In 2008, the USDA
was incorporated in division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which
banned HSP’s from using government funds or user fees to pay for the
inspection. For the last three years this ban and state laws had prevented
HSP’s (horse slaughter plants) from starting up in the U.S., but this created a
larger problem in that now the horses were being shipped to Mexico and Canada
for slaughter which meant that they would have to travel longer distances, in
worse conditions, and once they crossed the border the U.S.’s strict
regulations that ensured humane practices of slaughter (prior to the ban) were
no longer in affect. Canada and Mexico do not have as strict of laws enforcing
the humane practice of the slaughtering of horses, which means that the horses
suffer a much worse fate. Also without the ability to sell horse’s for
slaughter, the amount of neglect and abuse cases where people cannot
financially afford to properly take care of these horse’s is on a dramatic
rise.
Just before
thanksgiving this year, President Obama was given the option to expand the ban
to included horse’s being shipped out of the U.S., by criminalizing the export
of all horses or he could lift the ban on government funds for inspection,
which would allow HSP’s to receive free government sponsored inspections and
use user fees to re-establish themselves here in the U.S. Obama lifted the ban.
We as Americans do not eat horse meat, so the slaughtering of horses
for consumption is an abomination in my mind but if the horses are facing a
worse fate because they are being treated worse and transported to Mexico and Canada
for slaughter the problem still exists.
The big organizations that protect animals are split on what should be
taking place. Peta is for the horse slaughter to be brought back into the us
because the transport is worse and the humane society wants it stopped all
together but when you have the main advocates for animal rights on 2 different
sides of the fence getting anything accomplished is a lot harder.
I think that the main groups need to come together and actively work to
end it all together, that’s what they want to have happen but when one group
(peta) is willing to sacrifice one evil for a lesser one and the humane society
is the only ones that are pushing for an end to it all together it prevents any
real progress from taking place.
These groups need to figure out a way to come together and some real
change can happen.
Links to the
peta website and humane society so you can explore the different viewpoints.
http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/tags/horse+slaughter/default.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment