8/19/13

The Fuzzy Math Being Used to Justify Horse Slaughter in the United States

The Fuzzy Math Being Used to Justify Horse Slaughter in the United States

The Fuzzy Math Being Used to Justify Horse Slaughter in the United States

Did closing slaughterhouses really lead to an increase in animal abuse?

   
The animal entry of a slaughterhouse. (PHOTO: GOEKCE NARTTEK/SHUTTERSTOCK)

The vast majority of Americans—over 80 percent—oppose the idea of slaughtering horses in the United States. Not surprisingly, there was minimal public opposition when, in 2007, Congress, citing rampant welfare abuse and safety violations, cut off funding for the USDA inspection of U.S. horse slaughterhouses. This decision effectively ended the business of slaughtering horses domestically.
In November 2011, however, an agriculture appropriations bill signed by Congress reinstated funding for inspection. The legislative path for states to reopen horse slaughterhouses is now clear. Today, with the domestic cattle market in a drought-induced tailspin, New Mexico, Missouri, Wyoming, Tennessee, Iowa, and Oklahoma are on the verge of sending horses it once sent to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses into the clutches of domestic abattoirs. Other states, seeking a way to capitalize on horses that have lost their value or can be bought cheaply at meat prices, are eager to follow. A New Mexico meat processing plant has even made arrangements with the Navajo Nation to corral wild horses in anticipation of the impending slaughter fest. All that’s holding this off for right now is a lawsuit from the Humane Society of the United States.

They’re bucking horses that won’t buck and racehorses that won’t win and quarter horses that nobody is buying from breeders because hay prices are too high.

The pivotal piece of evidence that convinced Congress to change its mind on the matter of domestic horse slaughter was a GAO analysis published in June 2011 (PDF). Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) and Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) and Representative Jack Kingston (R-Georgia) commissioned it. Titled, “Actions Needed to Address Unintended Consequences From Cessation of Domestic Slaughter,” the report found “a rise in investigations for horse neglect and more abandoned horses since 2007”—the year the plants were closed. The “unintended consequence” of closing horse slaughterhouses, the report explained, was an increase in the abuse of horses. Reinstating domestic slaughterhouses, it suggested, would diminish this rising problem of neglect among owners who neither wanted to keep their horses nor were willing to send them abroad for slaughter. This argument was one that the slaughter lobby has been making since slaughterhouse closings in 2007. Pro-slaughter advocates were more than pleased to hear the news.

Something about this report, however, seemed suspicious before it was even published. Charlie Stenholm, former Texas Congressman and now policy advisor to the D.C.-based law firm Olsson, Frank, and Weeda (which specializes in helping agribusiness negotiate federal red tape and recently hired an attorney who specializes in agricultural deals with Native Americans), told a conference of pro-slaughter interests in Las Vegas that the GAO report—which would not come out for another six months—contained very good news.

When the report officially dropped in June 2011, Stenholm was proven correct. The Senate quickly wrote an appropriations bill removing the provision that defunded inspection. Because the House had an amendment preserving the language, the bill went to committee, where the vote was three to one in favor of restoring funding for domestic horse slaughterhouses. Those three votes came, alas, from Senators Kohl and Blunt and Representative Kingston.

All very fishy. But what really stinks about the GAO report is the math. Because national data is not available on reported horse abuse, the GAO went to six states and found—in the only case of hard numbers that it provides in the entire report—that “Colorado data showed that investigations for horse neglect and abuse increased more than 60 percent from 975 in 2005 to 1,588 in 2009.” Sounds pretty dramatic—until you recall that the slaughter ban passed in 2007. Not 2005.

As it turns out, horse abuse in Colorado did rise rapidly from 2005 through the end of 2007 (before the ban). But, starting in 2008, it declined precipitously through 2010 (a year for which numbers are available but the GAO tellingly admitted). The report thus made it seem as if abuse spiked after the closing of slaughterhouses. In fact, it continued for less than a year after the ban was instated and then declined rapidly.

horse1

Figure 1: Colorado Department of Agriculture data

It is further worth noting that the GAO had access to similar figures on horse abuse investigations from five other states—Illinois, Idaho, Georgia, Maine, and Oregon. The GAO’s decision not to include this information makes little sense unless it was deliberately trying to skew the picture of horse abuse in favor of pro-slaughter interests. To wit: Four states for which there are data show a dramatic decline in horse abuse after 2007 while one—Idaho—shows no movement one way or the other. Ignoring these figures, the GAO decided instead to focus on Colorado, evidently hoping nobody would notice its creative presentation of the numbers.

horse2

Figure 2: Data from the agriculture departments of six states

Despite the report’s suggestion that the need for local slaughterhouses is an urgent matter, the GAO fails to note something quite extraordinary about the situation: Only about one percent of existing domestic horses are slaughtered every year. Ninety-two percent of that one percent, according to Temple Grandin, are healthy and devoid of behavioral problems. They’re bucking horses that won’t buck and racehorses that won’t win and quarter horses that nobody is buying from breeders because hay prices are too high. The only thing that’s urgent in this entire scenario is the desire to profit from sending these healthy horses to slaughter.

Horse abuse and neglect is a small problem that got smaller with the closure of slaughterhouses. The GAO—and the slaughter lobby it seems to represent—falsely presents it as a large problem getting larger. It wants us to envision a situation in which a recession and drought are overwhelming horse owners to the point that they’re neglecting sick and ailing horses en masse. Give them easy access to a domestic slaughterhouse, so goes the argument, and abuse will decline.

In fact, it is the exact opposite that’s true. Abuse went down after slaughterhouses were closed. All that domestic slaughterhouses would provide is an easy and profitable excuse to send many more healthy horses to a premature death for meat that we don’t even eat in this country. It’s all very sad logic upon which to rebuild an industry.

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8/2/13

BREAKING! New Mexico Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Against Opening Proposed Horse Slaughter Plants!


Great news!


Judge Blocks Planned Horse Slaughter At Two Plants


 — A federal judge on Friday temporarily halted plans by companies in New Mexico and Iowa to start slaughtering horses next week.
U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo issued a restraining order in a lawsuit brought by The Humane Society of the United States and other groups.
I deliberately did not post the rest of the article because it's rife with the usual disinformation about "thousands of abused and unwanted horses across this country," and other ridiculous pro-slaughter propaganda like that.
Here is the link if you want to go comment. The only accurate thing about this story is the temporary restraining order!
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8/1/13

BREAKING! EWA & ALC Issue Press Release With Proof That GAO Report On Horse Welfare After Closing of Domestic Slaughter Plants FRAUDULENT BREAKING1


2013.07.30 Press Release: Evidence to Prove GAO report FRAUDULENT


    July 31, 2013    

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    


    Contacts:    


    John Holland, President, Equine Welfare Alliance


    540.268.5693


    john@equinewelfarealliance.org    


    Laura Allen, Executive Director, Animal Law Coalition


    425.419.7301


    lauraallen@animallawcoalition.com  

    
    EWA and ALC produce evidence showing GAO Horse Welfare report was fraudulent    

    EWA (Chicago) - The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) and the Animal Law Coalition (ALC) announced today that they have irrefutable evidence showing that the Government Accountability Office fraudulently misrepresented horse abuse and neglect data in their report GAO 11-228.    


    The GAO report blamed falling horse prices and increased abuse and neglect on the closing of the domestic slaughter plants in 2007. Shortly after GAO issued the report, a conference committee reinstated funding for horse slaughter inspections, opening the way for slaughter to return to the US. Widely quoted in the media, the report is also provided as evidence in the lawsuit filed by Valley Meats against the USDA.    


    The EWA and ALC have provided both a video and a white paper showing how the fraud was committed. The ten minute video, How the GAO deceived Congress about horse slaughter was released on YouTube, and shows step by step how the GAO hid information in its possession showing abuse and neglect was in decline and misrepresented the data as showing it was increasing.    


    The fraud was discovered by the EWA while collecting data for equine abuse and neglect rates across the country. "We were looking for the correlation between various factors such as unemployment, slaughter and hay prices on a state by state basis," explained EWA's John Holland, "and when we looked at the Colorado data, we were reminded of its mention in the GAO report."    


    The GAO claimed in the report to have contacted state veterinarians across the country and to have been told that abuse and neglect was increasing everywhere in the wake of the closing of the US plants in 2007. These were the same officials EWA contacted looking for states that kept records.    


    The EWA found data from six states; Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Georgia and Colorado. The records showed that abuse and neglect had been in decline between 2008 and 2010 (the last year of the GAO study), and that the GAO had used the wrong dates on the Colorado data to make it appear abuse had increased 60%.    


    "We had accepted that abuse was probably increasing as the result of the bad economy," says Holland, "so imagine our surprise when we found it had been decreasing." The EWA study finally showed the reason: drought. Drought and the subsequent increases in hay prices correlated tightly with the abuse and neglect numbers, and outweighed the influence of the recession and other factors.    

    "Not only did the GAO misrepresent the data, they completely missed the importance of hay prices and availability." said Holland. The EWA filed a FOIA request for the data used by the GAO and the request was denied. The EWA also filed an IG complaint, and finally had a conference call with the GAO to request the report be withdrawn. The GAO refused any response except to say that their reports were flawlessly cross checked.    


    Victoria McCullough, owner of Chesapeake Petroleum and internationally known equestrian, said "Acceptance of lower standards results in failed policies and most significantly failures of public interest. Special Interest encroachment within Washington must not be allowed to erode public trust."    


    - # -

White Paper: http://www.equinewelfarealliance.org/uploads/How_the_GAO_Deceived_Congress-final.pdf

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6/28/13

USDA Approves Horse Slaughter, Despite Overwhelming Opposition

USDA Approves Horse Slaughter, Despite Overwhelming Opposition


Today, in a mystifying and infuriating decision, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted an inspection permit to a discredited horse slaughter plant operator in New Mexico, bringing the nation closer to its first horse slaughter operation since federal courts and state lawmakers shuttered the last three U.S.-based plants in 2007. The USDA has let it be known that it may also approve horse slaughter plants in Iowa and Missouri next week.

Consider these facts, each of which should have been sufficient to dissuade the USDA from proceeding with this inspection permit for New Mexico.

  • The USDA granted the permit even though Republican Governor Susanna Martinez and Democratic Attorney General Gary King oppose the opening of the facility in their state. 
  • The department took this action even though Congress, in its 2014 agriculture spending bill, is poised to forbid the USDA from spending money on horse slaughter inspections. In June, both the House and Senate appropriations committees approved amendments to defund any horse slaughter plants.
  • The USDA is moving ahead even though the Obama Administration, in its 2014 budget proposal to Congress, recommended a defunding of horse slaughter plants. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has called for a “third way” in dealing with unwanted horses and expressed opposition to horse slaughter.
  • Approval was granted even though The HSUS submitted a petition to the USDA that provides incontrovertible evidence that horses are routinely fed or dosed with more than 100 different drugs unfit for human consumption. 
  • The USDA pursued this course of action just months after Europeans learned the hard way that horse slaughter operators and meat traders substituted their product for beef, throwing the European beef market and consumer confidence in the safety and integrity of the food supply into a tailspin. 
  • Horse slaughter is being approved in spite of polling information indicating that an overwhelming majority of the American public – to the tune of 80 percent – opposes slaughtering American horses for human consumption.
I’ve been asked why the Administration would take this action, contradicting its own stated goal to end horse slaughter. And I cannot explain it, other than the lawyers at the USDA driving the train and offering a highly legalistic view of the controversy, given that Valley Meat has sued the USDA for unreasonably delaying action on its application. We seem to have a case where the decision-makers have decided they are obligated to grant the permit when there is a fact pattern that screams at them from every angle that they should not grant that permit.
Horses bound for slaughter
Kathy Milani/The HSUSHorses held in
 export pens before transported for slaughter.
The Administration wouldn’t grant an inspection permit for a dog slaughterhouse even if the application for the permit was properly filled out and the operator hired a lawyer to compel action. Local and national opposition to such an idea would be more than convincing in compelling the USDA to keep any plant from opening up and sucking dogs into the slaughter lines.
The HSUS will work with state authorities to block this plant from opening, and will join Front Range Equine Rescue in taking the USDA to court on this issue
Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia and is a betrayal of our trusted companions. The entire pipeline of horse slaughter, including auctions and transport in crowded trailers in freezing cold or oppressive heat, is abusive. The slaughter process itself is horribly cruel and many horses suffer during the misguided and often repeated attempts to render them unconscious. 
Sensible policy makers don’t want to see a bloodbath in the United States resume. Let’s hope we can hold off slaughter until the defund language, expected to take effect in a few months, becomes law.
Now is the time to express your concern to your members of Congress and urge them to pass the Safeguard American Food Exports Act to shut the door on horse slaughter once and for all.

Well, folks, I guess it really is time to kill all the lawyers. I'm just kidding - aren't I?
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6/27/13

Study of Equine Abuse and Neglect Patterns Produces Surprising Findings

Study of Equine Abuse and Neglect Patterns Produces Surprising Findings - Press Release - Digital Journal

Study of Equine Abuse and Neglect Patterns Produces Surprising Findings

PR Newswire

CHICAGO, June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- (EWA) - The Equine Welfare Alliance today released a statistical study on the rates of equine abuse and neglect across the US since 2000. The research examined equine abuse statistics from Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maine and Oregon.
Historical records of the number of cases of equine abuse and neglect from these states was correlated with three potential causes; the rate of equine slaughter (or lack of it), unemployment and the cost of hay.
Surprisingly, the researchers found that the rate of abuse has been in decline in four of the six states since 2008. Five of the six states had shown a spike in abuse and neglect around 2008 and two have shown a significant increase in the past two years.
The dominant factor the analysis produced in every state was the price of hay. "My assumption was always that unemployment was the dominant factor," admitted EWA president John Holland. "In fact, the analysis showed that the rate of unemployment in the state was the least important predictor of the level of abuse and neglect."
The analysis showed the second most important correlation was the rate of slaughter, but the analysis found more slaughter consistently correlated with more abuse and neglect.
"Correlation is not proof of causation," explained Holland, "but it certainly contradicts the theory that slaughter decreases neglect by culling "unwanted horses."
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) have long urged Congress not to ban horse slaughter on the basis that to do so would increase abandonment, abuse and neglect.
This study follows on the heels of a peer reviewed paper in the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agricultural, and Natural Resources Law by Holland (EWA) and Laura Allen (Animal Law Coalition). That paper documented enormous increases in the cost of horse ownership between 2000 and 2011. The paper demonstrates, among other pressures, that a shift of land use from hay to corn for ethanol has reduced the hay available to horse owners, cattlemen and dairy farmers.
Severe drought in some states has made an already insufficient supply of hay all but collapse. In 2011, Congress ended the long standing subsidy for ethanol in gasoline and removed tariffs on sugar cane. EWA hopes this will put a downward pressure on hay prices in coming years.


Contact: John Holland 540.268.5693  john@equinewelfarealliance.org


SOURCE Equine Welfare Alliance
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6/25/13

Why Not Horse Meat?


HorsesThere was a thought provoking blog published by The Huffington Post – Marc Vetri: Humanity And Justice For All regarding the topic of horse meat.  Disappointingly the current massive Horse Meat Scandal has put horse meat in the spotlight with curious foodies considering it for their next meal.  While I find the topic repugnant, as a meat eater, it would be hypocritical of me to dismiss it without careful regard.

The relationship humans have with horses is rooted in history.  Those roots grow deep.  Horses became our partners.  Much like dogs, they provided us with opportunities that we wouldn’t have had without them.  We could travel farther and faster while carrying heavy burdens.  We could till ground that would have been impossible without them.  We could travel in weather that would previously leave us housebound.  They provided us with sport and entertainment.  They provided us with the ability to round up other animals to raise for food.  While working together, deep relationships were born.  Yes, they are stunning to watch but the bond we share with them goes far beyond basic aesthetics.

Chances are at some point, just about everyone has enjoyed a horse in one respect or another.  Movies, horse races, grand prix event or rodeos – all would share the joy of horses.  Many have gone further by owning, riding, competing or working with horses in some way.  Ask someone about their horse and brace yourself for a deluge of proud stories.

How could we possibly eat these noble beasts?  If you take the emotional attachment out of it, technically we should.  They’re herbivores like cattle.  Horses aren’t that different.
Two key differences: Horses are not raised for food and our food system is not geared to handle them.

Not Raised For Food

Marc Vetri stated “If I were to find a livestock farmer who was raising them humanely, I would consider it.” However it goes far beyond simply raising them humanely.

Why not raise horses in the same manner as cattle?  In general, they’re harder to handle.  Unhandled horses bite and kick not only each other, but people as well.  They are a fight or flight animal and are very good at both.  Round ups of horses are much more difficult due to their speed, far beyond any cow.  Add their strength, power and height, handling them isn’t easy and accommodating them isn’t possible on every farm.  They’re harder on property and harder on fences.  ”Hard keepers” by cattle standards, the vast majority of horses need supplemental feeding to stay in good condition.  By their very nature, horses aren’t good candidates for food production animals.  There are easier more placid stock to raise.

Horses are currently handled from birth, halter broke, trained to accept grooming, leading, farriers, veterinarians and eventually a rider or to drive.  No one with the intent of sending an animal for meat wants to invest this much personal time or emotion.  While it would make them easier and safer to handle, the logistics of time and costs are not feasible.  With the average herd size of cattle in Canada being 61 head, imagine the time demands on keeping that many horses regularly handled and socialized.  It cannot be done.

During the process of horse ownership they are often medicated.  Horses tend to be exposed to more illnesses and injury due to their work.  Drugs used for fertility, performance, pain killers, illness or other medical issues are common.  The vast majority of these drugs would never be used in food producing animals.  Due to horses having various roles of work, the introduction of these medications should be assumed.  Severe adverse reactions in humans, cancer causing agents and hormonal therapies should never enter our food chain.  There is never the intent to send a horse for meat, so the drugs chosen are never considered for human consumption safety before they are administered.

Phenylbutazone is a common anti-inflammatory drug administered to horses that is not safe for humans.  It can cause “…severe adverse effects such as suppression of white blood cell production and aplastic anemia.”  This drug has also been found in some of the horse meat scandal samples.
There are only so many carcasses tested.  Of those, only so many tests can be run.  Considering the amount of ecoli and salmonella cases found in recent years, do we really want to trust our health regarding an unknown cocktail of drugs that may or may not be tested for?

“Nobody has established when it is safe to eat meat that has been treated with phenylbutazone….”

Food System Not Geared Towards Horses

Horses enter the food chain via auctions.  When a cow enters an auction, they’re being purchased either by meat buyers (in which case they go to slaughter) or to other farms for breeding programs and eventual slaughter.  Either way, their intent for food and treatment as such remains intact.  Horses however come from every walk of life (racing, pleasure riding, competitive jumping, draft, companions, etc.), at every age, in various levels of health.  Hay Shortage Victims, many horses are landing in auction that would typically be home safe in a barn.  Other horses have failed to respond to medical treatments and are being given up on.  Many times, the money has simply run out.  It is safe to say that no horse in North America is born with the intent of going for meat.

In order to garner the highest price, many are drugged in hopes of covering obvious lameness, behavioural issues or due to their alien surroundings simply just to calm them.  Well behaved, good looking, sound animals are hopefully picked up by new owners who take them home to their barns.  Those owners pay more so they are catered to.  For sellers, there is a financial impact of not drugging.  Sometimes a horse might show a bit of a spark in some way, in which case they’ll be purchased, a little TLC given so that they can hope to raise a better price in another auction.  Horses in poor condition, injured, not eye catching, excessively shy or even aggressive have little hope of going to a home.  Those horses are sold to meat buyers for bottom dollar, intended for slaughter.  Any other meat animal would be banned from entering the food chain if they had these same drugs administered to them.  However, the people sending the horses to the slaughter houses wouldn’t have administered the drugs or necessarily have any knowledge of them.

This is the criteria of your possible dinner meat: ill, poor condition and quite possibly drugged.  In a society of demanding the highest of quality, free range, antibiotic free, grass and grain fed meats, this source doesn’t qualify in the least.  There is no quality control on selection at all.

Food animals are transported in large groups via stock trailers in order to decrease costs.  Again, by their very nature as fight or flight animals, groups of horses in close quarters are dangerous.  Stress is a key factor.  They kick, panic, slip and will fall without proper support.  Injuries are often severe.  These trailers don’t have provisions for food or water and many will collapse from exhaustion or dehydration or even arrive dead.  Due to their very nature, they require a more refined mode of transportation in order to ensure their welfare.  In general, the largest safe horse trailers only carry up to 6 horses.

The slaughter system is tailored to cattle and swine.   Again, the nature of the horse causes undue stress and panic.  Kill methods approved for horses (generally) are either via gunshot or captive bolt.  Horses are ‘head shy’, meaning they don’t handle close handling of their heads or things being held by their heads without a fight.  Gunshots miss the mark.  Captive bolt often requires to be ‘stunned’ several times due to their panic levels.  Horse advocates suggest that due to their nature, horses cannot be slaughtered humanely.

No.  I would not advocate horse meat.  Horses cannot be accommodated humanely at a commercial level for food either by transport or slaughter.  The meat itself is not safe for human consumption due to the routine drugs administered to them. Without a sustainable method taking effort, cost and safety to both horse and human to raise them purely for food, there is not a feasible food production model for them.

There is no shortfall of meats available for human consumption.  Simply because we physically can does not mean we should.  At some point, the line needs to be drawn.  Even with the emotional attachment to horses taken out of the equation, horse meat has no place on our dinner plates.
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"From my earliest memories, I have loved horses with a longing beyond words." ~ Robert Vavra