Horse slaughter

We are lucky that we have such good slaughterhouses in this country

Shutting them down would mean horses and other animals taking longer journeys to Europe

As others said, beware of "middle men" as your horse could end up anywhere
 
Leviathan said:
Sorry but seeing the animals drop and fit like after there is NO WAY on earth I would use that means. That alone distresses me :(

It can be rather dramatic I suppose, I understand that can be off putting, I don't like it but I know my horses are gone before they touch the ground.

I think that horses are lucky that we have a choice, I read something on FB the other day about a charity having run out of drugs and having to use salt to euthanise a horse (I believe - correct me here someone, it causes cramps and thus the heart to fail)

MY horse of a lifetime was PTS yesterday by injection. It was peaceful and i was hugging her all the way through
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I am glad that all went well with your girl yesterday, I was thinking of you.
 
Regarding the elderly gentleman with the two old horses. I think that the yard owner should take the initative and arrange for the two horses to be put down together on the yard thus ensuring that they are not streesed by having to travel to the abbatoir. I am sure that a collection could be made from the other liveries and that the local equine vet would do it at a discounted price in view of the sad circumstances.
 
Funny thing he is the yo.but it's not top end yard were he makes any profit. Only he can decide we can only advise. He has got two numbers for the hunt so hopefull he will give the. A call to see what can be done. I think it's mean of panick at first so hopefully he may have thought about it over night.
 
putasocinit said:
I know someone who weaned his foals by sending the 2 mares off to the hunt, they were 17 and 18, how sad is that.
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Better than what my neighbour did. Sold an in-foal arthritic and lame 19 year old and now has no idea what happened to it, and is surprised that the person who gave it to her won't talk to her.
 
Leviathan said:
Sorry but seeing the animals drop and fit like after there is NO WAY on earth I would use that means. That alone distresses me :(

MY horse of a lifetime was PTS yesterday by injection. It was peaceful and i was hugging her all the way through
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Sorry you lost your horse Leviathan :(

Just in case you have an injection done again L, you need to be warned that what you call "fitting", which is only the last electrical signals leaving the nerves, also often happens when they are done by injection.

I held one for my friend a year ago and the horse did not stop blinking and twitching for over five minutes.
 
Having watched episoded of Kill It, Cook It, Eat It I find no problem with slaughter houses. The animals at decent slaughter houses, are looked after from the moment they arrrive until they are despatched, and they are treated humanely and kindly by knowledgeable and professional staff who are excellent and proficient at their jobs. I hate and destest all that halal stands for though and think unstunned slaughter is very cruel and unnesessary.

the trouble is finding a decent slaughter house. Think they all have to be regulated but I am aware that cruelty does go on from time to time.

It wouldn't be a choice for me, with my horse but maybe its in the horses that the OP knows, best interests to not go through another freezing winter.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Most abattoirs try and keep animals calm. I haven't (and couldn't) take a horse in but do take cattle and sheep in. Tbh I can hardly stand to do it so don't think about it too much but two things I do think of when rearing animals for meat.

1) they are born and cared for by me, I know they could not have had a higher standard of animal welfare.

2) (and more on topic than 1 if these horses are going to be destroyed anyway), their bodies being used is better than being put in a hole.

It's not palatable but I wouldn't get involved or try and sway the owner tbh. You don't know what his private feelings are about it. I probably appear quite hardened but I am not, but I cannot think about it too closely.

I took a heifer in today, our first home bred calf. She was premature and spent the first 36 hours being nursed in my living room. I spent weeks saving her life and I (really really) didn't want to slaughter her but she had a health issue which meant she couldn't be kept long term. In this case I have to very much think of reason 2. There was no good outcome to this situation and that was IMO the best one. She had 2 years, the alternative was shooting her as a calf.
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What a shame but at least you did it for her.
 
Whilst initially the idea of an abattoir seems horrible, I do think that its the travelling that might be the worst part for the horses. What happens to them there is surely the same as if the hunt took them?

I had mine PTS by injection as he was already down and there were too many horses in the neighbouring fields for any other method. We all stood round and hugged him etc..................but then we had to cart him down the road in a tractor bucket to be buried........now as horrible as that sounds, he was gone at the point, it was just a body not him. Now............technically he didn't die on my land - (but according to the vets he did). Does the YO own the land? Would they be willing to take on ownership then PTS then bury on the yard - if that is allowed? Or are rules very different in England?
 
Trinity Fox said:
I am probably going to be shot down for this but no way would I let two oldies travel to be slaughtered never, it is not the pts at a slaughterhouse that I have a problem with, but travelling two old horses one lame is disgusting.
I see you are up north so they are going to have a fair journey as far as I am aware there is no one up this end I am only 60 miles north of you.

If there was a place near fair enough I am sure the hunt would let them pay in instalments if they asked, if they have not had drugs it is 150 for the hunt to despatch, failing that a vet would let them pay it off in instalments, I think to do this to two old friends is despicable, I have no problem with pts when needed but travelling these horses to have it done is something I consider very unkind and unfair when other options are available.
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Well said.
 
angelish said:
is there really any need to have a go at the op ?

to me op is coming across as feeling quite sad at a sorry situation as i'd hope we all would :(
op as long as the owner knows where his horses are going to ,they are fit to travel and are not going abroad although very sad as it would be a little nicer for them to be pts at home it shouldn't be too distressing for them
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I agree. Not ideal or my choice but as long as its done by a professional experienced kind abbatoir they dont know they are about to die. What is a shame we lost all our nice local little abbatoirs after foot and mouth and to find a small local one now is harder. We have a slaughter business in this area and it does have a good reputation and I have friends that have used them successfully with no problem for all animals at all.
 
The Gent seems to be doing the kindest thing their are too many old infirm horses struggling through the winter what would you rather see the knackerman winching them out of the field?
 
I wasn't sure I wanted to watch that video but I'm glad I did. I like to think I would never send my horse to slaughter but who knows when the time comes what my circumstances will be? It's nice to see how peaceful and quick it is.
 
cptrayes said:
Sorry you lost your horse Leviathan :(

Just in case you have an injection done again L, you need to be warned that what you call "fitting", which is only the last electrical signals leaving the nerves, also often happens when they are done by injection.

I held one for my friend a year ago and the horse did not stop blinking and twitching for over five minutes.
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Thankyou but I was referring to the link posted at turners above. My mare did not do that she dropped and went to sleep in my arms , no leg movements at all.


This is the third by injection each went peacefully with no leg movements

unlike the clip above at the slaughter house after the gun.
Incidentally I have seen horses die by the gun since 1970's < I just mean I could not go that route and stay with them. The injection every time, I have not seen any with fit like leg movement since done by injection. Now Sorry but cant say anymore too distressed at the moment:(:(:(:(:(:(
 
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ester said:
what you see in the link posted is not a result of the method used though, as it can happen with either.
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I know but none of mine have done that.



I could not have my beautiful girl with a hole in her head. Each to their own now sorry but leaving this thread as I am crying again I love my mare so much :(:(:(
 
Distasteful as it is jaycee, I don't see a better alternative. Clearly there wasn't a home for the foal, so the only other alternative is to allow it to be born, & then let it walk in itself at a later date to be shot. And unless someone was willing to feed & care for both until foal old enough, other option would be to take mare & foal in straight after birth, which would be horrid.
 
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