help these horses!! this is crazy!! read this ad!

[The Yakima Kid]

I believe they can be sold for feeding to dogs, cats, and zoo animals. Before everyone becomes overly excited, realize that the general "meat horse" is probably not in the world's best shape.

 

[bb livestock]

what is wrong with eating horses its just like eating cattle, poultry, and hogs.

 

[res]

what is wrong with eating horses its just like eating cattle, poultry, and hogs.

I don't really have an issue with consuming horses IF the horses are raised from the beginning for consumption (like cattle are) or have a mandatory 30-60-90 day withdrawal BEFORE they are slaughtered. Right now, there is no withdrawal dates established for the multitude of supplements and medications given to horses. A horse can be racing at a track, pumped full of Lord-only-knows-what, and within a few days it can be slaughtered and headed to someone's dinner plate. I sure wouldn't want to eat it! All slaughter-bound horses should be required to spend a minimum amount to time at a withdrawal feedlot facility before being processed.

Yes, transportation and slaughter practices need to be improved, but I don't hold out much hope in that area. We cannot expect the treatment of horses at a slaughter facility to supercede the treatment of cattle, and that's pretty much the level horses are at now. It's a logistically problem - the demand for beef (and in other countries, horses) cannot be met at a slow, gentle pace. Everything has to be hurried along, or costs of production will rise, meat prices will rise, and no one will be able to afford to purchase any meat.

Horses are actually MORE efficient than cattle at processing concentrates/grains and converting them to muscle and fat. It would cost less to get a horse to "market weight" than it does a bovine. Just a neat little fact...

The entire system has a lot of flaws, and is going to require a lot of money and time to get it perfect.