Month Published:
Jan/Feb 2010
By:
Liz Edwards The idea of horse slaughtering has always been a sore point for me. When I started working in the horse racing business it was the first thing I learnt about. I read an article about the treatment of horses in US slaughter plants and it brought tears to my eyes. Even more to the fact that our own country still practices the slaughtering of race, wild and pure bred horses.
The United States is doing more to protect race horses than Canada. They have implemented many laws, closed down plants and stopped the slaughtering. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act which states, “To Amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes,” was passed by the United States House of Representatives in September 2006. This act was to stop the slaughtering of horses in the United States. By the end of 2007 all slaughtering plants (two in Texas, and the last being located in Illinois) were shut down.
After the banning of slaughtering in the USA, some American horse owners looked towards other countries that still allowed the practice, Canada, unfortunately, being one.
Horses were simply shipped across the border to the extent that the Canadian horse slaughter business grew by 75%.
NYRA announced on December 17th its support for the cause and implemented an anti-slaughter policy. The policy says, “Any owner or trainer stabled at a New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) track found to have directly or indirectly sold a horse for slaughter will have his or her stalls permanently revoked from all NYRA tracks. NYRA requires its horsemen to conduct due diligence on those buying horses and encourages them to support rescue and adoption efforts and to find humane ways of dealing with horses unable to continue racing.”
Charles Hayward, President and CEO of NYRA states, “We are fully committed to protecting our sport’s equine athletes. This policy sends the message that horse slaughter will not be tolerated and that those participating in this practice, either knowingly or for lack of due diligence, will not be welcome at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, or Saratoga.”
Where is Canada’s policies on the same subject? Why isn’t Canada doing the same thing as the US and passing legislature that would stop the inhuman slaughtering of race horses.
The slaughtering houses in Canada are not very humane. Horses have not traditionally been raised for human consumption in Canada, in our country, horses are considered sport and companion animals. However, there are six federally licensed horse slaughter plants in Canada. Horses are shipped in crowded trailers over long distances, during which they are not fed, watered or exercised, and often arrive injured, sometimes fatally.
The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC) has documented evidence of horse neglect and abuse, as well as severe suffering as a result of poor slaughter practices. The slaughter house holding cells are often too big which do not allow for properly stunning the horses. The slaughtering itself is not humane euthanasia. They are killed by being exsanguinated (being bled to death) by severing the jugular veins while suspended by the rear legs by a heavy chain shackle. Is this what Canada believes in?
I performed a random survey of people visiting Woodbine racetrack, informing them on what is happening right now in our own country. Ninety nine percent of people surveyed said they would not visit live races if they knew for a fact those horses would be slaughtered. Many of those surveyed asked, “Why hasn’t Canada done the same as the US?”
I leave you with one final thought. Picture a horse that has spent its entire life being trained and put through the pressures of being a race horse. That horse didn’t have what it takes to be a first place runner, so instead he is sold to become meat for European and Asian four star restaurants. It spent its entire life working, just to be killed and served as a delicacy. Or what about if instead of a no named horse it was a famous one. What about Secretariat?
Now that you know, this is what you can do. Contact your MP in writing, sign petitions that will ban horse slaughter and most importantly don’t be the person to sell your horse to a slaughter house.