An interesting programme about eating horsemeat in Ireland

Angelbones

Angelbones

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I've just watched this section of an Irish programme where there is a piece on eating horsemeat in Ireland. The prog is called Ear to the Ground - seems to be like our Countryfile. It is quite interesting - especially the part about passports etc. It came via a facebook link from the young lad who is pushing awareness of the horse problem in Ireland.

Just to say in case you are worried, there isn't any 'gore' in it, or horse cruelty, or horses being despatched, although there is footage inside a reputable meat factory where you will see carcasses hanging up (not identifiable as horses) rather like you'd expect to see beef hanging etc in a butchers.

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1085455
 
can this please not degenerate into another mudslinging thread about eating horsemeat or not eating it. it is personal choice...some people may be interested in this programme, some may not . it is their decision and the OP has justas much right to mention it as everyone else does.
 
mollylolly said:
TBH the idea of eating horse meat truly disgusts me and i have no time for people who do eat horse meat. disgusting.
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Are you a vegetarian? If not, I'm sorry, but I don't understand how you can feel that eating cow is OK and eating horse is disgusting. Not being provocative, it's genuine curiosity.
 
I don't eat horsemeat, or would ever consider it.

However, I didn't post with that debate in mind.

What interested me about it was:

1. I didn't realise this happened in Ireland - I think it said they export the meat overseas.

2. I didn't know about the passport regulations - eg the stamps from vets saying if that horse had EVER had any meds, and I wonder if this is the case with horses slaughtered overseas for the foodchain. I was surprised at the numbers they deal with each day who meet this requirement.

3. It can't be the answer for the overpopulation of horses in Ireland - most of the poor unwanted horses we keep hearing about won't be horses with passports / microchips of any sort so won't be suitable for this kind of production.

4. as per 3. above, I think it would come down to farming of horses for the food chain where they are literally passported, chipped, reared then despatched. I would think that even for those horses who have been looked after but are now no longer wanted for whatever reason, it is unlikely that they have a totally drug free passport.

5. What I fear is that farmers in Ireland who are suffering in this economic climate may take up horse farming as an alternative income.

6. The good thing about it I suppose is that those Irish horses destined for the food chain don't have to travel thousands of miles before their end.
 
I'd probably eat it, if i didnt know what it was, but i could never knowingly eat it, just like rabbit or veal or venison. Makes me sound crazy, as i love steak, but thats different, yeah???/
it's conditioning, but i'd bet that any of us that eat meat would eat horse meat, if we didnt know what it was. I hope i dont ever though!! it wold make me turn vegan!!
 
sorry to steer off the Ireland topic, but
well I am a veggie too but I can understand people who eat steak and hate the idea of eating horsemeat, I guess to us horses seem to be more intelligent creatures than cows, and eating them would be like eating dogs. Many people would eat steak but wouldn't agree to eat a dog or a horse for that matter. Cow and pig farming is a big industry that's difficult to stop, but producing horses for meat is rather more marginal and therefore not as unavoidable I should think? (ouch I'm gonna get it now aren't I)
 
I ate horsemeat in France, lovely restaurant and it was a nice meal.
I think eating horsemeat and/or opening more slaughterhouses in Ireland would help the problem, not eliminate it completely.

I wish the UK would open up some more slaughterhouses, it doesn't solve the imeadiate problem, but it would definitely reduce the amount of strays and unwanted horses.
 
Thank you for posting that. Very interesting. That French guy's potted history is horse meat is a bit "off" because humans ate horses for 90,000 years before we started to ride them, 5,000 years ago. Various popes banned the consumption of horse meat for religious/economic reasons over the centuries, but in the nineteenth century the ban was lifted in France.

I think eating horses became taboo in Ireland because it was (1) associated with pagan practices and (2) horses were relatively scarce and expensive. Which I suppose they're not now :(
 
Angelbones said:
2. I didn't know about the passport regulations - eg the stamps from vets saying if that horse had EVER had any meds, and I wonder if this is the case with horses slaughtered overseas for the foodchain. I was surprised at the numbers they deal with each day who meet this requirement.
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In Germany, horses passports, unless you specify otherwise. are as default "Intended for human consumption"
 
kaylouise67 said:
Do we know if they are slaughtered in Ireland? I didn't know they could! Is that Irelands answer to over-population?
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maybe!! however not sure if there is much call for human flesh apart from in some far flung parts of the pacific,
and then they eat it more as a way of upsetting enemys, Hmm.... wonder what banker tastes like.............
 
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I am a vegan, however I think that organised slaughter is a (sad but true) necessity of the modern social framework and personally don't see any difference between horse, cow or pig (in ALL cases, the slaughter of "pets" is a sadness and the slaughter of livestock is just the way things are).

I don't think this is anything to worry about
5. What I fear is that farmers in Ireland who are suffering in this economic climate may take up horse farming as an alternative income.
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A horse is pregnant for too long, too flighty, grow too slowly and does not have enough byproduct (milk!) to make this economically viable. I know there are mare byproducts used in various industries, but this remains controversial and unlikely to be a "new" route for Irish horses. In order to raise horses for meat purely, a great deal of selective breeding would need to take place to create chunkier animals that grow faster and are more docile (fast growing cobs, maybe!) ... and that would shift the supply and demand balance and horse meat value would then decrease again. Flightiness causes potential injury, feeding up a horse is more expensive than feeding up a cow or pig and as non-reuminent herbivores they have a delicate digestive system!
 
It strange how the mind works really... I will happily eat pork, beef and chicken but the thought of eating horse, rabbit or duck etc. makes me feel physically sick :confused: It would be like me eating a child or a dog lol
 
I strongly object to the breeding for meat and also the vile way the horses are transported 100s of miles in horendous conditions to slaugter just so a *** or frog can eat petfood ....
 
Pigs are highly intelligent, they can be trained like dogs.

Does this mean that we should all stop eating pork and bacon.
As long as the animal kept well through its life and is dispatched kindly and locally, and is not a carnivore then I for one see no problems in other people eating, although I may choose not to eat myself.

Love duck and will eat rabbit :)
 
I would have hated the idea of eating horsemeat once but you know even with very responsible breeders some horses are bred that are not fit for any form of work.They are afr too expensive to be kept as pets.Eating them may mean more local decent slaughter houses and no long journeys in horrific conditions.Not a pleasant idea maybe but a fact.
 
perfect11s said:
I strongly object to the breeding for meat and also the vile way the horses are transported 100s of miles in horendous conditions to slaugter just so a *** or frog can eat petfood ....
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But this is what the programme was trying to address -transport on the hook rather than alive.
Horses that are not pets and are of no use to the owner need an outlet. Humane slaughter is better than most alternatives.
Ireland and the UK need more abattoirs and not just for horses.
I used to raise my own meat -pigs & cattle - but don't any more as rather than take them to the village slaughter house I would have to transport them up the M1 to the nearest abattoir.
When smaller local abattoirs were closed we were all told it was due to EU regulations, strange how this didn't happen in France & others.

The default on UK equine passports is for human consumption -it is optional to opt out.
 
Intreasting program.Thanks for the link.

But for the record ireland has always slaughterd a large amount of horses to ship them to the continent.This isnt a new phenomenom caused by the recession.There has been a market for horsemeat for a long time.Im just surprised that they go through that small of a number being slaughtered each week.But the regulation is the issue now.Safety and traceability in the meat trade is always high priority.

Not everyone agrees with the persona that horses are pets.horses can easily be kept as livestock...so whats the difference between a colt being raised for meat versus a steer?

I wouldnt have a problem with eating horse that had being raised humanely for the meat trade.
They have a lot of meat on their bones and as long as the welfare is good whats the issue?
Id eaten rabbit to...and ive kept them as pets.The animal is dead it doesnt care if its buried incinerated or eaten.Its just a personal human choice.If you chose to eat horsemeat then its your choice and vice versa.

Personally Id rather see a horse raised for the meat trade then kept as a ridden pet and treated badly.A life with good feed and most likely living with a herd is closer to how nature intended than breaking them in,stabling and riding.Though I suspect that may be an unpopular opinion on here.

The only issue id see is keeping them free of dangerous drugs like bute.The use of antibiotic's etc is fine in a horse as long as the withholding times are kept.So they can get treatment etc to keep welfare standards high.But the stampng off clean on the passport is important.Which is why it isnt a good way to deal with our current problem.No passport means no traceability and a possible danger to human health so many of the horses currently in danger cant go into the food trade.

However if the owners that cant afford to keep their horses.The horse has a clean passport.They cant sell,cant afford the feed etc anymore let along the vet to treat if ill or come and pts and the horse in danger of neglect then why not go to the factory?Would it not be the kinder fate?
 
Aru said:
so whats the difference between a colt being raised for meat versus a steer?
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the colt would have testicles, unlike a steer ;)

I do agree with you, though.

Just a word on bute - it is a phenomenon that it excludes horses from slaughter for human consumption, after all A) it is a human drug and B) the withdrawal periods are known, just from testing competition horses...
 
Aru said:
Intreasting program.Thanks for the link.

But for the record ireland has always slaughterd a large amount of horses to ship them to the continent.This isnt a new phenomenom caused by the recession.There has been a market for horsemeat for a long time.Im just surprised that they go through that small of a number being slaughtered each week.But the regulation is the issue now.Safety and traceability in the meat trade is always high priority.

Not everyone agrees with the persona that horses are pets.horses can easily be kept as livestock...so whats the difference between a colt being raised for meat versus a steer?

I wouldnt have a problem with eating horse that had being raised humanely for the meat trade.
They have a lot of meat on their bones and as long as the welfare is good whats the issue?
Id eaten rabbit to...and ive kept them as pets.The animal is dead it doesnt care if its buried incinerated or eaten.Its just a personal human choice.If you chose to eat horsemeat then its your choice and vice versa.

Personally Id rather see a horse raised for the meat trade then kept as a ridden pet and treated badly.A life with good feed and most likely living with a herd is closer to how nature intended than breaking them in,stabling and riding.Though I suspect that may be an unpopular opinion on here.

The only issue id see is keeping them free of dangerous drugs like bute.The use of antibiotic's etc is fine in a horse as long as the withholding times are kept.So they can get treatment etc to keep welfare standards high.But the stampng off clean on the passport is important.Which is why it isnt a good way to deal with our current problem.No passport means no traceability and a possible danger to human health so many of the horses currently in danger cant go into the food trade.

However if the owners that cant afford to keep their horses.The horse has a clean passport.They cant sell,cant afford the feed etc anymore let along the vet to treat if ill or come and pts and the horse in danger of neglect then why not go to the factory?Would it not be the kinder fate?
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Interesting read :)
 
Haha fair enought on the castration point.

Il have to disagree with you on the bute though.
Im going on what i remember being taught last year anyway.So your stats might be more up to date. :)

We were told that bute's main issue was that it left residues within tissues particularly around the injection site when given by injection.These are not easily tested by blood samples etc,can have dispersal through a wide area and havent a certain time limit established for being removed from the body completely.So they banned the drug in the food chain for fear of the residues in meat causing harm to people and only left it for horse use with the clause that they will never enter the food chain if they have been administed bute.
The oral use im not so sure because my memory is failing me bar some graphic pictures of the residue we seen on p.m pics and im not sure where that lecture is..

Has that changed?The impression i got was that the use of bute in horses was still something that might eventually disapear from the market.Because of the stringent traceablity and food safety laws in the food animals.
 
Yes, you are right with testing the bute residue for meat purposes, my point was that phenylbutazone is widely used in humans...
I do wonder if they will eventually take it off the market, Metacam is just as good and thoroughly tested for withdrawal periods....
 
is metacam not more expensive though?I havent seen it used yet in horses,heard but not seen.so no idea to price but newer makes me assume dearer.

Id like to see the option of bute being there though.Its good to have more than one option that is easy to administer esp if the horse has a reaction etc...
 
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