that the day will ultimately come when a life needs to end and the spirit set free. Providing a humane and loving goodbye when the time is right is the responsible thing to do.
I mentioned that there is hope on the horizon. This is from aNew York Times article published April 10 2014 -"The Obama administration has included a proposal in its 2014 budget that would effectively ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Technically, the proposal would prevent money from being spent on inspection of horse slaughtering facilities. Without inspections, facilities could not legally operate".
If this budget is approved there will be no horse slaughter plants opening in the U.S. at least for now.
Unfortunately this budget restriction will only keep horse slaughter plants from operating in the United States. The countries of Mexico and Canada still accept American horses and kill about 100,000 each year. The hope to ban the slaughter of all American horses whether in this country or another lies with theSAFE Act - Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013. This bill will be tough to pass, but since it is addressing the health concerns of horse meat it may gain support from those who, in the past, ignored the horse welfare concerns of horse slaughter.
When you get tired of fighting, and weary of the debate, and feel like we will never win this battle....just look at the faces in these photos. These are the faces of the horses who would have been slaughtered - would have died in agony, but were saved by us. When I say "us" I mean you and Lifesavers working together. Find your strength in their eyes to keep forging ahead with the fight against horse slaughter...
Do it for the ones we could not save!
With the donations we received from our caring supporters, we have rescued more than 1000 horses from this horrible end. And we continue to provide sanctuary and safety for mustangs and domestic horses who will never know the pain they almost endured. Some were only days away from being shipped to slaughter - some only hours away. But your support saved them. Your continued support keeps them safe and healthy.
Lifesavers is now caring for more than 500 horses that would have been dead long ago if not for you. Many of our rescued horses get trained and adopted. Many will never be suitable for adoption and will stay with us for the rest of their lives. So please consider giving another heartfelt donation for ongoing feed and care...
We continue to rescue horses from slaughter and dire circumstances whenever possible. With so many mouths to feed and general donations in decline, our ability to care for any more horses is limited. We are looking for ways to create sustainability through revenue producing programs, but we really depend on our committed donor partnerships to meet the needs of our rescued horses.
As we are teetering on the edge these days I reach out to you every month for your support. I dream of a day when we will receive enough funding that we can budget comfortably and just focus on our lifesaving work, until then I ask you to be our hope on the horizon.
Please help us do what we do best...rescue and care for horses in trouble. Your gift will buy hay, pay for veterinary visits, cover the cost of hoof trims, feed supplements, training and other necessary expenses that keep our horses healthy. And maybe it will allow us to rescue another horse from the slaughter pipeline.
Your contribution in any amount is a blessing!
Thank you.
Jill Starr, President
Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue
23809 East Avenue J, Lancaster, CA 93535
661-727-1205