Rumors are that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will attend the Summit of the Horse in Las Vegas together with what advocates call the “Who’s Who” of horse slaughter.
This was reported hot on the heels of the revelation that Bob Abbey, who is the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (the DOI agency responsible for the Wild Horse & Burro Program), will be a keynote speaker.
Before Abbey and Salazar got involved, attendees and speakers were mainly comprised of individuals working to return horse slaughter to U.S. soil for the butchering of domestic horses to feed people in state institutions, such as prison inmates, the elderly and mentally challenged, to start with at least.
However, the focus of the horse slaughter convention has taken an even grislier turn and now has America’s wild horses in its deadly glare.
The Associated Press reports via The Seattle Times:
- Groups seek solution to too many wild horses
Representatives from Indian tribes, federal agencies and other groups plan to meet next week in Las Vegas to discuss what to do about too many wild horses in the West.
Wyoming legislator Sue Wallis is a member of United Horsemen, a nonprofit group organizing the meeting. She tells The Seattle Times that she favors developing a plant where horses can be slaughtered for human consumption. She says that’s a humane solution to the problem of thousands of wild horses overgrazing and destroying rangeland.
That idea, however, faces strong opposition. The U.S. horse slaughter industry was shut down in 2007 by animal-rights activists. Since then, tribes and range managers say, the number of horses has grown to thousands more than the land can support.
We found the article in the San Francisco Chronicle here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/12/30/state/n141536S39.DTL#ixzz19fAXtJDR
Also on the agenda is how to get around the legal restrictions at the federal level which essentially prohibits the export of horsemeat for human consumption. Just about every ounce of horsemeat was exported for human consumption prior to the closure of horse slaughter plants in the US in 2007. This is where the real money is, as horsemeat is considered a delicacy overseas and sells for a high price.
Throughout 2009 and 2010, numerous legislators searched for loopholes in the law interfering with horsemeat export for overseas diners. The foreign owners of horse slaughter plants are suspected of seeding American politicians’ pockets with huge cash incentives to accomplish it, although nothing has yet been proved.
Tuesday's Horse 
I believe you need to START over redo the BLM all together first but tax payers money can’t keep feeding All the mustangs our goverment is broke. Responsible breeders don’t overbreed and breed junk foals. I am a breeder of AQHA horses we have several mares and stallions. We bred one mare last year and are expecting ONE foal this year out of my favorite old mare for me to keep because I would not sell it to someone for nothing. I have bought and sold horses since I was 7 years old and now I am 35 the horse market is just rediculous. I have mares that I have spent thousands on for them to be worth nothing now is that fair to us breeders. No.. I also have mares I have spent $800-$1000 on and are worth NOTHING now that’s not fair either.
The mustangs in holding pens is that fair to them they were used to running on the land now have been stuck in little pens for years that’s not fair I believe. I think they need a slaughter house to start over with the BLM horses they need to get rid of the ones not being adopted it’s obvious people don’t want to adopt them send them to slaughter to recoop the cost back to the tax payers and BLM to have more money to put back into the Mustangs and find alot better solution.
I am a horse lover don’t get me wrong or I wouldn’t raise the best I can.
I have been to HUNDREDs of horse sales and watch kill buyers buy FREEZE BRANDED mustangs for around $25 dollars each that obviously people didn’t want to care for either.
The problem is when kill buyers buy horses they have to ship them so far to Canada or Mexico that they have all the expence for shipping them they don’t pay nothing for them 18 cents a pound for a GOOD one down to 9 cents for a not so good one. Horses are sent to slaughter everyday they just are not slaughtered in the US. Years ago horses were worth at one time 90 cents to 1 dollar a pound so yes a 1000 pound horse was worth $900-$1000 bucks.. Before the closing of the US plants they were worth a good 65-70 cents a pound it was still pretty good and that is when two plants were left running. Just think if we had a few more plants they would have to compete think of what the market would be then.
If you don’t want to see horses go to slaughter then you better get out and save what you can because their are hundreds of them that go every week to Canada and Mexico.
And yes for organizations that pocket all the money take HSUS ‘The Humane Society of the United States” they just made Thousands off a dead horse “Second Chance” that was supose to be in their care but they left out for quiet a while the horse had DIED yes of colic of all things. HSUS spends less that 1/2 of 1% of their money to actually CARE for animals. HSUS has Millions of dollars. All they do is politic around animal rights bills they don’t Take care of animals. they have a few so called horse rescue’s I have seen the so called video’s of the one so called sancuary the horse standing in MUDD all day how nice.
I believe you should take great pride and EXCELLENT care of the animals that you own and if you don’t have animals then you should stay out of everyones buisness untill you have lived with and have cared for animals then maybe you should be able to say what is right and what is wrong. Alot of these animal rights people don’t even own an animal look at Wayne Pacelle CEO of HSUS he doesn’t even own an animal but he wants to state laws and tell people how to care for them what the heck.
All above is MY personal opinion and I believe horse slaughter is a must I am sick and tired of driving around the country side watching horses starve to death. People have no market to sell their horses and alot of times they have to pay the fee’s at the sale barn to sell their horses and have to pay the sale barn to sell them after cogging fee’s, yardage and commission. They just keep starving the horses because they don’t have any other place to go with them. ALOT of people have been called in around here and their is NO ONE stepping up to the plate to TAKE these horses away from being abused I would sure rather have a slaughter market for horses rather that watching them starve to death.
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Why should our iconic and supposedly protected wild horses and burros die a brutal and terrifying death because the BLM created this problem for them through their corruptive practices? Take the responsibility away from them, return these horses and burros back to the wild where they will cost no one anything. They were fine, healthy and happy before the intervention of these evildoers. It is a crime for which we are working to have them prosecuted and punished.
We are nothing like HSUS, don’t have their millions, and people should be careful not to tar every animal protection group with the same brush. We are not radicals, but we are blunt and call it like we see it. Those who agree follow and work with us; the ones who do not go elsewhere.
An interesting statistic is that abuse, neglect and abandonment actually decreases when horse slaughter is eliminated. The economy has hit everyone hard, and is the key to what you have been seeing. Eliminating slaughter has no history of ever increasing theft, abuse, abandonment, starvation or related mistreatment. Quite the opposite.
The AQHA has long been pro slaughter because they make their millions from the more horses bred and registered, the more money they make. Slaughter is a convenient dumping ground for their surplus horses. They don’t care what happens to the horses — nor do many QH people it seems from the comments we see on their FB page and elsewhere — once the horses are used up and served their purpose. More QH’s are slaughtered than any other horse.
Then there is the issue of the meat that is produced. It is full of potentially carcinogenic drug resides, as horses are not intended to be food producing animals. No one who wants to butcher them and sell their meat seem to care about that either.
It is a crying shame. I personally am not an anti-capitalist, but there are no lines drawn, nothing sacred, when it comes to making a buck. And this country and its people are suffering mightily for it in every area of their lives. It is time to wake up and take this country back to what it used to be.
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Angie
First of all if you truly loved horses you would not support their slaughter. And, like Vivian , I am well aware of the fact that if slaughter plants didn’t exist in the first place, there would be no crisis like the present.
Secondly, oh poor you that you spent money on horses that are now not worth much in the marketplace. Not fair? Well, life ain’t fair. What about those who have lost their homes, their jobs, their income, or nest eggs that are now but broken shells???
As for all of us getting out and saving them, well maybe you should too because you are, whether you believe it or not, part of the problem simply in your support of the AQHA.
Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility.
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The miners and the ranchers are wreaking havoc on the public lands and so are the hunters, but the restoration of the equid element is a healing of the land. We must change our priorities before it’s too late, start learning from the Indians who harvested the pinyon nut from the pinyon pine as a staple, for example, and there are many other benign possibilities. Is man’s gut habits more important than his conscience or the continuation of life on Earth?
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Tax payers money goes to take care of these Mustangs and yes people they are Unwanted as well as alot of horses in the US. BLM holds adoptions for the Mustangs and at most adoptions they haul about every Mustang BACK to holding pens because people don’t want to adopt them. In these times of crisis the horse market STINKS people can go buy a baby colt for $5-$10 that already the seller has paid a coggins test on which cost the seller $15-$25 dollars so the seller is PAYING to find his colt a home so why would a buyer spend $125 to adopt a crazy wild Mustang that’s never been handled. Think about it everone the government spends MILLIONS of OUR TAX money on these horses and CHILDREN in our country don’t get the help they need or have meals everyday. If you think their should be no horse slaughter than take YOUR money and buy a farm or ranch and take care of the Unwanted horses. Look at most the rescues they are FULL and don’t have any funding to take care of them some rescues have been having horses taken from them because they can’t take care of them. Come on everyone use common sence.
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Angie, overbreeding is the problem with the domestic horse. Breed em, use em, dump em is the mentality of so many. How can you maintain any sort of economic balance when breeders flood the market with horses there are not enough buyers for. Simple basic math. Shelters are full from the overload, but it is like putting a bandaid on a gushing wound.
Insofar as wild horses and burros, the BLM Adoption Program is a big failure for so many reasons, mainly their total ineptitude and lack of commitment, yet they have escalated the roundups which are absolutely unnecessary, and crowded one long term facility after another. This is because special interest groups like miners, drillers and welfare cattle ranchers want to take the Mustangs’ and burros’ protected lands away from them for their own purposes. Now they conveniently trot out that the answer is horse slaughter and unthinking people like you with no conscience follow right along with them.
Then you tell people who actually love and respect horses to take care of them ourselves if we don’t like horse slaughter. We should clean up the mess you continue to create so you can continue in your unfeeling and irresponsible ways? Forget it. The people creating the problem need to find the solution. Even the Unwanted Horse Coalition, a pro horse slaughter group, after many years of us hammering at them, finally admitted that overbreeding has to be addressed because it is out of control.
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Angie, I’d rather have a small (actually miniscule, compared to the entire budget!) portion of my tax dollars go to care for the Mustangs until we can get them back to their rightful lands than see it disappear into some wasteful earmark or public/private pocket. In the meantime, private citizens and organizations are continually raising funds to purchase Mustangs and to buy or lease land to keep them safe and whole. That way you, and folks like you, won’t have to support them “forever’.
BTW, Mustangs with freeze brands are considered a status symbol by many, and if the BLM did a better job marketing them, more would be adopted. I say “would”, rather than “could” or “might”, because I spent over 25 years in advertising and marketing, and, believe me, I know a broken campaign and public image when I see one!
And Mustangs aren’t “crazy”. Some (especially older) horses take special handling, like not looking them directly in the eye for a while. Humans have binocular vision, and that spells predator to any prey animal. Most folks I know who’ve adopted Mustangs say they calm down quickly, and they’re the smartest, healthiest, most reliable, and most personable horses they’ve ever owned.
Re: Charity. Do you know that a mere 1/2 of 1% of all U.S charitable giving and grants go to help pets and domestic animals? Check out “children’s charities”. I think you’ll find, in many cases, it’s questionable what percentage of their donations go to directly help kids. Most money is spent on salaries and advertising to get more funds. Check out horse rescues and I KNOW you’ll find the majority are run by folks who take no salary and are staffed by volunteers.
“Unwanted” horses? I prefer to call them “discarded”, which puts the onus where it belongs – on the human “discarder”. And there are plenty of fixes if folks are willing to identify and support them. I’d start by contacting people and companies that profit from horses and encourage them to give something back, then promote their generosity at events, on products, and in advertising. The best campaigns are win-win. In this case, it would be both a win for the horses and a win for their caring supporters.
Maybe we’ll have to “agree to disagree”, but I hope you’ll at least consider what I’ve said.
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Angie really its people like you who are the problem go open your eyes its the
people breeding to many horses. Look also to the people that are theives of the American Icon the wild horses. to bad so many money humgry theives are in the Gov.
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I am astonished that the public is not fully aware of the circumstances, this is public land, they were on, and Nature took her course with controlling the size of the herds, survival of the fitest…they do not uproot grasses like cattle, the greed is sickening…beefeaters are reaping the woes of consumption by ingesting hormones, antibiotics etc…but non the less, the horses suffer…I was happy to see them represented in the Rose parade?pickens, with a float and banners…and a comment about them being herded up. People need the facts, not more news about Paris H or Snooki.
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December 31, 2010 at 12:55 PMRating: (0) (0)
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Why they just call it “The Unwanted Horse Summit”. Are they really going to hear both sides? Does free speech work if goverment officals have made up their mind not to listen. I suggest you hear all sides. These Summits and elimation conferences cost the USA peoples and horse cost millions!! Big Brothers Ken Salazar and Bob Abby are removing the horse which did fine without goverment intervention. No one is allowed to look down on horses but GOD. I’m sure the horse advocates will be crying and the souls will be emptied after they hear” We don’t care about horses as a species.” “We don’t care what voters think” Maybe the next conference should be to have a slaughter fest of nature caring folks who get high on nature and not greed……
Spirithorsebr 45 minutes ago
Why they just call it “The Unwanted Horse Summit”. Are they really going to hear both sides? Does free speech work if goverment officals have made up their mind not to listen.
This is the only good news that hits my ears for 25 bucks you can tune into a web cast. I don’t think I can handle anymore Mayan heart gutting of advocates.
http://www.summitofthehorse.or….
Do we live in the USA in 2011? Free speech (or) does Bob Abbey and others just appear to have deaf ears.
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This quite possibly could turn into what i call a Leap of Faith, We can all Listen to them Hang themselves with there mouths……………………………
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This is a Summit alright, A Summit of unmitigated Gaul ,and Greed When the Governments attention should all be on Fixing whats wrong here , not having a Summit of Destruction and Devastation, they target the INNOCENT, the ones who have no voice to defend themselves, these are cowardly Bastards all of them, they squander and waste tax dollars for this rubbish…………………. The only thing useful about this Summit is that all the ones that are involved in greed will be there , we will know full well exactly who they are !!!!! This Summit with a little luck will turn on itself !!!!!! Part of the solution is knowing exactly who your opponents are…………. They all will open there mouths and immediately stick there own foots in it……….. I have been told the Owner of the Hotel this is being held in is a vegan?????? If this is true DUH !!!!!!! Again its all about the Greed…………….
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“… the horses multiply at a prodigious rate: With no natural predators (Who’s fault is that? Ranchers and Hunters!), and these days, no market for purchase, the herds are estimated at about 12,000 animals and growing. That’s up from about 500 animals in the 1950s; 2,500 in the 1990s, and more than 4,500 in 2006. Carrying capacity of the tribe’s rangeland was about 1,000 horses in 2007, and it’s significantly less than that today, because of continued degradation from overgrazing,” said Jim Stephenson, big-game biologist and wild-horse project leader for the Yakama Nation.
The Yakama (and other First Peoples) have created their own horse problem. If they’d properly managed reservation herds from the beginning (which they had and still have every right to do), they wouldn’t be in this mess. They also have every right to slaughter horses in their own backyards, but that only provides meat, not cash.
If the Yakama removed 12,000 horses and sold them to kill buyers at $300 a head, they’d reap a tidy $3.6 million one-time profit. But why settle for one-time, when culling fewer horses guarantees a steady stream of profits EVERY YEAR?
No matter the outcome of slaughter in the U.S., I believe pro-slaughter First Peoples will continue to allow range horses to breed to excess, and also overbreed “clean” horses on their ranches, precisely BECAUSE they want to continue profiting from those they send to their deaths.
By the way, the HUGE Navajo Reservation has an equally huge number of abused, neglected, escaped (from them!), turned out (by them!), and so-called “feral” horses, but not a single organized horse rescue. No responsibility, no ethics … NO PROBLEM!
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What a grizzly plan they appear to have for the wild horses. They should rather seek to provide for naturally self stabilizing herds through Reserve Design. This all depends upon what people want and are willing to make sacrifice so that this can happen.
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Throughout my years here, I cannot remember the US government being stupid, or unwilling to take direction, until the last 20 years. There has always been corruption, but that is part of the human element and difficult to avoid. But the corrupt individuals and their agencies usually bubble to the surface and get weeded out. Why the BLM are getting away with the murder of these national treasures is shocking and bewildering. There are so many exciting solutions that would save these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, benefit man, stimulate local economies, educate. And can be accomplished without displacing cattle or interfering with mining, drilling, pipelines, even the dreaded wind farms. So why kill these horses? What is in it, and for whom, to destroy them?
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That’s a great question. Another question is HOW the media manages to ALWAYS get it wrong about what happened to US horse slaughter and why. I know reporters don’t check their sources any more, but this is ridiculous!
Another question is why everyone seems to want to use the Mustangs for slaughter because they’re supposedly “clean” of the drug residues they deny are present in domestic horses – which is about as crazy as thinking can get – but they are NOT clean.
The BLM worms them with ivermectin, sometimes gives them bute, and what about PZP? Are they saying that this experimental anti-fertility drug is safe for human females to eat? How can they even know? I have never heard this issue addressed, and I want to know! If I were in the EU, I would want to know even more.
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WE MUST ALL PULL TOGETHER AND WORK TO STOP THIS TERRIBLE DESTRUCTION OF OUR WILD HORSES. IF THE BLM HAD BEEN DOING THEIR JOB THIS WOULD NEVER OF HAPPENED . NOW IT IS THEIR ONLY ANSWER.
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