An interesting programme about eating horsemeat in Ireland

Err.. I maybe wrong but as someone else said, isn't the default in the passports that they are safe for human consumption and you have to actively get those pages filled out by the vet to exclude your horse from the food chain. I know those pages in my horses passport are blank despite my horse having had lots of bute etc.
Or do you have to have your vet to stamp it to give it the all clear? (sorry haven't watched the programme). If so whats to stop me using a different vet for this that wouldn't know her history. Seems like a bit of a flaw in the system to me.

Might be some bute in those Italian sausages in that case?
 
well i think eating horsemeat and calling yourself a horselover is disgusting, would you eat your granny, brother, sister or your best friend? No, I certainly have no interest in speaking to anyone or even associating with anyone who eats or has eaten horse meat. I am a veggie as previously mentioned.

I am becoming seriously disturbed by the opinions being held by some individuals on this forum, i dont feel all of you are actual horse lovers either that or you like to provoke and stir human emotion.
 
mollylolly said:
well i think eating horsemeat and calling yourself a horselover is disgusting, would you eat your granny, brother, sister or your best friend? No, I certainly have no interest in speaking to anyone or even associating with anyone who eats or has eaten horse meat. I am a veggie as previously mentioned.

I am becoming seriously disturbed by the opinions being held by some individuals on this forum, i dont feel all of you are actual horse lovers either that or you like to provoke and stir human emotion.
Click to expand...

Oh dear, don't get upset.
I wouldn't eat my granny or any other human, because it would be cannibalism.
I have and would eat horse meat, though.
I'm sorry you don't want to speak to me or associate yourself with me... actually, I'm not sure I am sorry at all.

I don't go around calling myself a horse lover, it's a funny term, I like horses, own some and work with them.
 
Louand Bee - any vet should check passport section 9 before prescribing drugs. If your horse is not signed out of the human slaughter chain, then certain drugs e.g. bute can not be given http://www.beva.org.uk/news/view/9

"In an emergency situation in which the vet does not have access to the passport, he/she must only administer substances suitable for food producing animals. It is an offence to treat a horse with a substance unsuitable for use in a food producing animal if the Section IX status is unknown.

It is an offence to fail to record information required under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2008, when products are administered to an animal intended for human consumption. The responsibility for this may fall on the keeper to update the passport if the vet has given him/her written details of the treatment."

Abroad I know Denmark does adhere to this strictly.

Now, in theory, that every foal is microchipped the vet can also check the passport is related to the particular horse they are treating.
 
Last edited:
The first people who domesticated horses, ate horses - that's why they had them around to domesticate. They spoke proto-Indo-European, the root of many languages, including our own. They were the original "horse culture" – they became influential and travelled great distances because they rode. The sacrifice of horses was part of their religion, and they often buried newly killed horses with their distinguished dead.
This "Steppes culture" (roughly speaking) spread east and west, taking Indo-European with them. They became the Celts, among other European cultures. By the time they got to the UK, they still occasionally killed and ate horses for ritual reasons, but did so less often, for the simple reason that they didn't have sufficient crops to keep large herds of horses for meat/sacrifice, as they had on the Steppes.
Epona was a Celtic goddess originally, but there is no indication from the tiny amount of contemporary material available that she was linked to a taboo on eating horse meat.
There's an infamous tale which may or may not be accurate (it was reported by a Christian monk) of a pagan Irish king taking part in a ritual in which he bathed in the broth of a sacrificed mare and ate her flesh.

This link to paganism, plus the simple economic fact that horses could be expensive to maintain, lead to a taboo on eating horse flesh.
 
mollylolly said:
well i think eating horsemeat and calling yourself a horselover is disgusting, would you eat your granny, brother, sister or your best friend? No, I certainly have no interest in speaking to anyone or even associating with anyone who eats or has eaten horse meat. I am a veggie as previously mentioned.

I am becoming seriously disturbed by the opinions being held by some individuals on this forum, i dont feel all of you are actual horse lovers either that or you like to provoke and stir human emotion.
Click to expand...

I knew when I posted my comment that not every one on this forum would agree with me.Its an opinion and an insight I shared.im not expecting you to agree just sharing a different view point.i think the decision to refuse to talk to someone who eats a type of meat is a bit closeminded though.

I dont consider eating horsemeat disgusting anymore than i would see eating cattle beef or pork.In fact i would find the idea much more appealing than eating pork or chicken having seen the intensive rearing and slaughter methods involved.
The emphasis I put on welfare was there for a reason.If its raised humanely and has a decent quality of life,il eat it.
Hell, Id have more issues with dairy farming and drinking milk than with horse meat.

I do like horses.I would be consider myself to be a bit of a horse lover.
Is there any other qualifications i should meet to be considered one in your mind?

Ive worked with horse's.I think they are amazing animals,ive drawn them,ridden,helped handle unbroken youngsters,observed them in the field bot as pets and semi feral groups.Ive also seen them from the inside out as we did the anatomy and dissection in collage.Ive helped fix them when they are sick and sometimes got to see them improve,in some cases Ive seen the other side and watched horse's id cared for deteriorate.Ive been there as the vet in charge sent them on their way and out of pain,both by gun and by injection.Ive been the person who pets and feeds and tickles a horse under the chin the way the coloured pony in my siggy like it.
I am a horselover.

I just dont see what is so wrong with eating their meat.Once death their dead.By that stage the pony or horse you knew is dead and gone.What harm if they have one more use in death?

Im not posting this to stir though.I just wanted to make the point there is more to my reasoning than me being a horse hating monster.

I wouldn't eat my family or friends.When would i ever have cause to anyway?Eating people isn't in the same category as eating as horses.Canabilism is a whole different ball game.And humans and horses are not on the same plane to me at all.

But no more than horses imo once dead your dead anything that happens to the body after doesnt make a difference to the dead.It only makes a difference to the living left behind..
 
mollylolly said:
well i think eating horsemeat and calling yourself a horselover is disgusting, would you eat your granny, brother, sister or your best friend? No, I certainly have no interest in speaking to anyone or even associating with anyone who eats or has eaten horse meat. I am a veggie as previously mentioned.

I am becoming seriously disturbed by the opinions being held by some individuals on this forum, i dont feel all of you are actual horse lovers either that or you like to provoke and stir human emotion.
Click to expand...

eating my Granny would be difficult as she's dust (good if you're on a Diet, i suppose)..as for my brother/best friend..that is actually illegal.

and i wont even comment on whether i'm a "horse lover" or not..whatever that may entail (that could be interpreted as somewhat illegal aswell)
 
If a another world war broke out and my family were starving, I'd eat anything!!

I think the video was realistic and tackled the issue in a very matter-of-fact way. It's us who have to deal with it.

I don't think you can change people's minds but at least we can watch and make our own minds up.

As for those on here getting all upset about it, don't watch it then. Or focus your efforts into stopping it i.e. go to Ireland and protest or something.
 
mollylolly said:
well i think eating horsemeat and calling yourself a horselover is disgusting, would you eat your granny, brother, sister or your best friend? No, I certainly have no interest in speaking to anyone or even associating with anyone who eats or has eaten horse meat. I am a veggie as previously mentioned.

I am becoming seriously disturbed by the opinions being held by some individuals on this forum, i dont feel all of you are actual horse lovers either that or you like to provoke and stir human emotion.
Click to expand...

You see, this is what I hate about some vegetarians, the victimisation and preaching.

I am a vegetarian and I have never once pushed my beliefs on to others. I do not see any difference with cows, lambs, pigs, deer, horses etc as long as they have a human death and I am not partaking in eating them. Once the animal is dead - that's it - it is dead! I choose not to eat it but it doesn't mean others can't.

I think you have a very disturbed mentality to think that you can dictate to people and not associate with people who eat animals - this is a fact of life, humans were designed to eat meat!

Question for you? Do you drink milk or eat dairy produce?
 
lochpearl said:
You see, this is what I hate about some vegetarians, the victimisation and preaching.

I am a vegetarian and I have never once pushed my beliefs on to others. I do not see any difference with cows, lambs, pigs, deer, horses etc as long as they have a human death and I am not partaking in eating them. Once the animal is dead - that's it - it is dead! I choose not to eat it but it doesn't mean others can't.

I think you have a very disturbed mentality to think that you can dictate to people and not associate with people who eat animals - this is a fact of life, humans were designed to eat meat!

Question for you? Do you drink milk or eat dairy produce?
Click to expand...

Bravo!!!!! :D:D:D:):):)
 
i have no problem with eating horse meat and if there's a market for it then great

i'd eat (and have eaten) horse - and hell - if it came down to it - ie starvation or eat honey - i'd get a good bbq going!
 
tallyho! said:
Bravo!!!!! :D:D:D:):):)
Click to expand...

Well, it's all a load of poop really isn't it? One rule for one and everyone must follow!!!

Oh and to the OP thanks for the link - very interesting watching, although I couldn't stomach the butcher scenes much, but I couldn't tell the difference between those carcasses and say a cow.
 
I do agree that once an animal is dead how it's remains are dealt with are immaterial to it. We might not like the thought of it though, and I wouldnt eat it.

My biggest concern has to be it's welfare whilst it's alive, and most important, as stress-free a death as possible. If a horse has been a companion/working animal then to be shipped off to a huge abbatoir, or transported live abroad to me that is a cruelty. When they are reared for meat and not socialised as we do with them, then I suppose it's much the same as all other farm animals being despatched.

As others have said, maybe a quick death when the other option is lingering starvation, and neglect (or even worse, live transportation abroad) would be preferable.
 
firm said:
Louand Bee - any vet should check passport section 9 before prescribing drugs. If your horse is not signed out of the human slaughter chain, then certain drugs e.g. bute can not be given http://www.beva.org.uk/news/view/9

"In an emergency situation in which the vet does not have access to the passport, he/she must only administer substances suitable for food producing animals. It is an offence to treat a horse with a substance unsuitable for use in a food producing animal if the Section IX status is unknown.

It is an offence to fail to record information required under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2008, when products are administered to an animal intended for human consumption. The responsibility for this may fall on the keeper to update the passport if the vet has given him/her written details of the treatment."

Abroad I know Denmark does adhere to this strictly.

Now, in theory, that every foal is microchipped the vet can also check the passport is related to the particular horse they are treating.
Click to expand...

Just checked my horses passport and no all the meds pages are blank and she has been treated on several occasions by a reputable vet in our area and even given bute intravaneously, all of which were not an emergency. Never have they asked for her passport, only when she has her Vacs.

There are two sections, one i can sign to say she is excluded from the food chain and one to say she is for the food chain, both of which are blank and have to also be signed by a vet. But whats to stop me from using a different vet?

I don't ever intend her to go to a slaughter house by the way, just seems to be a flaw in the system.
 
Rowreach said:
They are.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid i have to take you up on this post - I have never heard of anyone specifically keeping horses in this country for human consumption. The price of horses has plummeted and no one in their right minds would think they could make a living out of it. Of course there are people who can no longer afford to keep their horses that are selling them to the factories but horses in very poor condition, like any other animal for human consuption, will not be accepted to factories.

On another point, horses passports in this country are NOT stamped at every visit by a vet or after every injection or mediaction given to the horse. Flu, Tetanus and recently Bute are all recorded but this is usually all. Therefore in theory any horse can be sent to the slaughterhouse on the day it is given any other mediation, regardless of withdrawal times - this is certainly true of antibiotics anyway.
Lastly, I think the reason Bute is now banned in horsemeat for human consumption is that it can cause aplastic anaemia and agraulocytosis in people that eat the meat of a treated animal.
I would not eat horsemeat but i routinely eat cows, pigs and lambs as do most of the population so i think there is nothing disgusting in doing so. It's a personal choice and as long as the animals are well fed and looked after, and humanely killed i don't see that there's anything wrong with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top