Protest Against Wild Horse Roundups And Horse Slaughter

There is much more on Tuesday's Horse on The Int'l Fund for Horses website. If you want to join in on upcoming protests or get help organizing your own protest, this is the place to go.

Please protest if you can, or help spread the word if you can't actually attend. For the horses.

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AGAINST WILD HORSE & BURRO ROUNDUPS and HORSE SLAUGHTER

Protesting and calling for a moratorium on all roundups of America’s wild horses and burros.

Protesting horse slaughter and demanding an immediate vote on HR 503 and S 727, The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, banning the slaughter of America’s equines.

Scheduled Protests:

BOSTON, Massachusetts DONE!

When:

Friday, October 8, 2010 at 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Where:

Massachusetts State House, Behind the Boston Common in front of the State House

Follow Up:

Report and Pictures >>

STAMFORD, Connecticut DONE!

When:

Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 2:00 pm

Where:

Downtown Stamford on the Ferguson Library steps

Follow Up:

On the way.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada DONE!

When:

Monday, Columbus Day, October 11, 2010, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Where:

Horseman’s Park, 5800 E. Flamingo Drive

Follow Up:

Report, Pictures, Media Coverage >>

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont

When:

Friday, October 29, 2010 2 PM to 5 PM

Where:

At the Co-op, 2 Main St.

Notes:

Please bring a sign.

Contacts:

Jeanne – hilbiljean@yahoo.com

NEW YORK CITY, New York

When:

Saturday, November 13, 2010, 1 PM to 3 PM

Where:

Columbus Circle, 59th Street, Manhattan, at the south end of Central Park and Broadway – near the statues (also referred to as the north side of Central Park South).

Notes:

Please bring a sign.

Contacts:

Jo De George – jo@degeorgedynamic.com; Linda Berardo – Lin817@aol.com

There are more rallies and protests being organized for IA, GA, MD, VA, NH, ME, SC, WY, CO, TX, FL and VA. Also New York City in November. We will post details as soon as we have them. Read more at tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/dpuf

Related articles

• Two Minutes to Help End Horse Slaughter (animals.change.org)

Zito delivers with Da’Tara when Big Brown fails to « Tuesday’s Horse

Big Brown fails to deliver

It is reported everywhere by sports writers, broadcasters and racing pundits that the connections have no idea what went wrong with the horse.

Well, I saw the race, quiet unexpectedly, and there are several explanations, but here is the simplest and most likely:

Big Brown came out of the gate hard. Drawn from the number 1 position on the inside he experienced a lot of crowding as the other horses raced for the rail to get a good position. Several strides in Big Brown was bumped badly, knocked off his stride and had to be snatched up. Big Brown then had to navigate quite a bit of traffic to get the position he would hold for the rest of the race, on the outside third from the raile.

With his head high in the air, Big Brown pulled hard and jockey Kent Desmoreaux seemed never to be able to settle him into a comfortable stride. Although it was not a fast run race, those extra exertions to me is where Big Brown lost the race.

Add the hot weather, longer distance and that he also may have not liked the ground, and Big Brown’s poor performance can be explained. Only because Big Brown was going for the Triple Crown and has an admitted doper for a trainer who ran Big Brown on a badly cracked hoof has it all been so highly scrutinized.

There is the factor so often overlooked. Big Brown is a living,breathing, thinking, feeling creature. What he was experiencing mentally on the day we may never know, but it does matter. The blessing is that the jockey took care of the horse, and when he realized Big Brown had nothing left in the tank, pulled him up, thereby protecting the horse from injury, and possibly much worse.

Jockey Kent J. Desormeaux reins in Big Brown during the
140th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race at Belmont Park in
Elmont, New York, June 7, 2008.

Big Brown failed in his bid to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown
winner when he finished in last place to the winner Da’ Tara.

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Big Brown finished last.

Sunday, the papers say, Big Brown was all alone except for the staff who handle and care for him.

No one knows what Big Brown’s fate is now. More racing perhaps, with a match up against Horse of the Year Curlin in the Breeder’s Cup, and then off to the breeding shed. Another big win would help plump up the price for Big Brown’s services at stud. The experts say his stallion fees began falling before he left the racecourse.

Jun 10, 2008

Remembering the Horses of War

A Special Memorial Day Report

By VIVIAN GRANT
May 2008

Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war and as a memorial to those who died.

It is estimated that 1.5 million horses died in the Civil War.

Not included formally, but most certainly in the hearts and minds of the cavalry, were these horses.

That was far from the beginning, and certainly not the end, of the use of the Horse in War.

Introduction

Horses have been used in human warfare for millennia, probably since the time of domestication of the horse. Horses were specially trained for a variety of military uses, including battle, individual combat, reconnaissance (scouting), transport, and supply. The term war horse usually refers to horses used for fighting, whether as cavalry in battle or in individual combat. The best-known war horse was the destrier, ridden by the knight of the Middle Ages. However, even horses used for purposes other than direct combat played a critically important part of successful military ventures. There are still some uses for horses in the military even in today's modern world. Source

World War I

Horses were heavily used in World War One. Horses were involved in the war's first military conflict involving Great Britain - a cavalry attack near Mons in August 1914. Horses were primarily to be used as a form of transport during the war.

When the war broke out in Western Europe in August 1914, both Britain and Germany had a cavalry force that each numbered about 100,000 men.

In August 1914, no-one could have contemplated the horrors of trench warfare - hence why the cavalry regiments reigned supreme. In fact, in Great Britain the cavalry regiments would have been seen as the senior regiments in the British Army, along with the Guards regiments, and very many senior army positions were held by cavalry officers.

However, the cavalry charge seen near Mons was practically the last seen in the war. Trench warfare made such charges not only impractical but impossible. A cavalry charge was essentially from a bygone military era and machine guns, trench complexes and barbed wire made such charges all but impossible. However, some cavalry charges did occur despite the obvious reasons as to why they should not.

I March 1918, the British launched a cavalry charge at the Germans. By the Spring of 1918, the war had become more fluid but despite this, out of 150 horses used in the charge only 4 survived. The rest were cut down by German machine gun fire.

However, though a cavalry charge was no longer a viable military tactic, horses were still invaluable as a way of transporting materials to the front. Military vehicles, as with any mechanised vehicles of the time, were relatively new inventions and prone to problems. Horses, along with mules, were reliable forms of transport and compared to a lorry needed little upkeep.

Such was the use of horses on the Western Front that over 8 million died on all sides fighting in the war. Two and a half million horses were treated in veterinary hospitals with about two million being sufficiently cured that they could return to duty. Source

World War II

Though formal mounted cavalry began to be phased out as fighting forces during or immediately after World War I, cavalry units that included horses still had military uses well into World War II.

The most famous example was the under equipped Polish army, which used its horse cavalry in World War II to defend Poland against the armies of Nazi Germany during the 1939 invasion.

Other nations used horses extensively during WWII, though not necessarily in direct combat.

Hitler's armies reportedly used more horses and mules in WWII than the German armies used in WWI.

LoneSentry asserts:

Despite highly ballyhooed emphasis on employment of mechanized forces and on rapid movement, the bulk of German combat divisions were horse drawn throughout World War II. Early in the war it was the common belief of the American public that the German Siegfrieds of Hitler's Blitz rode forth to battle on swift tanks and motor vehicles. But the notion of the mechanized might of the German Wehrmacht was largely a glamorized myth born in the fertile brains of newspapermen. Actually, the lowly horse played a most important part in enabling the German Army to move about Europe.

Public opinion to the contrary, so great was the dependence of the Nazi Blitzkrieg upon the horse that the numerical strength of German Army horses maintained during the entire war period averaged around 1,100,000. Of the 322 German Army and SS divisions extant in November 1943, only 52 were armored or motorized. Of the November 1944 total of 264 combat divisions, only 42 were armored or motorized. Source

Both the German and the Soviet armies used horses until the end of the war, not only to transport ammunitions and equipment, but also for reconnaissance and counter-insurgency efforts. The British Army used mules in India and Southeast Asia as pack animals.

While the United States Army utilized a few cavalry and supply units during the war, there were concerns that in rough terrain, horses were not used often enough. In the campaigns in North Africa, generals such as George S. Patton lamented their lack, saying, "had we possessed an American cavalry division with pack artillery in Tunisia and in Sicily, not a German would have escaped." Source

Last Charge

The last American mounted tactical cavalry unit in combat was the 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts) in Philippines, stationed at Ft Stotsenburg, Luzon, 1942, which fought both mounted and dismounted against Japanese invasion troops in 1942.

On the Bataan Peninsula, the 26th Cavalry (PS) staged a mounted attack against the Japanese on 16 January 1942. The battered, exhausted men of the 26th Cavalry climbed astride their horses and flung themselves moments against the blazing gun muzzles of Japanese tanks.

This last mounted pistol charge was led by Ed Ramsey in command of G troop, 26th Cavalry. It was the last mounted charge in America's annals, and proved the climax of the 26th Cavalry's magnificent but doomed horseback campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army during the fall of the Philippines in 1941-42.

According to a Bataan survivor interviewed in the Washington Post (10 April 1977), starving US and Philippine troops ate all the regiment's horses. Source

Horses in War Today

Today, formal combat units of mounted cavalry are in almost all cases a thing of the past, with horseback units within the modern military used for reconnaissance, ceremonial, or crowd control purposes. The only remaining fully horse-mounted regular regiment in the world is India's 61st Cavalry.

Organized armed fighters on horseback are occasionally seen, particularly in the third world, though they usually are not officially recognized as part of any national army. The best-known current examples are the Janjaweed, militia groups seen in the Darfur region of Sudan, who became notorious for their attacks upon unarmed civilian populations in the Darfur conflict.

Although horses have little combat use today by modern armies, the military of many nations still maintain small numbers of mounted units for certain types of patrol and reconnaissance duties in extremely rugged terrain, including the current conflict in Afghanistan. Hungary, some Commonwealth countries, Balkan countries, and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia maintain cavalry units as part of light infantry and reconnaissance formations for use in mountainous terrain or areas where fuel supply may be difficult. Source

Monumental Oversight

It is said that there are more horse statues in Washington D.C. that in any other place in the United States. They do seem to be everywhere.

What you will not see is a memorial to the horses who gave their lives in times of war.

One was created in London in 2004, not just to honor horses, but all animals conscripted into the service of their country.

My dream is that some day one will stand in Washington D.C.

Vivian Grant,
President

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Is Horse Slaughter A Necessary Evil?

If you have been swayed by the argument put forth by the pro-slaughter groups that abuse and neglect of horses will increase, and that shipping horses to Mexico to be slaughtered - a much worse fate than slaughter in the US - will also greatly increase, please follow the link below to read this entire article.

Horses must be protected from slaughter - welfare group | Horsetalk - International horse news

October 4, 2007

An animal welfare group says claims that horses are
facing worse fates in Mexico and Canada since US slaughter ended are a
"red herring" argument.

The Animal Welfare Institute says that now horse slaughter has
effectively ended in the United States, "the pro-horse slaughter camp
is claiming it was right about the need to keep slaughter an option in
the US." The AWI is actively working to pass the American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act into law.

"They say that our horses are facing a far worse fate in Mexico and
Canada than they were when they could be slaughtered in America. This
is yet another 'red-herring' argument advanced by the pro-horse
slaughter side to distract humane Americans from the ultimate goal of
protecting all American horses from slaughter via passage of the
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 311/HR. 503). This
legislation will end the slaughter of American horses here and their
export for slaughter abroad," a spokesman said.

read more

If you care about horses in the slightest degree, please

1. Contact your own Congressman and ask him/her to support H.R.297.
   • Locate your Congressman here

2. Contact your Senators and ask them to cosponsor S.576.
   • Locate your Senator here
     

Slaughter Fact Sheet From The Fund For Horses

Slaughter USA: Fact Sheet - The Fund for Horses

Slaughter USA: Fact Sheet

On This Page

* Introduction.
* Why does this industry still exist?
* How many horses are slaughtered in the United States?
* What types of horses are slaughtered?
* Where do the horses come from?
* How are the horses slaughtered?
* If slaughtered is banned, where will all the horses go?
* If horse slaughter is banned, won't abuse and neglect increase?

Introduction

One of the most baffling issues surrounding the equine world, and one that many Americans are still unaware of, is that every week in this country our young, healthy horses are slaughtered for human consumption overseas. The largest number are Quarter Horses, although Thoroughbred race horses, and even some of our wild Mustangs are routinely slaughtered. Their meat is processed, freeze packed and shipped to countries like Belgium, France, Italy and Japan, where it is considered a delicacy.

Why does this industry still exist?

Horse slaughter exists in the United States for one reason and one reason only — for the sole purpose of providing horsemeat for human consumption in foreign markets.

Although the number of horses slaughtered declined sharply for a period of years, there has been a recent resurgence in demand. Horse meat is viewed as "clean meat" and a good alternative to beef and other traditional meats because of BSE and other contamination scares. Europeans and Asians who consume horse flesh are willing to pay a high price for American horsemeat, which is described by butchers and purveyors of horsemeat as the very best on the market.

"I only buy American meat, which is red and firm. In butchering terms we call it 'well-structured', the best you can get. Out of a thousand animals, only the American ones are really worth buying. But they don't eat horsemeat in America. They raise horses for foreigners."

A Butcher in France.

Conseqently, business is thriving for the three foreign-owned slaughter plants operating in the U.S., two in Texas and the other in Illinois. If current trends continue, it is highly likely that demand is only going to increase and so is the slaughtering of our horses.

How many horses are slaughtered in the United States?

According to the USDA, more than 50,000 horses were slaughtered in 2003. With the re-opening of Cavel International in Illinois in 2004, the number rose to more than 66,000, and in 2005, nearly 95,000 of our horses were slaughtered for their meat.

This does not include the approximately 20,000 - 30,000 horses that are exported to Mexico to be slaughtered in their abattoirs, or the thousands exported to Canada.

Together, these numbers represent about 1% of the total number of horses in the U.S., and the entire industry is only .001% of the size of the U.S. meat industry.

What types of horses are being slaughtered? Aren't these old, sick horses?

According to 2001 field studies conducted by Temple Grandin et al., 70% of all horses at the slaughter plant were in good, fat, or obese condition; 72% were considered to be "sound" of limb; 84% were of average age; and 96% had no behavioral issues. Slaughter plants do not want old, sick horses for obvious reasons.

Where do the horses come from?

Horses are not raised for slaughter as they are not traditional food animals, so they must be bought. Licensed horse dealers, known as "killer buyers," act as middlemen for the slaughterhouses and frequent the auctions where horses are sold. Mass quantities of horses are bought by these dealers at unbelievably cheap prices, who then transport the horses and resell them to the slaughterhouses for profit. Many times an auction house and the dealer will not turn away an unfit animal, because as long as it can live till it gets to a slaughterhouse, they can be killed for their hides. These horses are called "skinners." Slaughterhouses typically have a tannery either on site or nearby for this reason.

A number of the horses who end up at slaughterhouses are stolen, and can disappear without a trace. However, statistics from one of the largest groups that assist owners in the recovery of their stolen horses, Stolen Horse International (netposse.org) show that approximately 60% of stolen horses are killed at slaughter plants.

How are the horses actually slaughtered?

Horses are transported, often thousand of miles, from all over the country to Texas and Illinois in double-decker trailers designed for cattle in all types of weather with no food or water. Often there is not enough clearance for the horses to hold their heads in a fully upright position.

No consideration is given to the gender or the condition of the horses as they are crammed into these trucks. Horses are often injured and some even arrive at the slaughterhouse dead. The ones who survive the ordeal of transportation are held in pens until it is their turn to be butchered. The horses stand in the killing line smelling the blood, sensing the terror ahead. They are electrocuted or speared into the "kill box" where they shake violently, falling, unable to stand from fear.

According to federal law, horses must be rendered unconscious prior to slaughter, usually by captive bolt. With their long necks and aversion to anything approaching their foreheads, many horses require multiple strikes. However, some are improperly stunned, even with repeated blows.

The USDA's March 1998 report, Special Report on Humane Slaughter Methods and AnteMortem, shows the animals can and do regain consciousness after they have been stunned. Therefore some are still conscious when shackled, hoisted by a rear leg, and cut across the throat to be bled out.

Quote from a slaughterhouse worker:

"You move so fast, you don't have time to wait till a horse bleeds out. You skin him as he bleeds. Sometimes a horse's nose is down in the blood, blowing bubbles, and he suffocates."

From the book "Slaughterhouse" by Gail Eisnitz

A major misconception is that animals being readied for slaughter are stunned with a captive bolt in order to make the process more humane. The fact is, the captive bolt stunning mechanism was designed to protect slaughterhouse workers from the flailing limbs of terrified animals and to increase the speed of the production line.

If horse slaughter is banned, where will all the horses go?

The number of horses slaughtered in 1990 was a staggering 350,000, a number that dropped to an all time low of 42,000 in 2002. Between 1992 and 1993 alone, the number of horses slaughtered dropped 79,000. These decreases did not create a glut of "unwanted horses." Society absorbed these horses, and the market remained stable, just as it will when horse slaughter is eliminated altogether.

The phrase "unwanted horses" is a myth created by horse slaughter supporters. The number of horses slaughtered each year is the one used by them to arrive at the number of so-called "unwanted horses" for the same time period. In actuality, the number of horses slaughtered each year is the number of horses the horse slaughter plants have the capacity to butcher and process.

There are many alternatives to horse slaughter. Horses can be given another chance at life through retraining and adoption programs as pleasure horses, with rescues, retirement homes, and sanctuaries. Horses can also enjoy second careers as Mounted Police horses, at riding schools and as therapy horses.

If a horse becomes old, infirm or mortally ill, then the horse should be euthanized by a qualified veterinarian. There are a wide variety of options for disposing of their bodies that range from the costly to economical. These include burial (where permitted), cremation, rendering, composting and landfills. Texas A&M, in response to this question, released a special report on composting as a viable alternative that would be both environmentally and politically beneficial, predicting that this could become a big market when horse slaughter is banned.

If horse slaughter is banned, won't abuse and neglect increase?

California banned horse slaughter in 1998. California has experienced no increase in abuse case, and even noted a decrease 3 years following the ban. During the 4 years that Cavel was closed, Illinois saw a noticeable decrease in abuse and/or neglect cases. Texas, which had the only two slaughter plants in 2003, had among the nations highest rates of cruelty and theft.

The conclusion is clear – horse slaughter does not decrease abuse and neglect but actually encourages it.

Horse Fighting: Fact Sheet - The Fund for Horses

Horse Fighting: Fact Sheet - The Fund for Horses

Horse Fighting: Fact Sheet

What is horse fighting?

Horses are herd animals, and in natural circumstances will not only engage in battle for leadership of their group, but also for mating purposes. In this environment, Stallions do not fight to the death, but until one of them backs down or flees. This is nature's way of ensuring that the strongest bloodlines are responsible for the procreation of their kind. Horse fighting, or horse to horse combat, is a barbaric spectator sport where these circumstances are simulated in order to make two stallions, or male horses, fight each other in a controlled environment. Events are conducted before wildly cheering crowds who are stimulated by the blood, gore, fury and intensity of the fighting.

Where does horse fighting take place?

Horse fighting has now been outlawed almost worldwide. It still thrives, however, in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, China and South Korea. Brutal and inhumane, these spectacles can be anything from featured events in annual fiestas and thanksgiving festivals to scrappy events put together by locals for the purposes of an afternoon's gambling and entertainment, or to honor a special guest. Horse fighting takes place in city stadiums or abandoned playing fields in remote villages and provinces. In more highly populated areas they may also be conducted at a local racetrack.

Where do the horses come from?

Some horses are bred specifically for horse to horse combat. However, some are acquired by promoters for their size and sturdiness and trained for fighting.

How do they make the horses fight?

To start the competition, two Stallions are brought in. A mare in heat is then presented to them and removed. Horses who do not immediately engage in a battle for her are whipped into a fury or gunshots fired to incite them through fear.

As the Stallions rise in combat, they bite, kick and strike each other with their hooves, inflicting serious wounds and injuries until one of them either succumbs, flees or is killed. The Stallion left standing is declared the winner.

Aside from the physical pain and wounds incurred by the Stallions, the mares are also subjected to animal cruelty, as they are injected with hormones to keep them in heat for the prolonged periods.

How long do horse fights last?

In festivals, a series of pairs are brought in to fight. The winners of these bouts then fight each other, until all are eliminated but the final two. In the deciding contest, the ultimate winner is declared the champion who is decorated with a special blanket and cheered by the crowd. It is considered a great honor to own the winning horse.

In provincial horse fights, stallions compete in a series of one-off matches. Competing horses are often ill-matched which results in gruesome injuries and even death to the weaker opponent.

What happens to the horses that lose?

Depending on the owner or promoter, horses who are not mortally wounded or suffer superficial wounds may be treated for future fights. These horses, however, are considered weak and their lives spared for more sinister purposes. In their next bout, they will be pitted against a superior opponent and will most likely be maimed or killed. In doing so, promoters ensure that spectators get the blood and gore they demand and expect.

For horses who are not treated for their injuries, this means their careers as equine gladiators are over, and they are either shot or slaughtered. It has been reported by visitors that in the remote areas of Asian countries, some of the horses are butchered at horse fighting events, and a cookout held for the spectators.

Why does horse fighting still go on?

Countries staging horse fights defend it as a cultural tradition that has gone on for hundreds of years, and resist any attempts to ban it. While tradition has long been used to legitimize horse fighting, money and gambling appears to be the real reason for its continued existence.