United Horse

Is it illegal to butcher and sell horse meat in the United States?

Before you guys freak out on me. I am 100% against horse slaughter and would rather eat my foot than eat horse meat.
But these people are offering meat horses on craigslist for $25 I realize that selling horses too slaughter is legal and butchering them is. But I thought actually selling the meat to someone in the united states was illegal? This man is actually butchering the horses himself and then selling it one craigslist.

Jenn, these people who are selling this stuff are most likely not in the United States- horse slaughter is banned by federal law here, and it's been illegal since October of 2007, which was when "W." signed the anti slaughter bill into law and the last of the plants in the US closed down. There were only 3 left by that time, one in Illinois and two in Texas- and they've all ceased operations since.I too am revolted by slaughter, at least to a degree- but I ALSO RECOGNIZE that it is a NECESSARY EVIL of modern life and society, and the ban on it has been an UNMITIGATED DISASTER for the entire horse industry in this country. Horses are being ABANDONED and left to starve and die of disease in RECORD NUMBERS nationwide- and the number of horses being shipped across the borders to Mexico and Canada has quadrupled or even quintupled in some areas, especially in the border states. There are still auction houses around which are known to be frequented by killer buyers from Canada- I live near the one in New Holland, PA, so I know what I 'm talking about. These auctions are doing a record business, especially now with the economy in such dire straits and with so many people out of work and facing foreclosure on their homes. People are losing their jobs right and left, and it's estimated by some experts that upwards of 8 MILLION families will lose their homes to foreclosure just in 2009 ALONE, Jenn. Currently, there are also about 15 million people out of work in this country, many of whom have been in that category for a year or more. Many of these people are or were horse owners, Jenn- and a lot of them are being forced to choose between feeding their kids, paying a mortgage, and feeding their horses- and in a situation that DIRE, who do YOU THINK is going to LOSE OUT? If you said the horses, then you've got it right.

Human lives ALWAYS take precedence over the lives of any animals, and this includes animals like horses, which incidentally are considered to be LIVESTOCK, NOT PETS, under the laws of ALL 50 states. People are turning their horses loose or putting them on trucks headed for the border because they can't afford to feed them and there is NO MARKET in which to sell them- the bottom dropped out of the domestic market about the time slaughter was banned a couple years ago, and it HASN'T RECOVERED. Euthanasia is an option for only a precious few people who can't keep their horses, because euthanasia is EXPENSIVE, Jenn. It can cost upwards of $500 in some areas just to destroy ONE horse, never mind a whole herd of them- and that's just for the drugs to do the job. It doesn't include fees for the farm call from the vet or all the disposal costs afterwords. Horses are big animals, and they have large carcasses which cannot simply be dumped somewhere and forgotten about. Horse carcasses have to be buried in the right size hole, or they must be rendered and turned into glue or leather. Carcasses from horses which have been euthanized can NEVER BE USED AS FOOD, however, because the drugs used to kill the animal are POISONOUS to other animals and to people. If it can kill a horse, it can kill YOU, TOO.Are you starting to see yet why I feel that banning horse slaughter was an incredibly short sighted, STUPID thing for George Bush to have done? All these horses which are being abandoned have nowhere to go- and a lot of them have ended up dying HORRIBLE DEATHS from starvation and diseases like colic and founder, Jenn. The rescues are overwhelmed, and the vast majority of them are way underfunded and understaffed. There simply AREN'T enough homes available for the all the unwanted animals anymore. To make things even worse, there's been a drought in most of the prime hay producing states for the last few growing seasons.This has led to crop failures and a NATIONWIDE HAY SHORTAGE- one that has meant that in some areas, there is no hay available at ALL, or what is around is of poor quality and can't be fed to horses. Horses can't eat just any hay, as well you know. Cattle feed can't be fed to them either- it contains ingredients which can KILL horses.

Then there's the semantics of the situation. We need to have slaughter as an option because we need to have a way to dispose of all the horses which are too old, ill, or lame to work anymore, as well as those animals which have behavior or psychological issues that make them a threat to themselves, other horses, and to people. We ALSO need a way of disposing of the tens of thousands of lame, sick, overbred, inbred, often INSANE young ex racehorses which come off this country's tracks every fall. Most of these horses are animals which have no future, because they were never bred to have one. Slaughter provided a means of disposing of these animals, and helped to keep the overall horse population in check- and with it banned, the system has become overrun with useless animals which nobody wants and which are a liability to themselves and others. I know that's heartbreaking to people like you, but it's also the TRUTH. Besides, I don't know if you realize this or not, but in the rest of the world beyond the US, horse meat is a highly prized, sought after DELICACY, especially young horse meat. There are countries all over the world which view horses in the same way that we view cattle and hogs, Jenn. In some of those places, the idea of killing a cow or pig for meat is as reprehensible to the people there as the killing of horses is to us here. This is particularly true in parts of Asia, the Middle East, and in the Pacific Rim countries. The United States is the ONLY nation on Earth which has a cultural taboo against consuming horses for food- and our OWN record is less than pristine, might I add. Nobody else feels the way we do about this subject- and a lot of our allied nations actually tend to snicker at us because we have such an attitude towards it. Don't think they don't. If we brought back the slaughter plants, then perhaps some of the overpopulation problems would begin to correct themselves, and maybe some of the pressure would finally be taken off the rescues and the other organizations which are trying to save all these unwanted animals. As awful as slaughter is, it's certainly better than the situation which presently exists. These animals which are getting sent across the borders deserve better than they are getting.

 

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How to Identify Horse Racing Tracks That Riders Fancy

The Horse racing has become a popular sporting event like any other sports competitions. Thus the demand for preparing for the horse racing is increasing rapidly. You can go at different places to see the horse racing or to place the betting on the horses which you desire. One important thing for any game or sport event is the venue or the field on which you are going to conduct the competitions. For such kind of competition, big horse racking tracks are formed.

Such horse racing tracks are having different names in different countries. In United States, it is recognized with the name as racing tracks. Whereas in other English speaking countries in is distinguished with the name of horse racecourses. The local term used of horse racing tracks is hippodrome. It is taken from the Latin language.

The big and renowned racing tracks for horse racing are in more than 36 countries. They are governed by authorities prevailing in that country. Some of the countries having such spacious horse racing tracks are Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Ireland, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and United States etc.

The racetrack conditions also matter a lot while arranging the horse racing competition for particular horses. All types of racetracks are not suitable for all racing horses. The conditions of racecourses are muddy, sloppy, frozen, soft, yielding, heavy, firm, slow, fast, good, hard etc. Such surface of racetracks matter a lot for the horse riders also.

The main difference between muddy and sloppy horse racing tacks is that the muddy tracks are sometimes beneficial for some horse, whereas sloppy tracks are the risk factor for all the horses and jockeys. The slow and the fast surface of racetracks decide the time required for the horses to complete the race. Depending on the weather conditions, the tracks can be frozen or hard. Thus this type is also considered for preparing the horses for racing.

The horse racing tracks are formed generally for two to four miles races. Thus such big area is used for the way for running the horses and it is surrounded with the sitting arrangement. All the bettors sit here and watch the race for betting. They are properly sheltered.

The horse racing tracks are based on the type of horse racing take place there. If it is the normal flat racing then soft and firm tracks are formed. For the jump racing with hurdles, the use of muddy tracks or special tracks with fences are formed. For the harness racing the racetracks are wider than the other ones as it require more space for horses with carts.

About the Author

Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Horse Racing for Years. For More Information on Horse racing tracks, Visit His Site at HORSE RACING TRACKS