Icelandic Horse
If you ever wonder why I consistently point out the supply and demand aspect of the horse slaughter business, here is a story that clearly demonstrates this principle.
Horse slaughter exists for one reason and one reason only: to supply the demand by consumers for horse meat and make a profit from it.
The Iceland Review Online reports:
There was considerable supply of horse meat at slaughterhouses in Iceland last winter but now more horse meat is needed to fill orders from abroad said Guðmundur Svavarsson, managing director of meat production company SS in Hvolsvöllur, south Iceland.
“Last summer we advertised for slaughter horses because we were having difficulties fulfilling agreements. Now we might have to advertise for horses again,” Guðmundur told Morgunblaðið. SS supplies the domestic market and also ships horse meat to Russia and other European markets.
Ágúst Andrésson, director of the meat production center of KS in Sauðárkrókur in north Iceland, also said that while the winter was busy, supply of slaughter horses has now become slim. “We need to fill two containers [of horse meat to Russia].”
KS’ agreement with Russian meat production companies is for 150 tons of horse meat. The company also exports horse meat to Kazakhstan but the best bits are sold on the domestic market, Agúst said.
Horse slaughter is not about horse welfare, population control, providing a service to horse owners or eliminating abandonment and abuse. It is business; strictly business.
Money is always been at the root of horse slaughter…enough said.
It exists for only one reason, It is economically viable and there is demand. It has nothing to do with anything else, Just like all other businesses. And that is the very reason why it has not ceased to exist in North America.
The US has no slaughter houses but this is meaningless. All the pretty horses continue to be shipped across the border to be slaughtered elsewhere. Canada and Mexico are simply doing the dirty deed. There is absolutely no difference in the long run. As long as the US continues to allow the transport of their horses to slaughter they are equally guilty.
And again I must reiterate that I am not blaming the US but lets be real. The way it currently exists the whole of NA is responsible. Yes both Canada AND the US.
We should all be ashamed.
No question. This is a North American-wide shame.
None of us prefer the sentencing to death or slaughter of any animal, regardless of the species; but, the reality of it all is, that we need horse slaughter houses as a practical alternative and solution to govern the horse population. Public Laws forbid burying a horse on your own property these days because of possible contamination of water sources and supplies; so, what’s the practical alternative or solution? I agree that the need of unnecessary suffering needs to be resolved in all slaughter houses, regardless of species . . . cow, pig, chicken, etc. As for horse meat for human consumption, if it is untainted and USDA inspected, it is an excellent source of meat protein and an alternative to beef, pork, poultry, and other human-grade meat sources. If that is too hard for the U.S. human meat industry to consider, use horse meat for carnivorous animal food diets, just as other animal sources are used. The horse industry has crashed since the close of horse slaughter houses, and reopening of the horse slaughter houses is the only resolution to the over population of horses in the U.S. Do you really think that hunter’s get the shot exactly right for an instant kill every time, or slashing the throats of cows and pigs is a quick death, or wringing the necks or cutting-off the heads of chickens is instantaneous demise? Sit-back and give serious thought to all animal slaughter solutions, not just that of horses; if you’re going to sympathize with one species of animal, sympathize with them all; but the end result and reality-check has been the same for thousands of years of animal slaughter for human and animal consumption. Citizens within the U.S. need to ban together and offer better solutions to the overall humane slaughter of animals for whatever the meat by-product use is and not the concentration of one species.
Sorry Larry, I have to disagree.
It is not slaughter that is needed to “control” the horse population but rather it is the unscrupulous breeders that continue to breed without discretion or accountability that need to be controlled..This clearly encourages a continuous supply for the foreign demand for horse meat.
How decidedly convenient is that.
Larry, you are correct in saying that the cows, pigs, ect. should be slaughtered in a more humane matter, but lets get real about the horses, they are NOT STOCK animals, and never will be, LEAVE THE HORSES ALONE., EAT THE PIGS AND COWS AND GO HUNTING, SHOOT A FEW ELK OR DEER AFTER BUYING YOUR TAGS TO BE LEGAL.