Fides
Well-Known Member
After receiving a lot of backlash from some people for this thread
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...f-rescuing-them-(a-diary)&highlight=Meat+colt
This thread was created
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?671177-Rescuers-create-horses-that-need-rescued
In it a lot of people said I did the wrong thing, but none of those people offered any real solution (only criticism).
There were a few - _GG_, Pennyturner and Alec in particular who offered ideas that could help solve the horse crisis, if we could only get it off the ground.
So I am starting this thread to put out feelers to see just how much support I would get if I seriously took this idea and ran with it...
The proposal:
If there was a charity set up specifically aimed at those horses who have no value as riding horses, with the aim being to humanely euthanise them to free up more space for those animals who are likely to be able to be rehomed. It is a sickening idea, but it needs doing. For the following reasons:
1) There are far too many horses/ponies in charities that are suitable only as companions - there are more companions than companion homes available
2) Horses with health issues (field sound on a Bute a day IMO is not sound) take up space for the abused to be rehabilitated.
3) There are colts that are sent for meat that are not bought due to being too weedy/infected to be of any value even as pet food. What is the future op for these? Being dumped?
4) Circumstances change and what happens to the horses that the owners can't afford to PTS due to the costs of the deed and also disposal. Charities sometimes take them but then that's taking up spaces and resources for 'true' rescues.
So what can we do?
- Can we set up a body offering help with disposal costs?
- Can this be linked to a hunt/zoo/pet food manufacturers to generate income to help with this
- Can we offer to help charities 'do the unpopular thing'? To free up space for others?
- Can we set this up to be means tested so that those in genuine need can get assistance, but others only a contribution?
- Can we stop abuse of the system? What is stopping someone 'getting rid' of a horse this way to make room for another?
- Can we set up a body that could lobby parliament/the queen for the Royal approval to gain powers of seizure and prosecution, currently only held by the RSPCA?
- Can we offer support to struggling charities/hoarders?
- Can we get vets on board to offer discount castration to charities and maybe even reputable breeders or individuals to increase the 'value' of the colts? And what about rigs and the cost in resolving this - should they be an automatic PTS?
- Can we apply for government grants for assistance?
- Can we apply for lottery funding?
More to the point - would this have the organisation vilified as 'pony killers'?
It would be a mammoth undertaking, but one which I would be happy to get involved with nor even lead.
I have helped rehabilitate rescues in the truest sense of the word - giving the horse a trust and purpose that allows a secure future. I have fostered. I have been refused a rescue due to my home being 'unsuitable'. I have homed a colt destined for meat. Can I now, with the support of other tackle the root cause of the problem? These low value animals who block up the market and generate so many cases of abuse.
So the question is a simple 'yay' or 'neigh' - would you honestly support a charity who supported, or even encouraged PTS of horses/ponies with no ridden future? This is very black and white - there is no maybe...
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...f-rescuing-them-(a-diary)&highlight=Meat+colt
This thread was created
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?671177-Rescuers-create-horses-that-need-rescued
In it a lot of people said I did the wrong thing, but none of those people offered any real solution (only criticism).
There were a few - _GG_, Pennyturner and Alec in particular who offered ideas that could help solve the horse crisis, if we could only get it off the ground.
So I am starting this thread to put out feelers to see just how much support I would get if I seriously took this idea and ran with it...
The proposal:
If there was a charity set up specifically aimed at those horses who have no value as riding horses, with the aim being to humanely euthanise them to free up more space for those animals who are likely to be able to be rehomed. It is a sickening idea, but it needs doing. For the following reasons:
1) There are far too many horses/ponies in charities that are suitable only as companions - there are more companions than companion homes available
2) Horses with health issues (field sound on a Bute a day IMO is not sound) take up space for the abused to be rehabilitated.
3) There are colts that are sent for meat that are not bought due to being too weedy/infected to be of any value even as pet food. What is the future op for these? Being dumped?
4) Circumstances change and what happens to the horses that the owners can't afford to PTS due to the costs of the deed and also disposal. Charities sometimes take them but then that's taking up spaces and resources for 'true' rescues.
So what can we do?
- Can we set up a body offering help with disposal costs?
- Can this be linked to a hunt/zoo/pet food manufacturers to generate income to help with this
- Can we offer to help charities 'do the unpopular thing'? To free up space for others?
- Can we set this up to be means tested so that those in genuine need can get assistance, but others only a contribution?
- Can we stop abuse of the system? What is stopping someone 'getting rid' of a horse this way to make room for another?
- Can we set up a body that could lobby parliament/the queen for the Royal approval to gain powers of seizure and prosecution, currently only held by the RSPCA?
- Can we offer support to struggling charities/hoarders?
- Can we get vets on board to offer discount castration to charities and maybe even reputable breeders or individuals to increase the 'value' of the colts? And what about rigs and the cost in resolving this - should they be an automatic PTS?
- Can we apply for government grants for assistance?
- Can we apply for lottery funding?
More to the point - would this have the organisation vilified as 'pony killers'?
It would be a mammoth undertaking, but one which I would be happy to get involved with nor even lead.
I have helped rehabilitate rescues in the truest sense of the word - giving the horse a trust and purpose that allows a secure future. I have fostered. I have been refused a rescue due to my home being 'unsuitable'. I have homed a colt destined for meat. Can I now, with the support of other tackle the root cause of the problem? These low value animals who block up the market and generate so many cases of abuse.
So the question is a simple 'yay' or 'neigh' - would you honestly support a charity who supported, or even encouraged PTS of horses/ponies with no ridden future? This is very black and white - there is no maybe...