Horse Meat Scandal - Accountability!!

I have shopped at Morrisons for years now, their meat (and generally the other stuff too) tastes so much better than other supermarkets and is all British sourced. I'm glad that does seem to be true as when the scandal broke you do start to wonder about every claim supermarkets make!
 
"The scandal about horse passports is that there is not a central database. So a horse can be sold,with its passport and the "not for human consumption" bit ticked. The new owner can apply for a new passport, saying that the first one was lost, and be issued with a new "clean" one with no mention of past veterinary history.

I think all this was pointed out at the time, but hey, ho the Civil Servants know best. "

I don't understand how this could be - from 1.7.2009 all foals and any older horses not previously identified must be microchipped when a passport is applied for. All late applications will be signed out of the food chain (ie if if the horse is not passported in the year of its birth, the passport issuing authority automatically signs it out of the food chain. They legally have to do this.

Therefore, how would someone get a new clean one with the horse able to go into the food chain??

Someone else (it could have been in one of the other threads) said bute remains in the horse's system for the rest of its life - seriously? I don't think that can be correct.....

is everyone following this re the use of Panacur Guard - application to any horse means that it cannot go into the food chain,

"4.11 Withdrawal period(s)

Not to be used in horses intended for human consumption.

Treated horses may never be slaughtered for human consumption.

The horse must have been declared as not intended for human consumption under national horse passport legislation."

I suspect not.....
 
burtie said:
I have shopped at Morrisons for years now, their meat (and generally the other stuff too) tastes so much better than other supermarkets and is all British sourced. I'm glad that does seem to be true as when the scandal broke you do start to wonder about every claim supermarkets make!
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I think also that Morrisons is the only supermarket which does not sell halal slaughtered meat except for the stuff in the fridge from New Zealand.
Why hasn't halal slaughtered meat been thrust to the top of the pile of outrage alongside the horsemeat scandal?
However having listened to the Jeremy Whine show and heard the valueless opinions of thick, ignorant eat anything put in front of them cretins I think I've just answered my own question. That the majority of people in this country are just too dense to care.
 
Tesco quoted last night on their official facebook page that only their british organic lamb, organic chicken, finest free range chicken and willow farm chicken is not halal. Beef and pork is not halal either. Seeing as how DEFRA quote that animals slaughtered do NOT have to be stunned first, to protect the religious feelings of muslims, how can anyone be sure that when they tuck into their non-organic british lamb, that the poor animal did not suffer a painful death. Not only that, I am not muslim, and I don't want my meat 'blessed' by a religion that I don't believe in.

Yet another reason why I shop at my local butchers and farmers market, not to mention that they are often better value than the extortionate prices to be found in the supermarket!
 
Before all the vegetarians on here get too smug - have they considered where those little friends of the mushroom might come from? It's a constituent part of the minced meat substitute - that I noticed was advertised on telly twice the other night either side of the news!

Those mushrooms - do not look at all like mushrooms - it looks more like the ooze that trickles out of your average muck heap or the foamin crust on top of brewing beer. Time passed - it used to be called Liquid Paraffin Animal Protein because it all went to make "cake" - cow food - bit like pony nuts and racehorse cubes.

As you need rather a lot of Liquid Paraffin to start doing this kind of work - it's to be on the end of the line in some Oil Refineries!

Now what was that about Rumanian slaughterhouses?
 
Take it nobody listened to 5 live radio this morning when a guy from morrisons was interviewed and asked if their beef in their meals was 100% British. His reply was most of it was. Also what about other stuff thats meant to be beef like stock cubes etc.
 
Personally, I have nothing against eating horse meat. I'm sure I have eaten it on the continent, however, what I'm fed up of is, being lied to by huge companies, whose only interest is profit!!
 
Republic of Ireland, horses, and passports.

I'll try and keep this brief. This is something that happened to a close friend last year who lives in the Irish Republic. Let's call her A. A had her two ponies stolen from her field. Weeks later after much searching and putting the word out she had a tip off telling her where they were. She drove the 50 miles or so to the location only to discover it was an abattoir. She spotted her ponies still alive, in a herd with others, in a field on the premises. Luckily she's good at thinking on her feet so she went and found the owner and pretended she was a dealer from the UK after buying a few ponies to take home. The owner showed her the herd and she picked out four ponies including her own two. Then the dealer offered to show her some more. He drove off and she followed him in her vehicle, they went a few miles up the road, along a rough track and there, hidden from public view on the side of a mountain, was a massive herd, A estimates there must have been at least 200 horses. All types and breeds from small ponies to TB's to heavies. All destined for the abattoir, said the owner.

A returned with her lorry the next day but not before informing the Garda about her ponies theft and her intention to get them back, the Garda were very interested but said they couldn't help at such short notice as it would take them at least a week to obtain a warrant. The best they could do was to follow her at a distance and stay in the background while she got her ponies. When she got to the abattoir, feeling safe because she knew the Garda were close by and in view, she told the owner she was only collecting her own ponies stolen by him, she had photos to prove they were hers. He became very angry but allowed her to collect and load her ponies and at the last moment, possibly because he was being watched by the Garda, he gave her two passports. Obviously they weren't the passports connected to her ponies but they had been issued that same day and signed by a vet, she found out later the vet is legitimate and works in a nearby town, so obviously he's in league with the abattoir owner.

As she was driving away the abattoir owner and his associates were making 'I'll shoot you' gestures at her. Some days later back at home A started to realise she was being watched and followed, she was terrified for her and her children's lives and a few weeks later she moved her family and ponies to another part of the country and changed her name. As far as she knows the Garda never followed up her complaint with the abattoir owner but there's no doubt that something very corrupt was going on there at the time, and probably still is....
 
burtie said:
I have shopped at Morrisons for years now, their meat (and generally the other stuff too) tastes so much better than other supermarkets and is all British sourced. I'm glad that does seem to be true as when the scandal broke you do start to wonder about every claim supermarkets make!
Click to expand...

As I said in this thread the Morrisons spokesman was on Five live radio yesterday and when asked if the beef in their meals was 100% british beef he said most of it was!

So what exactly are we eating when we eat out? Do people want to start questioning the eating places where they get their meat from. I think we should. I am starting with out staff canteen which is run by a high profile catering company. I dont think they even use free range eggs.
 
gala said:
....... the Garda were very interested but said they couldn't help at such short notice as it would take them at least a week to obtain a warrant. .......

....
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Whether the Law is different where you are, I can't say, but here in England, the Police do not need a warrant to search agricultural land. A warrant is only needed for a domestic premises, or so I thought.

Alec.
 
I don't know the law in Ireland but I do know a farmer was visited yesterday by a Gard (following local complaints) and told to get a years supply of fodder for his cattle or he would report him to the Agricultural Board. I believe after then talking to neighbours he was returning to insist on seeing a dead calf which had been pulled out of a drain (still alive at that point) by neighbours. Neighbours said it was skin and bone as are all the cattle. :(
So it seems the Garda do have some powers.

Incidentally the locals are very wary of reporting because of reprisals from this man. The situation with his cattle is an ongoing issue... :(
 
Terrible Story, but have thought about these things happening for a long time, up until the Passport Legislation was looked at and amended a couple of years ago Abattoirs could issue them up to the point of the animal entering the premises! thank god that stopped but I dread to think how many stolen horses went through the system. The horse Passports do need looking at again and it would perhaps help if there was only one issuing body like BCMS for cattle.
gala said:
Republic of Ireland, horses, and passports.

I'll try and keep this brief. This is something that happened to a close friend last year who lives in the Irish Republic. Let's call her A. A had her two ponies stolen from her field. Weeks later after much searching and putting the word out she had a tip off telling her where they were. She drove the 50 miles or so to the location only to discover it was an abattoir. She spotted her ponies still alive, in a herd with others, in a field on the premises. Luckily she's good at thinking on her feet so she went and found the owner and pretended she was a dealer from the UK after buying a few ponies to take home. The owner showed her the herd and she picked out four ponies including her own two. Then the dealer offered to show her some more. He drove off and she followed him in her vehicle, they went a few miles up the road, along a rough track and there, hidden from public view on the side of a mountain, was a massive herd, A estimates there must have been at least 200 horses. All types and breeds from small ponies to TB's to heavies. All destined for the abattoir, said the owner.

A returned with her lorry the next day but not before informing the Garda about her ponies theft and her intention to get them back, the Garda were very interested but said they couldn't help at such short notice as it would take them at least a week to obtain a warrant. The best they could do was to follow her at a distance and stay in the background while she got her ponies. When she got to the abattoir, feeling safe because she knew the Garda were close by and in view, she told the owner she was only collecting her own ponies stolen by him, she had photos to prove they were hers. He became very angry but allowed her to collect and load her ponies and at the last moment, possibly because he was being watched by the Garda, he gave her two passports. Obviously they weren't the passports connected to her ponies but they had been issued that same day and signed by a vet, she found out later the vet is legitimate and works in a nearby town, so obviously he's in league with the abattoir owner.

As she was driving away the abattoir owner and his associates were making 'I'll shoot you' gestures at her. Some days later back at home A started to realise she was being watched and followed, she was terrified for her and her children's lives and a few weeks later she moved her family and ponies to another part of the country and changed her name. As far as she knows the Garda never followed up her complaint with the abattoir owner but there's no doubt that something very corrupt was going on there at the time, and probably still is....
Click to expand...
 
I also remember the CJD scare. But, all those people singing Morrison's praises remember they were one of the supermarkets who were happy to buy milk from farmers at a price that was lower than their production costs...

I think the answer is local butchers or farm shops which would be great as the village high street would get a massive boost.
 
I saw the website photo of the abbattoir in west yorkshire, there were 3 horses in what must be a holding pen, what will happen to them if the plant has been temporarily closed, i hope they wont be left to rot behind walls unseen.

The fact bute is being found in carcasses does this confirm that horses that were once loyal servants otherwise they wouldnt have been given bute, have been sent for meat, how sad, they deserve to be pts gracefully.
 
Does anyone know if these horses have been checked for synthetic hormone changers such as Regumate etc?

This product could have far more reaching problems than bute??
 
NeverSayNever said:
I find it interesting that bute has been found in the meat... except bute is not available/legal for use in Europe, and source is meant to be Romania? So either the bute used was illegal..or the source isnt Romania afterall...
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I don't know about other EU countries but I can obtain BUTE from my local chemist without a vet prescription and my vet regularly gives it out. If I want more I get it from the Receptionist even if there is no vet in the surgery.
 
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