An article with updates on the horse slaughter side of things from The Horse.com. I will hit the important points (the points that really piss me off are what I consider to be important) but to read the entire article, click the link below:
2nd plant in the US is approved
So far there are two plants in the country that have been approved by the US Department of Agriculture to begin slaughtering horses for human consumption. Oh but don't you fret- these facilities will be hiring up to 25 employees once they get going! How would it be possible to slaughter an average of 200 horses per week without those lucky buggers? I doubt that slaughtering in the US will be any more humane than slaughtering in Mexico (humane slaughter is quite the juxtaposition in and of itself), which was one of the reassurances that was given by a spokesperson representing the new plant in Iowa.
Oh well. At least the suffering of the horses is diminished by sheer proximity. Going to slaughter means that those horses en route are doomed, yes, but maybe they can be saved having to endure the long hauls in the overcrowded trailer with no water, space to shift, shade or rest.
Yeah, well... that shit totally happened. It makes my previous ranting post seem even more fuck all now, even though it was pretty obvious at the time I posted it.
How can... There is such... How in the flaming blue balls of hell, can we as Oh Glorious Americans, still have the audacity to continue clinging to our nationwide, romanticized notion that the "Wild heart of Americans" is personified by the "Wild mustang: American horse...! Yeehaw!"
It must be some sort of idiot-ideal, because these animals are somehow plastered up as a patriotic symbol, with inexplicably magical properties including (but not limited to) freedom, spirit, and the illusion that everyone who lives on the same land mass as these animals, has some sort of ownership and/or ridiculous pride, as if they carried the semen from Wild mustang stallion, and bestowed it upon Wild mustang mare
This had better be the point when the thick-skulled nimrods that are, My Fellow Americans, drop their 'swooning over horses in nature' bullshit and just get right to eating them in massive quantities without shame or concern. Once something is in an edible and accessible form, that is it; that edible thing, whatever it is, represents what is so great about being an American. We are the gluttonous schoolyard brute, easily distracted by any small play towards our favorite thing EVER- stuffing our wobbling gobs until the fat grows to dictate a lifestyle, and being craned out of the garage once in a while to see a doctor who is most hated, because losing weight is not going to fix anything!....
Damn- I have so much more to say, but I am starting to physically experience the intensity of my anger.
1971 Act-to protect and preserve wild free-roaming horses and burros.
Alright you collective group of gaping maws that know no form of limitation.
Here are your precious symbols of whatever.
Do we really presume to maintain this reverence for an animal, even as it is mashed down our entire digestive system- bow to stern?
New York Times article (Feb. 2013)
Jul 11, 2013
May 21, 2013
Two-leggers disgrace themselves. Again.
There are so many complex issues that are part of the entire 'slaughtering horses in the US' issue. So many contributing snags that don't get addressed as part of this issue overall. The entire problem is so much bigger- SO much deeper- than gets dealt with. Okay- restraint. I cannot get into that now.
Summary of the news- 30 horses were on their way to be slaughtered, and the rig caught fire. All 30 of the horses were burned alive inside of the 53 foot long trailer. There must be some reason, some logical, and inextinguishable (har-har) explanation as to why it was impossible to... oh... I don't know... make the slightest chance of survival possible. Of course this is not NEW news, not really. Transportation disasters, casualties, deaths, trampling.... Overheating and dehydration on the way to Mexico, and towards Canada their hides freeze to the metal walls of the trailer; freezing so thoroughly that the hide stays on the metal even when the rest of the horse is unloaded.
53 feet is not a lot of room for 30 horses; especially when their metal container is engulfed in truck fuel-fed flames. Being trampled is a demise that might be only slightly more merciful than being burned.
(May 7th)
Local-ish news article (Syracuse coverage)
(May 20th)
Click for article (Chronicle of the Horse)
I believe that the Final Rule (effective as of October 7, 2011) is still the governing set of regulations when it comes to horses being transported to a facility for slaughter. It is a rule from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS agency overview) and the full, official document is the link posted below.
Federal Register- full document
Other links that caught my attention, even though I am not certain if any or all of them are antiquated at this point in time.
Welfare Parameters of Horses poster (aphis)
A survey from Colorado State University's animal sciences department- work of Temple Grandin
Trucking practices + injury to slaughter horses
Summary of the news- 30 horses were on their way to be slaughtered, and the rig caught fire. All 30 of the horses were burned alive inside of the 53 foot long trailer. There must be some reason, some logical, and inextinguishable (har-har) explanation as to why it was impossible to... oh... I don't know... make the slightest chance of survival possible. Of course this is not NEW news, not really. Transportation disasters, casualties, deaths, trampling.... Overheating and dehydration on the way to Mexico, and towards Canada their hides freeze to the metal walls of the trailer; freezing so thoroughly that the hide stays on the metal even when the rest of the horse is unloaded.
53 feet is not a lot of room for 30 horses; especially when their metal container is engulfed in truck fuel-fed flames. Being trampled is a demise that might be only slightly more merciful than being burned.
(May 7th)
Local-ish news article (Syracuse coverage)
(May 20th)
Click for article (Chronicle of the Horse)
I believe that the Final Rule (effective as of October 7, 2011) is still the governing set of regulations when it comes to horses being transported to a facility for slaughter. It is a rule from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS agency overview) and the full, official document is the link posted below.
Federal Register- full document
Other links that caught my attention, even though I am not certain if any or all of them are antiquated at this point in time.
Welfare Parameters of Horses poster (aphis)
A survey from Colorado State University's animal sciences department- work of Temple Grandin
Trucking practices + injury to slaughter horses
Feb 15, 2013
Foffdaughter: Tomfoolery
Perceiving Animals: humans and beasts in early modern English culture Author: Erica Fudge
p.19
"The violence involved in taming wild nature- in expressing human superiority - destroys the difference between the species. The city, the place of humanity, is opposed to the wilderness, the place of savagery."
p. 40
"The animal can be dominated or represent human power, it has no power or potential of its own."
Genesis 1:26-28 -- Divine declaration ranks two-leggers over animals. At this point, two-leggers as a species enjoy their comprehensive sovereignty. (Eventually there are some suggestions about what creatures to eat, what creatures not to eat, yadda yadda yadda. Guidelines more than restrictions.) Ah heck- let's just lump in Genesis 1:29, specifying that plants are alive, and therefore they are a great gift from above; a system of elimination can now be used, anywhere on the planet, to establish the edges of this god-given entitlement. (Assuming that the subject in question is not a fellow master-of-the-universe-two-legger) It is a simple process for any and all humans:
Is that thing over there something that serves us and that we own?
Well- is it alive? If it's alive, it's ours.
Anthropomorphism -- attributing human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to nonhuman organisms, inanimate objects, religious deities etc.
As if our species wasn't silly enough...
Feb 5, 2013
Foffmom: The Life boat is full
I have been struggling with a concept that is difficult to accept. However, I sense it is crucial that I accept it. Just as I have used the analogy with FoffDad of a life boat filled with our animals (as in "So who would you chose to throw overboard?" in response to a momentary rant of "We have too many animals!" usually after stepping in something unsavory), I now must accept that the boat is indeed full. We can take on no more. Shrink filled my last available bedroom. I have learned that with a colony of cats, introducing another new one can either go well or throw the entire colony into a snarling, hissing, nervous mess. And nervous cats often engage in inappropriate excretion . I hate inappropriate excretion, and not just because it can precipitate rants from FoffDad.
Knock on wood, this has not been a major issue for a long time, but that is because the last time I isolated the two female cats that would not blend in with the female cats downstairs. This was not a hard decision. One of them refuses any cat/cat contact, hates dogs, hates being outside, and basically likes to sit and look out the window. Yeah, she is as big as Jaba the Hut Feline style. Yes she is on a diet. No, it does nothing. The other cat is quite dear, does OK outside, does OK with the dogs, does not like other cats. She is a fragile little thing, so I would never put her outside to be, say, a barn cat. Oddly enough, giving these two cats a bedroom together has worked out much better than having them share a house with other cats. But that fills another bedroom. Our bedroom and the guest bedroom need to stay cat free.
The line between a rescuer and a hoarder to me is that a rescuer does not take on so many animals that the ones already in the home are harmed by the additional drain on resources. So we are full. For the first time. Quite odd.
Knock on wood, this has not been a major issue for a long time, but that is because the last time I isolated the two female cats that would not blend in with the female cats downstairs. This was not a hard decision. One of them refuses any cat/cat contact, hates dogs, hates being outside, and basically likes to sit and look out the window. Yeah, she is as big as Jaba the Hut Feline style. Yes she is on a diet. No, it does nothing. The other cat is quite dear, does OK outside, does OK with the dogs, does not like other cats. She is a fragile little thing, so I would never put her outside to be, say, a barn cat. Oddly enough, giving these two cats a bedroom together has worked out much better than having them share a house with other cats. But that fills another bedroom. Our bedroom and the guest bedroom need to stay cat free.
The line between a rescuer and a hoarder to me is that a rescuer does not take on so many animals that the ones already in the home are harmed by the additional drain on resources. So we are full. For the first time. Quite odd.
Jan 21, 2013
Dec 20, 2012
Dec 19, 2012
Dec 18, 2012
Dec 17, 2012
Dec 15, 2012
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