Pony burgers at farmers market

Just been reading about this. Why don't the owners neuter their animals to stop this over breeding? Its so irresponsible. Dog and cat owners are urged to do this
 
It is more than time that the owners of ponies on Dartmoor adopted some way of regulating the excessive breeding. The New Forest pony owners have implemented a scheme which sees 15 stallions turned out from mid-May to mid-June for nearly three thousand mares (I cannot find the actual figure right now). There are no stallions on the Forest the rest of the year and the number of foals has dropped drastically. In 2014 the New Forest pony was put on the rare breed list, the number of foals being born having dropped by two-thirds over the previous five years and consequently the total numbers. It can be done but only if people have the welfare of the animals at heart rather than thinking burgers are the solution.
 
twiggy2 said:
I would happily eat ethically reared horse- no different to any other ruminant.
Not sure why the Dartmouth hill pony needs it future secured it is a mixed breed to start with
Click to expand...


It could be turned into a lovely child's pony breed with a judicious breeding programme but it is obviously not as easy to do as slaughtering them for burgers. (Ruminants?)
 
planete said:
It could be turned into a lovely child's pony breed with a judicious breeding programme but it is obviously not as easy to do as slaughtering them for burgers. (Ruminants?)
Click to expand...

As long as it is raised and slaughtered ethically I have no issue with eating horse meat. But the crux of it is there are more ponies being bred than there are homes for. So to me the obvious solution is to breed less - eat the less good examples (!!) and keep the good ones for future generations.
 
planete said:
It could be turned into a lovely child's pony breed with a judicious breeding programme but it is obviously not as easy to do as slaughtering them for burgers. (Ruminants?)
Click to expand...

We already have many good breeds of ponies (at least 7) that make lovely childrens ponies, including the Dartmoor pony. I've no idea why on earth we need to turn mongrel ponies of indeterminate origin and type (which is what the dartmoor hill pony is) into a breed?
 
No way I would eat a horse burger and encourage more breeding of feral scrubby stock .
However I have no issues with what others do if you choose to eat horse that's your buisiness.
 
Oooh yes please. Horse meat is lovely. I for one am a firm believer in giving these animals a value and a market and as a horse lover and owner I think the promotion of horse meat should start with horse owners.
 
If we don't eat rare breeds meat - whatever the species - there will be no rare breeds. If we don't eat ethically sourced meat - all meat will be mass reared in close confines. If we don't eat meat produced close to where we live then animals will be transported long distance for slaughter.

The horse meat in question lived a good wild life and died (presumably slaughtered humanely) without having traveled a long distance. Regardless of species I would far prefer that to an animal reared exclusively in captivity, pumped full of drugs before being traveled for hours - even days - to slaughter.

Yes reduced breeding would be preferable - although I think Dartmoor Hill Ponies have just been proven genetically distinct from Dartmoor and therefore a breed in their own right? But if there is a surplus for whatever reason then a quick death close to home is preferable to a lot of the fates open to excess and unwanted livestock.
 
It's weird how some people happily chow down on pork, lamb and chicken and yet as soon as the word horse is mentioned eating meat is suddenly unethical and immoral.
 
Shay said:
If we don't eat rare breeds meat - whatever the species - there will be no rare breeds. If we don't eat ethically sourced meat - all meat will be mass reared in close confines. If we don't eat meat produced close to where we live then animals will be transported long distance for slaughter.

The horse meat in question lived a good wild life and died (presumably slaughtered humanely) without having traveled a long distance. Regardless of species I would far prefer that to an animal reared exclusively in captivity, pumped full of drugs before being traveled for hours - even days - to slaughter.

Yes reduced breeding would be preferable - although I think Dartmoor Hill Ponies have just been proven genetically distinct from Dartmoor and therefore a breed in their own right? But if there is a surplus for whatever reason then a quick death close to home is preferable to a lot of the fates open to excess and unwanted livestock.
Click to expand...

I'm not entirely sure that "If we don't eat rare breeds meat - whatever the species - there will be no rare breeds" (perhaps I'm just living in some kind of happy fluffy alternative world though - you're probably right) but otherwise I think I agree with all of this - well put!
 
I dont see it as any different to other meat. Venison is lovely I am not a fan of gamey meat but each to their own. I am not sure what the objection is to eating horsemeat but I suppose the problem if the thought that they are somehow different to pigs, cows and sheep. Wild feral ponies are not much different it is someones pet that makes it a bit more emotive. Actually if the whole world was vegetarian there would be no commercial animals so all would be extinct
 
Love horse meat. If more people ate horse meat then these poor quality animals would at least have a value upon their heads. After all, you don't ever see a skinny, neglected beef cow do you.
 
as a veggie, I'm not offended by this! surely you meat eaters would want to eat something that's been raised in the wild, had a good life of freedom, than an animal that has been coped up and mass produced? I also understand from the horse meat scandal, its also a lot learner than beef, so would help our weight issue in the world haha
 
Antw23uk said:
Different question but ok then, why not?
Click to expand...

Depends where your line is drawn. I wouldn't want to eat horse for the same reason that I wouldn't want to eat dog....they are animals that are close to us and afforded a privileged position because of that. Eating dogs in some parts of the world didn't lead to their being better treated either...
There's a lot of human meat going to waste for those who aren't fussy....good protein that's just burnt up and pollutes the atmosphere.
 
Peter7917 said:
Love horse meat. If more people ate horse meat then these poor quality animals would at least have a value upon their heads. After all, you don't ever see a skinny, neglected beef cow do you.
Click to expand...
unfortunately there sometimes are undernourished and badly looked after farm animals. including some sheep close to where I live. terrible.
 
Downton Dame said:
the horse isn't a ruminant.
Click to expand...

Thank heavens they aren't ruminants finding one of mine chewing the cud and belching at me would be horrifying :)

The comments from all over so far seem to be disgusting, ugh and no way

This one made me giggle
She insists she was only returning to old practices used in days gone by, when the excess ponies would be sold for meat locally

If the meat was so good way back then why did they stop killing and eating them? We are turning into China eating anything with a pulse

I have no views on it if people wish to eat it or not, I personally wouldn't be able to chew it but then my sheep all have names and lamb has been off my menu since keeping sheep,
I would love a couple of house cows but I love roast beef and steak and as soon as the cows arrived, had names and personalities I know cow would be off my menu :)

I would make a useless farmer, as I was about to bite into a pony burger guaranteed someone would say Neigh and I would throw up lol
 
Goldenstar said:
No way I would eat a horse burger and encourage more breeding of feral scrubby stock .
However I have no issues with what others do if you choose to eat horse that's your buisiness.
Click to expand...

yes, this. I think it would just encourage these people to breed even more of them. they aren't interested in quality, they are just interested in seeing any sort of profit from animals they won't invest in.
 
Peter7917 said:
Love horse meat. If more people ate horse meat then these poor quality animals would at least have a value upon their heads. After all, you don't ever see a skinny, neglected beef cow do you.
Click to expand...

Horse meat is fairly popular on the Continent, but sadly standards remain low in many many respects for those poor equines.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top