Appeals court rules against horse slaughtering in Texas

AP via Star-Telegram ^ | 1-20-07

[G Larry]

Yes, all horses must rot in the field, according to the law.

Only human babies may be killed for profit and convenience in Texas.

[conservativehusker]

No - They will just pack these creatures into cargo ships and take them where they can be slaughtered...Mexico???

[EndWelfareToday]

Only human babies may be killed for profit and convenience in Texas.

Amen. What a barbaric nation the US has become. It's ok to kill human children not only for profit but to provide the necessary collagen and Keratin necessary for all the cosmetics manufacturers to use in their shampoo, makeup and lotions. American women and animal rights advocates have no problems smearing the remains of their babies all over themselves but God forbid a starving child half a world away benefit from the nutrition provided him or her by the meat taken from a horse.

What a bunch of low-life hypocrites.

[centurion316]

This is very bad news for the horses of Texas. Without the killer buyer market, unused, unwanted, and lame horses will be left in inadequate pasture by owners who will neglect and abuse them in large numbers. Or, they will ship them long distance to some venue where they can be sold. Either way, bad for the animals, bad for the horse industry, and bad for society as a whole.

This is what you get when do gooder urban morans run amok.

[Dysart]

I'm not a horse industry expert and appreciate informed comments. Yep I'm a native Texan but never owned a horse. Go figure. Anyway, so far, nobody has deemed this to be a positive development. I suppose the lone Illinois facility is next on the hit list?

[shield]

Mostly young healthy horses are being slaughtered at these plants...not old unwanted sick horses.

[_Jim]

But in the 5th Circuit's decision, Judge Fortunato Benavides wrote that

"The lone cowboy riding his horse on a Texas trail is a cinematic icon. Not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse."

Idiocy?

No, lunacy.

These were for foreign consumption.

Is this judge just stupid or that huge a 'bleeding heart' librul?

[HairOfTheDog]

This has nothing to do with the slaughter of the old and infirm. This law is only dealing specifically with slaughter for human consumption overseas, which is not typically the old, but rather the young. They taste better in France. This kind of slaughter takes place at only 3 plants in the US.

Slaughter for pet food (much as I hate that too) goes on all over the country, and will still go on even after this law.

[centurion316]

And, your point is? If there was a market for young healthy horses, they would go to it.

[BlueDragon]

When they say;

"...Not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse."

they do show an extreme amount of prejudice and ignorance.

I personally know of a real cowboy, a man who (about 10-15 years ago) still traveled exclusively on horseback, going from one job to another, in California, no less. Having one horse (out of six? seven?) badly injured, he stopped, camped for a couple of days, processed the meat into jerky, loaded up, then continued upon his travels. What else could he do? dig a great big hole, by hand, to bury the poor animal in???

In the 1870's, General Crook (known among the Indians as "three stars") and his men, while unsuccessfully chasing after "hostiles", literally walked the legs out from underneath their horses. Lacking food, they ate the horses. This campaign became known as the "horse-meat march". NOT fondly recalled by the soldiers who endured it... Some years later, Custer and Reno had their disaster at Little Big Horn. IF they had waited for two, three. or maybe four days, General Crook (with a much large force of men) would have arrived...and things most likely would have gone differently.

My premise here is that Americans, in the past, would at times utilize horseflesh for food (usually only when pressed by circumstances to do so) as surely as Custer was far too bold, to also, concurrently be so stupid. [but then again, that's part of 'why' Sherman sent Custer, for he knew Custer would fight and kill pretty much anything. If he killed Indians, well, good, if Indians killed him, well, even better! A ready made public relations excuse to deal even more harshly with the tribes, who Sherman wanted out of the way...]

Life can be harsh, and horsemeat really isn't all that tasty. Mostly, it's a bit "rank". Otherwise, we'd be riding cows, and eating horses more regularly!

[A. Pole]

They will just pack these creatures into cargo ships and take them where they can be slaughtered...Mexico???

Bingo!

[gcruse]

Why is this in federal court? I know the republic is dead, but can't we pretend a little longer?

[centurion316]

At least in my area, this has caused the market for unwanted horses to collapse. Since people can't get what they think is a decent price, they just keep the animal and almost invariably neglect it. Law of unintended consequences, IMO.

[airborne]

Is this judge just stupid or that huge a 'bleeding heart' librul?

Plenty of both!

[A. Pole]

From Horse meat - Wikipedia

Horse meat has a slightly sweet taste reminiscent of a combination of beef and venison. Meat from younger horses tends to be lighter in colour while older horses produce richer colour and flavour, as with most mammals. Horse meat can be used to replace beef, pork, mutton, and any other meat in virtually any recipe.

Those preparing sandwiches or cold meals with horse meat usually use it smoked and salted. Horse meat forms an ingredient in several traditional recipes of salami.

[...]

In Belgium, horse meat or viande chevaline is highly prized, and is used in steak tartare. Compared to the beef equivalent, the richer flavour of the horse meat lends itself better to the pungent seasoning used in preparation. Besides being served raw, it can be broiled for a short period, producing a crusty exterior and a raw, moist interior.

Smoked horse meat is very popular as breakfast and sandwich meat.

[...]

In Italy, it used in a stew called Pastissada, served as horse or colt steaks, Carpaccio or made into Bresaola, and horse fat is used in recipes such as Pezzetti di Cavallo. In the Italian province of Veneto a dish is prepared which consists of shredded, cured horsemeat on a bed of arugula dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Also in Veneto horsemeat sausages called salsiccia equino, and salami called salame di cavallo are sold. The straight horsemeat steak "carne di cavallo" is generally available in the Tyrol and Sudtyrol regions of the Italian Alps. This steak is prepared and served much in the same fashion as a classic bloody American Porterhouse. Chefs and consumers of this horse meat tend to prize its uniqueness by serving it as rare as possible.

[...]

In Japanese cuisine, raw horse meat is called sakura (cherry blossom) because of its pink colour. It can be served raw as sashimi in thin slices dipped in soy sauce, often with ginger and onions added. In this case, it is called basashi (Japanese: 馬刺し, ばさし). Fat, typically from the neck, is also found as basashi, though it is white, not pink. Horse meat is also sometimes found on menus for yakiniku (a type of barbecue), where it is called baniku (lit., horse meat) or bagushi (lit., skewered horse); thin slices of raw horse meat are sometimes served wrapped in a shiso leaf.

Kumamoto and Matsumoto are famous for basashi, and it is common in the Tohoku region as well.

There is also a dessert made from horse meat called Basashi ice cream. The company that makes it is known for its unusual ice cream flavours, many of which have limited popularity.

[...]

In Sweden horse meat outsells lamb and mutton combined. Smoked/cured horse meat is widely available as cold cut under the name hamburgerkött. It tends to be very thinly sliced and fairly salty, slightly reminiscent of deli-style ham. Gustavskorv, a smoked sausage made from horse meat, is also quite popular especially in the southern parts. It is not unlike salami or medwurst, mostly eaten on sandwiches but often used as an alternative to salami in many situations (in salads, on pizza, etc).

[...]

[squarebarb]

It's a really stupid statement but it will go unchallenged.

The comanche and most other native Americans ate horses when the occasion required. Comanches liked a young, tender foal. But that will not be mentioned.

As a horse-owner, I am unsure about this. I guess I am for it, all told.

It wasn't the slaughtering, really, it was the shipping. Horses don't ship as easily as cattle. They fight in the shipping vans and come out battered.

Probably on the whole it is a good thing. If people neglect old horses, they usually have a neighbor call the SPCA on them. I know of one case near me. Not too long ago I had a sick horse put down and she is buried on my property.

As I said, the real problem was shipping them. They got beaten to pieces in those 18-wheelers.

[flushing_kenny]

actually horse aint bad, depending on how its prepared. Ive eaten raw horse a few times in Japan, each time raw. It was a little tough in Kyushu, but thats where they race horses. In Hokkaido it was a very full flavor and quite good.
For the most part, this is caused by goody-two shoes who love to have power over every one else.
Now if I can just get near a whale restaurant the next time Im in Japan....

[MissouriConservative]

"But in the 5th Circuit's decision, Judge Fortunato Benavides wrote that "The lone cowboy riding his horse on a Texas trail is a cinematic icon. Not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse.""

Since when do rustic images from the mind of a moron become precedent for law? When we have judges who have watched too many Hollywood movies and then make decisions based on those movies, all I can say is....Houston, we have a problem.

[nathanbedford]

On the first Saturday of every month in Munich Germany there is a centuries-old tradition called the Pferdemarkt (horse market). There is a line of horses down the middle of the hall counting in number more than a hundred head on either side of the main aisle. At each end of this aisle there is a food court much like you might see at Cosco which features so-called "Polish" sausages. At the Munich Pferdemarkt one of these food courts purveyors the normal German sausages or, "Wurstl" comprised mostly of pork. At the food court in the near end, however, there is always much business because there they feature two or three kinds of horse meat sausages.

On more than one occasion I have pondered the irony of this prospect in which I was contemplating the very animal which I was eating and, I confess, enjoying.

I have purchased horses at the Pferdemarkt, actually ponies for the kids, and today I have four horses which I maintain in Germany. When they become infirm or aged I will take them to the slaughterhouse where they can end their days humanely. It is my hope that their flesh will be passed on to some good purpose and I count the nourishment of humans to be a very good purpose indeed.

Aged and infirm horses in America will not live for ever and must be put down when their time comes. How does this judge and these idiotic legislators propose that this be done? Are we going to go to the excesses of veterinary visits with interlocutory appeals to federal judges who will rule whether the injection was humane or not? Will we have demonstrators outside the barn protesting?

What shall become of their meat, shall it rot ?