Daily Mail, the slaughtering of racehorses.

I find the 'wastage' the hardest to deal with. To think that most of the ex racehorses on the one-way trip to Potters or Turners would be potentially better than my cronky (but comfortable) old faithful at home really pains me.

The humanity doesn't concern me as I do believe these necessary establishments are professional and as 'caring' as is possible under the circumstances.

Once my lad has gone, I'll look into taking a Turners candidate out of the queue as it's the best I can offer.
 
cptrayes said:
The kind of person who doesn't have the brains or the money to take a veterinary degree but wants to earn a living in a good honest trade in a reliable job to support a family. Probably from an area where jobs for non-academic males are quite hard to come by. More useful to society by far than another media studies or equine studies graduate.

They are just nice people, doing a good and very necessary job.
Click to expand...

Ok ill get jumped on BIG TIME here. But in the last thread about horse slaughter I spoke of a documentary I watched I *think* was on channel 4 around 5-6 years ago (yes all very vague I know). :rolleyes:

But what i watched is not vague I remember it in detail, I believe the channel had gone undercover to reveal the daily handling of the animals of a british slaughterhouse (this did not include horses). The undercover reporter had been given a job by the abbotoir and had to learn the ways of a slaughterhouse, he became friends with the workers (mainly men) who worked there and it was revealed most of them were drop outs from school who were young and very interestingly (yes it holds not much relevance to most but does to me) but the majority had grown up without a father figure. Many took pleasure in killing the animals (had a lot of pent up anger) often meaning to kill in an unhumane way ie not to stun or would intentionally petrify the animal beforehand.
There were also some very well skilled and good men there (usually the hardcore workers who had been there a LONG time). They were in charge to teach the new recruits how to kill humanely but more often when there back was turned the worker would begin to torment the animal before killing it and cause it some pretty horrific cruelty.

I think this is where my main concerns are from - this documentary I watched years and years ago. I believe now that they must install CCTV camera's in slaughterhouses and I think it would be a good way to monitor them now. Why have the footage recorded if its not checked regularly???????
 
Last edited:
I'll be very surprised if the slaughterhourses are full of cruelty, crammed with terrified animals who smell their fate, soil themselves and are tormented by cruel wild-eyed men before they are killed.

We have a farm and raise beef cattle, and the slaughterhouse they go to is so heavily regulated. Our neighbours sent an animal there a few weeks ago and it had some sort of problem with its leg - upon arrival at the slaughterhouse, this cow was examined by the vet and within 3 days, animal welfare officers were at the farm checking conditions and animal welfare standards because of this one cow with something on its leg. I know it's cattle, but there are so many regulations that must be abided by within the slaughterhouse and even although they must process thousands of animals a week, each one is handled gently and respectfully - the idea is not to frighten it or it'll kick up a fuss. I have visited a few other slaughterhouses and have found them all the same.
 
Echo Bravo - Mine is in my bedroom after being cremated and i will have my other horse there when i have the heart to go and get him back!!

I feel so sick after reading that the first picture got to me!!

Why put the mares in foal in the first place!! why waste a life because someone can not be arsed to foot the bill or because they have fallen on hard times!! I think we are all having it abit hard at the moment!! I would never dream of "dropping" my horse off there and go off to a show!!

**** holes!!
 
teagreen said:
I'll be very surprised if the slaughterhourses are full of cruelty, crammed with terrified animals who smell their fate, soil themselves and are tormented by cruel wild-eyed men before they are killed.

But you cant be sure, this is all gong on asumption right? I guess unless you experience the slaughterhourses on a daily basis ie as an employee you'll never have a clear idea of what goes on (this is why id love the CCTV footage to be monitored)

We have a farm and raise beef cattle, and the slaughterhouse they go to is so heavily regulated. Our neighbours sent an animal there a few weeks ago and it had some sort of problem with its leg - upon arrival at the slaughterhouse, this cow was examined by the vet and within 3 days, animal welfare officers were at the farm checking conditions and animal welfare standards because of this one cow with something on its leg. I know it's cattle, but there are so many regulations that must be abided by within the slaughterhouse and even although they must process thousands of animals a week, each one is handled gently and respectfully - the idea is not to frighten it or it'll kick up a fuss. I have visited a few other slaughterhouses and have found them all the same.
Click to expand...

I know what i watched and it wasnt documented by any animal activist group or such like.

However it was 5-6 years ago the documentary was on, perhaps the regulations are tighter now, I dont know? But this is the only footage ive seen within the walls of an abbatoir so yes it does stick in my mind and worry me.
 
Oldenburg said:
Echo Bravo - Mine is in my bedroom after being cremated and i will have my other horse there when i have the heart to go and get him back!!

I feel so sick after reading that the first picture got to me!!

Why put the mares in foal in the first place!! why waste a life because someone can not be arsed to foot the bill or because they have fallen on hard times!! I think we are all having it abit hard at the moment!! I would never dream of "dropping" my horse off there and go off to a show!!

**** holes!!
Click to expand...

Do bear in mind that the article is wildly sensational. It is the Daily Mail.

What do you think they should do with the life instead then? I think it's best that horses who no longer have a use and who have nowhere else to go are quickly disposed of, rather than lingering around in a paddock somewhere, forgotten and neglected. And they don't just drop the horses off on their way to the races - more wild DM rubbish.

It'd be lovely if we could all keep our horses until they die of old age, then have them cremated. But it isnt going to happen.
 
friesian80 said:
I know what i watched and it wasnt documented by any animal activist group or such like.

However it was 5-6 years ago the documentary was on, perhaps the regulations are tighter now, I dont know? But this is the only footage ive seen within the walls of an abbatoir so yes it does stick in my mind and worry me.
Click to expand...

But, at the slaughterhourses we use anyway, it IS monitored. Maybe not CCTV footage, but they have officers there constantly ensuring welfare standards are being met - nowadays, quality standards are monitored from field to fork, they come and look at our farm and they watch them being killed to make sure it is all done within the regulations.

Everytime I have visited a slaughterhouse, it has been to drop animals off. The welfare standards and treatment are the same every time, and as they have people dropping off animals and going in and out everyday, I doubt there are many 'free days' when they think "Whey hey, no one is watching today, we'll kick these animals about and frighten them so they become unruly!"
 
Well said Teagreen, Lets face it there is no fairy ending for animals or humans. I've always wished that my lot would die in their sleep at a grand old age, it doesn't happen that way, the only one horse that died was my heavyweight cob who dropped dead at the grand old age of 11, in the prime of his life much loved, still missed.
 
but the whole point is we are 'nt talking about rough old nags, a lot of the time its well bred very nice COMPLETELY HEATHY YOUNG HORSES, what about setting up a register of people looking for horses, and people needing to dispose of horses of any breed, decent ones, such as going for economic reasons for meat to bring the two sides together, cut out the lower end dealers etc
 
got any better ideas?

i base that idea on recent experiences of helping people to find just such horses, and it has resulted in several very nice ones now in private homes instead of the supermarket, the biggest problem was the two parties finding each other at the right moment.
 
tristar - so basically you're proposing a 'for sale' and 'wanted' section in a magazine or website.

pretty sure i've seen one of those somewhere ............................ what a unique unheard of idea o:) ;)
 
I've never been to either of those slaughterhouses but I have seen the youtube footage that those still photo's are from. It was posted on here ages ago and I remember being really impressed at how it was all handled - yet the footage was from some animal rights group saying it was all so cruel.

That newspaper article is clearly nonsense - certainly the part about the Horses being stressed. If they were that upset then holding a rifle to the head would be impossible. I suspect lots of people would be upset in even the most humane slaughterhouse. You see it on TV all the time, killing a big animal involves a lot of blood and thrashing about, but only AFTER they are dead.

The fact is if it weren't for racing they wouldn't have lived at all. Providing their life up to then was good it's no different to (higher welfare standard) farmed animals. Personally I think there should be more slaughterhouses for Horses. It would go a long way to improving welfare and if anyone doesn't agree with that then they need a serious reality check. It's a sad fact of life. It costs money to get a vet out, whereas taking a Horse to a slaughterhouse doesn't (I'm assuming you get a little money if the Horse is ok for consumption). That in itself could mean saving many Horses from a life of misery and neglect.
 
I think this thread shows just how faceless posters are on a forum. I am guessing (and could well be wrong) that there is a divide between very young and unexperienced in life posters, the difference between posters brought up in an urban environment and those brought up in a country life.

The youngsters are indignant at a loss of life, the townies are unused to the basics of animals and slaughter and the country folk live with it on a daily basis.

No one will win this argument - it will go round and round in circles. Best just to sit back, read, ingest. learn and try to come to a balanced opinion :)
 
NeilM said:
I'm afraid people need to get real and face up to the harsh realities of life. As the article said, there are thousands of TB's bred for racing that either never make it into training, or need to be taken out of racing / training.

Can any of you who are against slaughter please tell me what we are to do with 10,000 TB's a YEAR?
Click to expand...

Don't breed them in the first place - duh.
 
friesian80 said:
Ok ill get jumped on BIG TIME here. But in the last thread about horse slaughter I spoke of a documentary I watched I *think* was on channel 4 around 5-6 years ago (yes all very vague I know). :rolleyes:

But what i watched is not vague I remember it in detail, I believe the channel had gone undercover to reveal the daily handling of the animals of a british slaughterhouse (this did not include horses). The undercover reporter had been given a job by the abbotoir and had to learn the ways of a slaughterhouse, he became friends with the workers (mainly men) who worked there and it was revealed most of them were drop outs from school who were young and very interestingly (yes it holds not much relevance to most but does to me) but the majority had grown up without a father figure. Many took pleasure in killing the animals (had a lot of pent up anger) often meaning to kill in an unhumane way ie not to stun or would intentionally petrify the animal beforehand.
There were also some very well skilled and good men there (usually the hardcore workers who had been there a LONG time). They were in charge to teach the new recruits how to kill humanely but more often when there back was turned the worker would begin to torment the animal before killing it and cause it some pretty horrific cruelty.

I think this is where my main concerns are from - this documentary I watched years and years ago. I believe now that they must install CCTV camera's in slaughterhouses and I think it would be a good way to monitor them now. Why have the footage recorded if its not checked regularly???????
Click to expand...

Obviously there will be some decent slaughtermen but there will be a huge number who enjoy killing animals. It's a fact that some people DO enjoy it, and ARE sadistic. Not all of course. People who think otherwise are burying their heads in the sand and being niaive.
 
Echo Bravo said:
Wagtail. Over the years I've had to have my old horses put down and luckly for me at home. I've had the local hunt and the local Slaughterman and each time they have treated my horses with respect, also my 3 old cows and my last pig, yes it is a job to them but hey someone has to do it, and they do treat animals kindly, you do get the odd bad one. but you are implying there is something wrong mentally with someone who slaughters animals for a living.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am implying that. I don't think it's true in ALL cases though, just most. And those who come to your home to slaughter the animals, I wouldn't expect them to act like a sadist in front of a paying customer, and most huntsmen are pretty fond of horses I would say.
 
cptrayes said:
This isn't rubbish Wagtail. I have watched five friends/aquaintances with six different horses leave those old horses in pain with arthritis for at least one winter too many because they could not face the pain of losing them, so they did not allow themselves to see the evidence that their horses did not have a quality of life worth living. It happens all the time, by caring owners of much loved horses in particular. Not you, but certainly plenty of others.
Click to expand...

Yes there are times when animals are made to carry on far beyond what is fair to them. They key is being brave enough to take that final decision. People suffer far more however as we do not have that way out at the end.
 
I think this thread shows just how faceless posters are on a forum. I am guessing (and could well be wrong) that there is a divide between very young and unexperienced in life posters, the difference between posters brought up in an urban environment and those brought up in a country life.

The youngsters are indignant at a loss of life, the townies are unused to the basics of animals and slaughter and the country folk live with it on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

I'm 46 and live in the country and I am critical of equine slaughter driven by irresponsible ownership and overbreeding.

Cathy Atkinson, aka Fugly Horse of the Day, in the US, is also around my age and a professional lawyer. Hardly a 14 year old fluffy bunny.

I personally think there's a difference between livestock being bred and raised to slaughter--and I hope cattle, sheep, free range chickens are kept in very humane, kind conditions leading up to their humane slaughter--and horses who have worked very hard at the racetrack being "thrown away" or healthy foals being slaughtered because the breeder lacked economic foresight.

Generally in this culture, horses are sport animals, companion animals, or work animals. They are generally not bred and raised as meatstock. And most ex-race horses would have traces of bute and other chemicals in their systems which would make them unfit for human consumption. How does the slaughter industry get around that?

Generally the TBs who go to slaughter are young and healthy and could be retrained. I know a number of people who have given ex-race horses very good forever homes. The horses are happy and well looked after and the owner has a fabulous horse.

I think a number of people in this discussion have a stake in either the racing industry or the slaughter industry--or at least admit to having brought their own horses to Turner's or Potter's. Which is fine. I admire the honesty. I do sincerely hope these places are as humane as people here claim. I would love it if the critical articles in the DM and Guardian about distressed horses at Turner's were completely wrong and exagerrated.

But I don't know if the pro-slaughter people in this thread are any less biased than the journalists. They just have a different bias.

Maybe Friesan80 is right and they should make the CCTV publically accessible.

One thing is certain: people in this thread are coming from very different places and we probably aren't going to agree on this issue any time soon. I just hope we can keep these discussions civil and constructive.
 
Last edited:
Girlracer said:
Absolutely dreadful, this is one of the (many) things i HATE about the racing industry, if you can' afford it then why breed the flaming foal in the first place.

What really brings it home, is that could so easily of been my Major, and that really makes you think.
Click to expand...

Girlracer, I think your signature:

Lantern - 16.3, Bay Polish Warmblood. Companion/light hack - free to a (very, very, very) good home. Please PM for more info and photos.
Click to expand...

Shows that you are very, very naive about what the worst possible fate for a horse really is... :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top