Horse slaughter

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swintondesire

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can someone please tell me that it isnt exactly what its made out to be like? two horses are to be sent from our yard as owner has no money to pay the local hunt to come out and do it we would have helped but no one has any money with christmas and they cant be sold as there two old ladies and one is very lame and struggling to walk and he couldnt split them up as the other would probley die off a broken heart as they have been side by side over ten years in the field. the slaughter people where out earlier with there box to see the horses and give him a price. i can see in the owners face how ill he looks but with looks of a big freeze coming they would not make it and would one day be found dead in our feild and would still need a cost of disposel. he has made his mind up on the future of these horses as when one other livery explained what happens and what one of his mares has done for him over the years, by being a good friend winner him prizes and producing some of his current horses and taught him a hell of alot. he said what difference does it make if there dead either way. we as liverys have known these horses many years and are all sad and i think its because we expect the worst for these horses. as horses are not stuiped at times and will know whats going on and the thought of there fear is unbearable. sorry for the rant but i dont know how someone could do this and i know there not my horses but it would be nice to know if they would be put out of there pain at once and not left for days knowing there on deaths door :(
 
Oh that's sad. I didn't realise the hunt charge - surely they would help out in this sad situation ?? I would suggest the owner asks them again (or the YO).

The horse abatoir I knew was quite a peaceful place. The horses were in a field, and then led to the place, and were quickly put out of their misery. The slaughter men were excellent - it was quick and clean.

I would prefer it if the slaughter man came out to my horse tbh - do they not offer this service ?
 
OK. Here is some footage from Potters, taken on the QT by animal activists.

This is what happens here. Make your own mind up.
Personally, I see nothing distressing at all about the actual act, it is exactly what happens when a vet puts a horse down, the gun may vary but the horse is gone before it hits the ground. I also like the fact that the horses in the pen have hay and seem quite calm.

I have used Potters in the past and would have no hesitation in using their services in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=435JtOKH2Qo
 
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amymay said:
Don't judge op, until you're in a position to do so.
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im not judging at all or not trying too. its just quiet sad and with all these videos and stuff like that it gets you thinking dosent it? and being a horse lover that i am i would hate any harm coming to any horse not only my own. maybe im just a soft s*** .
 
Are they going to one of the abbatoirs in the UK?

I took a horse to Turner's in Cheshire for someone a couple of years ago, and it wasn't too bad at all.
I was given a time to get there, when I arrived the horse came off the lorry no more worried than if he had just arrived at a new yard or a competition, they checked his passport, led him into the barn, shut the door, then there was a bang, and I was handed the headcollar back, less than two minutes after I dropped the ramp. At no point was he terrified, or knew what was coming.

There were also a couple of horses in holding pens on the way into the barn, happily munching hay, and not so much as flicking an ear in the direction of the bang.

It is not the horrific fate it's made out to be, but I must add that, whilst lame, he was perfectly able to travel the 1 hour to get there, and he was used to travelling, so didn't get stressed.


That said, if the horses at your yard are too lame to travel, or likely to get stressed during the journey, or if they're bound for export, then I do think it's cruel to send them away. :(
 
What a really sad situation. I don't know that they would know they were at deaths door. I think we humanise horses too much, i doubt that they will see death as we do. I have never been to an abbatoir though so no idea what it would be like. i would agree that it might be an idea to speak again to the hunt.
 
swintondesire said:
im not judging at all or not trying too. its just quiet sad and with all these videos and stuff like that it gets you thinking dosent it? and being a horse lover that i am i would hate any harm coming to any horse not only my own. maybe im just a soft s*** .
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But you are judging him as cruel when he's doing the best thing for those horses; in fact if they're as bad as you say they should have been done a long time ago to end their suffering. You might not like the idea of putting them down but surely you can see it's in their best interest; it's not our feelings that should be thought about but their quality of life which sounds non existent from what you say.
 
You are not soft, you care and thats lovely. I dont like the horses travel to the slaughter house in those lorries because everytime i see one on the road it is not going slowly so in my mind the journey must be stressful.

The lame mare isnt it against the law to travel a horse that is nt in a sound state to travel, correct me someone, also couldnt you ask the hunt, i think they charge a small fee, but the owner is probably hoping to make £600. Sad really
 
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.
 
putasocinit said:
You are not soft, you care and thats lovely. I dont like the horses travel to the slaughter house in those lorries because everytime i see one on the road it is not going slowly so in my mind the journey must be stressful.

The lame mare isnt it against the law to travel a horse that is nt in a sound state to travel, correct me someone, also couldnt you ask the hunt, i think they charge a small fee, but the owner is probably hoping to make £600. Sad really
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They need to weight bear on each corner and also you can travel to the abattoir under "hospital conditions" which would be deeply bedded etc.
 
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
 
Maesfen said:
But you are judging him as cruel when he's doing the best thing for those horses; in fact if they're as bad as you say they should have been done a long time ago to end their suffering. You might not like the idea of putting them down but surely you can see it's in their best interest; it's not our feelings that should be thought about but their quality of life which sounds non existent from what you say.
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ive just said im not judging or trying too may have come across that way. its ment to come across as my opinion that i dont understand how someone can do that. yes your are a 100% right they should have been done a while ago they dont have far to travel and watching that video i feel 10x better about it. and its in the uk. its just nice for someone to reasure you in this situation so i thought i would write on here.
 
How on earth can we assume the owner is just trying to make £600? If owner was just fussed about the cash, he could just send them to a low end sale & risk export, or at the least the stress of a sales ring. And if its against the law to travel an unsound horse then how do horses get to veterinary hospitals? An abbatoir isn't what I'd choose, I'd want mine to go at home. But if the owner can't afford that, its a lot kinder than leaving them to suffer or passing to an uncertain future.
 
I have watched that video and - this is exactly what I have seen in slaughterhouses - animals treated with as much dignity as can be offered, almost instant (and expert) death.

If those horses were unwanted, unsellable, injured - then they were in the very best place - why feature it as an "anti - animal-welfare - video" :confused:

As an RSPCA Inspector, I trained in slaughterhouses, and these conditions were as good as they could be. And the foal was also PTS - were they supposed to carry on with it being alive ?

This is the reality of over breeding.
 
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That video was interesting, nice to see the horses so calm. But had to turn it off when it got to the grey welsh, and it said about children's ponies being outgrown as it looked just like my mare and she would have been heading that way if her old owners couldn't find someone to take her on so made me feel a bit sick. Nothing to do with the method just so similar to my mare :(
 
amymay said:
You say you're not judging in the same sentence as you judge....
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if your going to nag me dont post. is that the only thing you are intrested in saying about me judging?. it isnt ment to come across that way at all... how about if i say i wouldnt personally do it myself but that is the owners choice is that still judging?! so im sick of explaining myself the main reason here is that im upset about the situation and all you can say if that. dont bother.

thanks to everyone else who has opened my eyes on this situation that it can be quick and peaceful. this is not a nice topic at all.
 
Licenced horse abattoirs are fine OP. The horses will be despatched quickly and without knowing what's going on. The shooter knows what he is doing and has done it hundreds and thousands of times before.

I personally would not have one of my horses sent to an abattior as I prefer them to go at home with all their friends around, but really that's for the benefit of me and the friends my horses leave behind. The end is the same for the horse.
 
I would like to add here that I used to support Animal Aid before I joined the RSPCA. Thank God a lot of education has got me to where I am now. I am totally shocked that they see that film as an animal welfare "outrage".

i tell you what, they want to get themselves into a few chicken abatoirs - now they REALLY made me ill for life. I'm veggie, and people say "oh but you eat chicken, don't you?" OMG, they have absolutely no idea. I would rather eat horse meat. :mad:
 
shysmum said:
I have watched that video and - this is exactly what I have seen in slaughterhouses - animals treated with as much dignity as can be offered, almost instant (and expert) death.

If those horses were unwanted, unsellable, injured - then they were in the very best place - why feature it as an "anti - animal-welfare - video" :confused:

As an RSPCA Inspector, I trained in slaughterhouses, and these conditions were as good as they could be. And the foal was also PTS - were they supposed to carry on with it being alive ?

This is the reality of over breeding.
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i only noticed it was a anti towards the end. it has made me look at the situation alot different and that they can go quick. thats all i was looking for is someone to tell me its not what its made out to be.
 
hmmmm. or the halal ones. I had one on my patch so saw what it entails - and now a huge amount of meat is killed in this way, and that, folks, it what you buy at your local supermarket. :(:mad:
 
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