Obama Legalizes Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption

Technocrati ^ | 11-28-11

[SJackson]

Horse slaughter plants are legal again in the United States. Restrictions on horse meat processing for human consumption have been lifted.

In a bipartisan effort, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate approved the Conference Committee report on spending bill H2112, which among other things, funds the United States Department of Agriculture. On November 18th, as the country was celebrating Thanksgiving, President Obama signed a law, allowing Americans to kill and eat horses. Essentially, one turkey was pardoned in the presence of worldwide media while in the shadows, buried under pages of fiscal regulation, millions of horses were sentenced to death.

Horse slaughter has been prohibited in the United States as funding for inspections of horses in transit and at slaughter houses was non-existent. This worked because the horse meat cannot be sold for human consumption without such inspections. The House version of the bill retained the de-funding language and the Senate version did not. The conference committee charged with reconciling the two opted to not include it. The result is that it is now legal to slaughter horses for humans to eat.

Notwithstanding that 70% of Americans oppose horse slaughter, that President Obama made a campaign promise to permanently ban horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption (horses can be sent to Mexico and Canada), that documentation of animal cruelty, slaughterhouse stench, fluid runoff and negative community impact exists, it is taxpayers that will bear the costs!

Wyoming state representative Sue Wallis and her pro-slaughter group estimate that between 120,000 and 200,000 horses will be killed for human consumption per year and that Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Georgia and Missouri, are considering opening slaughter plants.

During these trying times, is the only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is that Americans need to eat horses?

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[HiTech RedNeck]

Most cats and dogs are kept as pets up to ages where they would be pretty lousy food.

We have superior synthetic glues today, so the glue factory is not an option any more.

Besides shouldn’t we have funeral options for people to permit giving their carcasses to dogs and/or cats, assuming this is copacetic with the family?

[reg45]

Soon, we will be seeing “Fearless Leader’s” photo on cans of Alpo and Moochelle will be touting it as a healthy alternative to hamburger.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Ever had a genuine burro burrito?

[HiTech RedNeck]

PETA and HSUS will have a kitten. Or not have a kitten, depending on how you look at it.

[antidisestablishment]

Good to hear that someone has some sense. Thousands of horses have been abandoned and neglected since this feel-good law was passed. Animal owners should be allowed to humanely dispose of their property.

[Blue Ink]

Do u value a horse over a cow?....Pig over chicken?....Please send mt your list of the proper pecking order for human consumption and compassion...Id be damned interested in seeing it!

Here’s my list: Americans eat cows, chickens and pigs. We don’t eat dogs or horses.

Subjective? So what? This is what the vast majority of Americans want. It’s the triumph of the established culture.

It’s the same reason we’ve had to outlaw birds fighting to the death here in Los Angeles. “Oh, but it’s OUR CULTURE,” say the fans. Well, it’s not our culture. The same is true for eating horses. We don’t want it here. Go to France and eat all the horse Big Macs you want.

[org.whodat]

LOL, no, I had the donkey in Spain, and believe it or not, the Spanish people do not have burritos for sell. Not Spanish, indian.

[HiTech RedNeck]

American people believe even more fundamentally in being humane to animals, even when killing them, than they do in barring certain animals from the diet for other than health reasons. So it is not fair to compare horsemeat with cockfighting. The horses are seen to an easy death for the former. Can’t say the same about the birds.

[TexasTransplant]

**** “ Is dog meat next? “ ****

After CW2 starts dog may become rare ... until then I’d trade a dozen cats for 1 dog (Cat is mushy)

TT

[wyokostur]

” Never name something you might have to eat”

[DesertRhino]

“Oh, and when you live on a ranch you discover that “wild horse” is how you say ‘pigeon’ in the country.”

Yeah, eradicate wild horses on public land, so ranches with a tiny private land headquarters can graze giant tracts of public land, as if they owned it privately. It’s another form of welfare.
In Texas, ranchers have to actually PAY for grazing and feeding, that the welfare ranchers in wild horse country get for a pittance.
When you own the land, you can say what animals are on it. When you rent grazing at BLM or Forest land at dirt cheap rates compared to what capitalist ranchers pay, you don’t get to whine about the other animals on it.

[DesertRhino]

The starving horse story is a canard. The horses are fine. And when food is low in a drought year, nature and predators cull them just like happens with everything from quail to elk.
Notice how there isn’t enough food for wild horses, but there is always room for all the cattle they want to run?

Selling public grazing is fine. Im ok with allowing graze renters to make improvments like water tanks, roads, etc. But you don’t remove wildlife, get to prevent public access, or stop other activities.

[Blue Ink]

I have no problem with euthanizing starving, mistreated, unwanted horses.

I object to using that as excuse to say, “Oh, and it’s okay for humans to eat them.” No, it’s not. Not in America.

The cockfighting comparison is an example of something else that people of another culture want to do here in America. Well, they can’t, because Americans object. And that’s a perfectly good reason to ban it.

Most Americans object to eating horses. So that’s a perfectly good reason to ban it.

[Ladysmith]

Quail eggs... yick. Couldn’t even finish a quarter of one.

[Razzz42]

It’s not about eating, it’s about being humane.
Of course, if there is a market for dead horses then let there be some guidelines to go by.

How about killing the excess horses with a gunshot to the head and then not eating them, would that be okay with you?

[sargon]

If a man wants to eat a horse, I say let him...

[B Knotts]

The real bottom line here is that Congress had no authority to pass this law in the first place.

[Trillian]

Horse D'ourves Salesman: Get your piping hot horse burgers, horse fries, horse cakes and shakes. We got tongue, straight from the horse's mouth.
Leela: Hmmmmm.
Hermes Conrad: It all sounds good.
Horse D'ourves Salesman: All our horses are 100% horse-fed for that double-horse "juiced-in" goodness.
Leela: I'll have the cholesterol-free omelet with horse-beaters.
Horse D'ourves Salesman: And you, sir? How can I horse you?
Hermes Conrad: I'll have a horse Coke.
Horse D'ourves Salesman: Horse Pepsi okay?
Hermes Conrad: Neeeiiiggghh.

[SgtHooper]

Agreed.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Other animals are not quite as large as horses. You can dig a small hole to dump your cat or dog.

No one cares if you eat any of the other animals. People have all sorts of "pet" animals ranging from pigeons to cows. All could be sent to the slaughter house except for the horse.

For the people who declare in horror, "it is not in our culture" I suggest that they read WWII history. We chowed down happily on horse flesh. No, we did not eat dogs or cats. It was not considered the same things then and it is not the same thing now.

I doubt many people will want to eat horse but there is honestly no reason why they shouldn't.

Now there is the question of what we do with dead exotics. If you own a tiger and it dies should you be able to skin it and sell the hide?