Those involved in agriculture need to do a better job of helping folks understand the basic differences between humans and animals. It seems obvious to some of us, but apparently not enough. Although there are a lot of pressing concerns for our country at the moment, the U.S. House of Representatives recently took what they felt was an important step by voting 263-146 to ban horse slaughter. Arguably, Congress could better spend its time figuring out how to fix the federal deficit and working to protect our citizenry from various forms of terrorism, rather than trying to save us from horsemeat. To be fair, I doubt that Congress cares much about horsemeat. The collective “wisdom” seems to be based on a misplaced idea that it makes sense to shut down the three remaining U.S. packing plants that still process horses because this will “save” horses from inhumane treatment. In arguing for the proposal, Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) said: “{Horses} are as close to human as any animal you can get.” Rep. John Sweeny (R-N.Y.) demonstrated his vast knowledge of the packing industry by explaining, “It is one of the most inhumane, brutal, shady practices going on in the U.S. today. It’s different from (beef) because horses, such as Mr. Ed, Secretariat and Silver, are American icons.” Oh, please. For the sake of argument, we won’t go into the various inhumane, brutal and shady practices that affect humans. However, we would like to point out that no reasonable, responsible person would condone mistreatment or brutality of any animal – whether a household pet or part of a livestock herd. The suggestion that we need to shut down packing plants is silly and misguided. Keep in mind that facilities which process meat for interstate shipment are inspected to make sure they comply with the Humane Slaughter Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and other federal animal health and food safety regulations. Inhumane handling of horses, during transport or at the plant, is not only already illegal, it’s bad for business – economically and ethically. In fact, processing plants provide a valuable alternative for up to 100,000 unwanted horses each year that would otherwise be neglected by owners who can no longer afford – or want – to take care of them. It would cost more than $200 million in the first year alone to pay for proper care and veterinary treatment for the horses that could no longer be euthanized. This vote also sends a chilling message that the government can regulate livestock production based on supposition and emotion rather than scientific justification. No need to use reasons related to food safety or public health. Let’s hope that logic and reason prevail when the Senate has the opportunity to consider this issue. Wanda Blair | |||||||||||||||
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