Slaughter news

[Sparrow Castle]

This is not good.

https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/201 ... th-sb-139/

I haven't seen this discussed much in the horse rescue/retrain/rehome community, at least the ones that I'm involved with or "friends" with on FB. They are much more focused on other issues, especially the coming change in Canada re slaughter, and the use use of a captive bolt gun defined as humane euthanasia for a horse.

I admit I don't understand the pros and cons of this classification change very well (beyond the tax benefits for owning and breeding livestock) and strongly agree with Barry Irwin's comment on the Paulick story below (is that you agreeing with him?):

This piece cries out for a companion story that explains what the pros and cons are of this issue.

I'd love to learn more even though I live far from Kentucky, and in my state horses are already classified as livestock. Please let me know if you find any good articles with more detailed and hopefully unbiased information about the pros and cons.

Kentucky Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Bill To Designate Equines As Livestock
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-b ... livestock/

[Ballerina]

From Equine Advocates - March 4, 2017


Don't Be Fooled By Pro-Horse Slaughter Hypocrite, Ryan Zinke!

Newly confirmed Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, tried using a sly tactic to deflect attention from his pro-horse slaughter agenda by riding a horse to work the other day in Washington, D.C. He did a good job, too, because none of the major newspapers - not the New York Times, the Washington Post and other publications and news agencies realized that they were being manipulated in the most subtle and unseemly of ways.

Clad in a cowboy hat and jeans, Zinke was trying to falsely give the impression that he is a horse lover when he is ANYTHING BUT! We call on the media to expose his true agenda which is to return horse slaughter to U.S. soil and exterminate the wild horses and burros being held captive in BLM holding facilities.

Zinke has been famously quoted as saying, "If a horse is too old to breed, too old to ride, or too expensive to feed, a horse is disposed of." Luckily, Zinke was not the guardian of the handsome steed who had the unfortunate job of hauling him around Washington for show.

[Sparrow Castle]

^^^ Yeah the disgusting irony of his grand entrance wasn't lost on me.

I don't want to push anyone over the edge into "compassion fatigue," but Mindy Lovell (Transitions Thoroughbreds) shared this on her FB page today. Please continue to support (in any way you can) your local efforts to rehome and rescue thoroughbreds, and anti-slaughter advocates. I think those of us who enjoy racing owe it to them. WARNING: Graphic content.

Animals' Angels Produces Hard-Hitting Exposé of the Knoxville Horse Auction and the Thompson Horse Company

Platinum Ticket, once a successful and well-cared for Thoroughbred racehorse, who later transformed into an successful show jumper, was discovered by Animals' Angels investigators in a kill pen at the Knoxville Livestock Auction, barely alive, with a bullet in his head.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Trag ... 10gTnR13o0


This story talks about the new rule that likely will just "aggravate the agonizing situation for 44,000 US horses slaughtered in Canadian plants as well as Brazilian horses slaughtered in Uruguay for export to the EU market."

NEW INVESTIGATIONS SHOW MORE EU-CONSUMED HORSEMEAT IMPORTS FROM TORTUROUS PRODUCTION OVERSEAS

Brussels, 14 February 2017. A coalition of European, North and South American animal welfare organisations calls for a ban on horsemeat imports into the EU and Switzerland from overseas. The coalition includes the Animal Welfare Foundation/AWF (Germany), Tierschutzbund Zürich/TSB (Switzerland), WELFARM and AFAAD (France), Eyes on Animals (the Netherlands), GAIA (Belgium), Animals’ Angels (USA) and For the Animals/FTA (Uruguay), supported by Eurogroup for Animals (Brussels).

A new two-year investigation (2015-2016) has been conducted in the USA, Canada, Uruguay and Argentina by AWF and TSB, Animals’ Angels USA and FTA. The Coalition conducted inspections of collecting stations, transports, auctions, and EU-approved slaughterhouses which have shown that welfare conditions of slaughter horses have not improved since an initial investigation conducted in 2012.

http://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/new- ... n-overseas

[Ziggypop]

Despite the news about the existence of SB139 going viral with people all across Kentucky contacting the State Legislature opposing the measure, this morning the bill passed out of the State Agricultural Committee unanimously with a vote count of 15-0-0.

SB139 endangers what protections horses currently have in Kentucky against cruelty and abuse by lowering their status from a domestic animal to livestock. It also opens the door to horse slaughter in Kentucky should that return to US soil.

This move is strongly supported by the agricultural and horse racing communities in Kentucky who already treat horses with shocking disrespect.

The next step is to send it to the full Kentucky State House for a vote. If SB139 passes there the bill will be sent to the Governor to sign into law.

Kentuckians, please continue to speak out against this bill.

[BaroqueAgain1]

USDA Issues Warning Letter To Pittsburgh Restaurant For Serving Horse Meat
A Pittsburgh restaurant has gotten blacklash from animal rights activists and a warning from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after it advertised horse tartare as a one-time menu item during a special event earlier this month.
Cure chef and co-owner Justin Severino hosted a special dinner with Canadian chefs that included the dish. The USDA warning determined Severino brought the meat into the country illegally, though WPXI reporters emphasized Severino did not appear to have broken the law. Severino said the meat originated at a “sustainable farm” in Alberta.
“By selling and promoting the fact that they served horse, it is by default promoting the horse slaughter industry,” animal activist Joy Braunstein told WPXI. Braunstein started a petition seeking to make the serving of horse meat illegal in the state of Pennsylvania.
Currently, the federal budget does not allow for inspections of horse slaughter facilities in the United States.
According to reports, the warning letter did not outline punishments for Severino but indicated a repetition could result in criminal charges.
https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-car ... orse-meat/

It's bad enough that a Pittsburgh restaurant thought offering 'horse tartare' was an appealing addition to a special dinner. It's worse that "...the meat originated at a “sustainable farm” in Alberta."
So, someone is raising horses for their meat?
Ugh.

[Sparrow Castle]

New book by Alex Brown. Sounds like it's pretty spot on, and it's getting 5 Star reviews on Amazon.

Why the ‘horse-slaughter pipeline’ is vital for so many racetracks - and what can be done to fight it

...As a writer, Brown has contributed to the New York Times, and authored the authorized book of ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, Greatness and Goodness: Barbaro and His Legacy.

While writing the book, Brown become interested in the issue of horse slaughter, started to routinely visit horse auctions to save Thoroughbreds headed for slaughter, and became publicly visible member of an online horse rescue community that raised more than $1.5 million for the issue.

Brown moved back to the UK in 2015, and last year self-published his first book of fiction, Missionville, about a hardscrabble Pennsylvania racetrack.

The book tells the story of a Missionville-based trainer struggling to make ends meet with a handful of horses, who through a dark twist of fate, learns about the pipeline connecting the racetrack with the horse slaughter industry in Canada. Woven into the narrative is an organized crime ring, tying in other shadowy elements of racetrack life, such as illegal drug use.

I spoke recently with Brown to discuss the book, and his ties with horse rescue...

More: https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/arti ... an-change/

[Sparrow Castle]

There's been a lot of chatter on Twitter about radical changes in the current model of horseracing. I'm heading out of town, and don't have much time, but this is most intriguing to me. Of course, there's never really been a shortage of ideas, it's the follow-through that's lacking. I'm also seeing more and more support for a national governing body.

Craig Bernick@Craig_Bernick
14m14 minutes ago
Would need lot of thought on how to implement, but a racing circuit with a rating/handicap system and purse jumps by class instead of claiming and allowance conditions could be a big improvement for California. Could have paddock sales every 2-3 weeks with vet records for trade.

Sean Feld @Seaneff
14m14 minutes ago
I've been saying this for a while, do a pyramid system like greyhounds

Craig Bernick @Craig_Bernick
13m13 minutes ago
It would be better because horsemen would have a chance to develop their cheaper horses, they’d last longer. The horse sale component would be a big key to me.

[WarBiscuit]

We'll see what happens this time around...

www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/article ... -slaughter

WarBiscuit

[Sparrow Castle]

We'll see what happens this time around...

www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/article ... -slaughter

WarBiscuit

Glad to see this. Staying optimistic it'll be signed into law this year!

[sweettalk]

https://deadspin.com/why-are-good-young ... 2CVo2dcF4E

so, korea is doing the thing. there are some fairly distressing pictures of horses arriving at a slaughter plant and going into the chute. nothing tremendously graphic (a horse bleeding from the nose, tho), but it's not pleasant.

Among his Ocala class, now four years old, Ace King wasn’t alone. Of the 50 bought at that auction that were sent to Korea—one stayed in the States to race—14 are already dead. At least seven were killed at the same slaughterhouse in Jeju. (Ocala didn’t return several messages asking for comment.)

These seven all had desirable pedigrees and sold for a combined $475,000. There were two sons of the preeminent stallion Candy Ride, a sire of six champions. Honor Step sold for $110,000 but never even got to the races; he was slaughtered in April 2018. One In A Billion changed hands for $220,000 as a yearling but in Ocala sold for a quarter of that to Korea Bloodstock; after one win in six starts, he was retired in February and sent to slaughter in March.

[Catalina]

And so, how many of our TBs does Korea have that are covered by a return agreement (whatever exactly that is called). I think we must push for getting at least those horses back. And encourage the JC to amend procedures so exported horses have better protections against slaughter.

[BorntoWin2]

This is not good.

https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/201 ... th-sb-139/

I haven't seen this discussed much in the horse rescue/retrain/rehome community, at least the ones that I'm involved with or "friends" with on FB. They are much more focused on other issues, especially the coming change in Canada re slaughter, and the use use of a captive bolt gun defined as humane euthanasia for a horse.

I admit I don't understand the pros and cons of this classification change very well (beyond the tax benefits for owning and breeding livestock) and strongly agree with Barry Irwin's comment on the Paulick story below (is that you agreeing with him?):

This piece cries out for a companion story that explains what the pros and cons are of this issue.

I'd love to learn more even though I live far from Kentucky, and in my state horses are already classified as livestock. Please let me know if you find any good articles with more detailed and hopefully unbiased information about the pros and cons.

Kentucky Senate Agriculture Committee Passes Bill To Designate Equines As Livestock
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-b ... livestock/

Everything is written off against income already as business expenses. My guess it is tied more to cruelty and animal welfare than money. Slaughter practices.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Britain is taking steps to prevent racehorses from being slaughtered for food.

Racehorses prohibited from entering human food chain from next year
All horses who are entered to race in Britain will not be allowed to be sent to abattoirs to become a part of the human food chain from January in a major rule change by the BHA.
The new ruling means entries will not be accepted via the Weatherbys app or the horse's passport unless it states the horse is not intended for human consumption and has been signed out of the human food chain via its passport by January 1.
The rule will apply to all domestically trained runners. Around 14,000 racehorses are in training across Britain.
Read more: https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/ ... ear/515000