Taunton abbatoir - not for the light hearted. Video footage

No, of course you aren't evil for taking a horse to an abbattoir, read my post, I took a lot more than one!!
What I am saying in short is yes we need abbattoirs, that horses are pts here is infinitely preferable to going abroad; but that I truly feel it is kinder to have your horse pts in familiar surroundings.
I've seen a lot of horses die and modern anaesthetics are so efficient when administered correctly the horse really doesn't know much about it. My vet sedates via a vein then simply gives an overdose. Some need more than one lot but all died peacefully without knowing a thing about it.
The hunt also were excellent, quick, kind and efficient.
I don't know why it all went so wrong the day I visited there, I wasn't expecting anything different to what had happened before, but it was.
I think like many have said it's people breeding crap that really should be taken to task, you only have to go to the Dartmoor sales to see runty wild worm ridden foals who will take a lot of handling and still not grow above 12hh..
Thankfully the numbers have dwindled recently, but look around any sale and there are specimens who really should never have been born.
A lot of the foals go straight to the meatman, which is sad to see.
I think all of us must do as we feel able to cope with, when any money I had went on feeding the remaining horses I felt justified in getting paid for the dead one's meat; now I prefer them to have an end without stress, which is why they die here.
 
Victoria EDT
Did you do the EDS degree at Hartpury?
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The abbatoir has a professional and ethical responsiblity to know if a mare is heavily pregnant and of course it is their fault if they butcher a foal.
They should run under strict regulations and guidelines for circumstances such as this .

And seven minutes is seven minutes too long for any animal to suffer, where is your compassion? Well its already been suffering for a long time so seven more minutes is ok??
How unacceptable an attitude!!
 
What should they do with a heavily pregnant mare...why do you think it is being sent to slaughter?
What regulations and guidelines do you mean?
And as I said earlier, if any of mine broke a leg or became ill, it would take my vets the best part of half an hour to reach me (20 mins if I was REALLY lucky) to PTS....so 7 minutes isn't so bad...
Do you really want unwanted animals kept alive to suffer through neglect?
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So what was the abbatoir supposed to do with the pregnant mare? Give her back?!

Jeez, seriously, threads like this make me wonder if I have a heart at all at times but I sleep well at night
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I do think people put far too much of a HUMAN spin on animals - so the chestnut had to live for 7 more minutes whilst things were put into place - sh!t happens, it isn't the abbatoirs fault that the horse was left to get to such a shocking state before it was delivered - what should they have done - given that one back too?!

I can understand why people want to give a sympathetic death to a horse that has served them well for years, because it makes them, the human, feel better. But at the end of the day, I refute that a horse will watch a horse in front of it be shot and then KNOW it is next and its time has come
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Usually, if a horse in that situation is panicking it is because of the handling it is receiving and the vibes it is getting from the humans around it, or a sharp shocking noise - THATS what makes them panic, not the horse hitting the ground.
 
Regulations can state: abboitiors will not slaughter mares believed to be in foal!!

Regulations can state: Any horse visibly suffering will be given priority

There not difficult is it??

Of course the horse with the broken leg is an accident and the time waiting for the vet is unaviodable.

Leaving an already suffering animal to intentionally suffer further because some numpty has neglected it in the first place is intentional and the numpty who took it and the slaugterhouse who does not give it priority are both eqeally causing additional pain and suffering and are therefor to blame eqeally.

What happened to humane consideration.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The abbatoir has a professional and ethical responsiblity to know if a mare is heavily pregnant and of course it is their fault if they butcher a foal.
They should run under strict regulations and guidelines for circumstances such as this .

And seven minutes is seven minutes too long for any animal to suffer, where is your compassion? Well its already been suffering for a long time so seven more minutes is ok??
How unacceptable an attitude!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't lay this on the staff; they treat all the hoses on that vid with repect. Blame the owner for shipping an injured horse there in the first place.

If it was a closed day, the gun and ammo was likely locked up. There's no saying that the slaughterman was even on site. Seven minutes really isn't bad.

There's no conclusive proof that the mare was even in foal, or that if she was that they shot the foal. What if it was for the best? Maybe the foal was deformed/injured/dying anyway.

BTW- it's Abattoir, not abbatoir
 
mmm...is this thread about spellings-i think not!!

Anyway, as you are the spokesperson for ALL abattoirs, oh i mean..abboitoir
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Then you can truly say that all horses are treated with respect, never hit or suffer??
You are a very all knowing , wise one arnt you.

My issue is with regualtions in respect of the two horses being discussed on this thread-its a suggestion.
Not an unsensible one i think.

Oh and i don't think i said all staff treat horses badly-its the same everywher, there is good and bad, as with everything. The good ones could teach the bad ones something about good practice.

Oh and i suppose if you ask the suffering horse about severn minutes, i am sure if it could speak it would shout out TOO LONG!!!!
 
Thing is, this Animal Aid site is aimed at tugging on heart strings of people and that in itself is wrong - be rational, horses are PTS, period. Better to be shot than live a life of pain and go downhill with pain and suffering because an owner thinks it is holding a horse's dignity - a horse doesn't give a flying fig about dignity, it just doesn't want to be in pain! And who is not to say these horses that are *fit and healthy* were not dangerous?

The beginning of the film shows VERY relaxed horses - they are not scared, so I am at a loss as to why they show that bit.

Showing the horse winched up - so what - how else are you to dispose of half a ton of horse flesh from an area?



A couple of statements bother me...

"It is an offence to transport animals in this condition" (said about the chestnut)

Errrr really? So if a horse is injured and then transported to a vets hospital that is illegal?!

"he or she should be killed immediately"

Sure, but the correct procedures MUST be put into place first - its called HUMANE! And the horse was hardly dumped on the yard in that condition - it would have walked off the lorry and then prob collapsed - and that could have been for any number of reasons - who is to say the owner didn't *rescue* the horse so it COULD be put out of its misery?! And if anyone is upset about the horse being moved by a JCB then get real...we had to move almost 100 horses in this way and then dump them in a pit to be burnt because of AHS - its the only way to do it!

"Ponies like this one are used to teach children to ride and form an important part of the family - until the child wants a biger horse or gets bored with riding and then the pony is no longer needed"

Do I REALLY need to comment on that!!! Lets pull at some heartstrings some more - show a pretty pony neighing
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Racehorses comment...does that REALLY look like a fit racehorse? I think it is better to PTS than to pass on, really I do!


"Legislation states that heavily pregnant animals may not be transported.”

Well I know plenty of people who transport in foal mares to stud to foal - and I am pretty sure they are not breaking the law!

“The casual manner of the killing of the ‘pregnant’ horse is evident in the banter between the slaughterman and the horse handler. ‘Watch the racing yesterday?’”

Oh FFS, are the slaughtermen supposed to shed a tear for each animal they put down?! How ridiculous!

"The British are supposed to respect and admire horses but these owners wanted their pound of flesh"

And WHERE exactly are the owners statements backing that up? Maybe they just wanted a swift and respectable end to their horses life! And FFS, EVERYTHING HAS ITS END, whether that is by nature or by bullet. I dare anyone to stand and tell me that it is *kinder* to let a horse get old and suffer and die than to be PTS in this manner - quick, painless and to the point.

Animal Aid ought to be ashamed of themselves
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[ QUOTE ]
mmm...is this thread about spellings-i think not!!

Anyway, as you are the spokesperson for ALL abattoirs, oh i mean..abboitoir
crazy.gif
Then you can truly say that all horses are treated with respect, never hit or suffer??
You are a very all knowing , wise one arnt you.

My issue is with regualtions in respect of the two horses being discussed on this thread-its a suggestion.
Not an unsensible one i think.

Oh and i don't think i said all staff treat horses badly-its the same everywher, there is good and bad, as with everything. The good ones could teach the bad ones something about good practice.

Oh and i suppose if you ask the suffering horse about severn minutes, i am sure if it could speak it would shout out TOO LONG!!!!

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You're deliberately being obtuse now, aren’t you? What I said was simple- all the horses on that vid were treated with respect. Not a hard concept to grasp really. I didn’t say anything about other slaughterhouses. You’re the one who brought those up. I agree that there is good and bad in everything.

Honestly, I’m not sure how they could have killed that horse any quicker. Like I said, there’s no knowing if the slaughter man was even on site. It takes time to get the gun, ammo etc. In an ideal world, all horses would die peacefully in their sleep. It’s not an ideal world. Sometimes we suffer. That’s just how things are.
 
You keep deterring away from the main post and the main issue.

I am happy for you if your ethos and ethics on such a matter allows your conscience to let you sleep at night.Its easier to turn a blind eye on things but it takes a better person to stand up for what they believe in and make a difference in any way and not follow the 'sheep'.

Of course there is suffering everywhere but it should never become'acceptable' just because 'it happens'. Thats the lazy way out-we know that the people who work hard with the aim of ending/lessening suffering are the type of people who are prepared to go that extra mile and sadly most are too lazy to do that so they choose to ignore!

I think its absolutely essential for any animal welfare organisations to bring awareness to people. They do it for the sake of the animals and lets be honest with the attitudes of some , someone needs to!

Why not encourage organisations such as animal aid-frankly i dont understand why they have recieved critisism??
how very odd!
 
Hear hear HH, well bl00dy said. Those are my sentiments exactly. We recently had to put down our 32 year old, mum had him pts in his field, it was the nicest way possible. Then she had him taken away and cremated. We did have to let his stable companion out in the field with him, so he realised that he was no longer there. After he had been taken away, his companion called out for him a few times during the rest of the day but that was it.

I personally wouldn't use an abbatoir, but then i'm lucky enough not to have to.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You keep deterring away from the main post and the main issue.

I am happy for you if your ethos and ethics on such a matter allows your conscience to let you sleep at night.Its easier to turn a blind eye on things but it takes a better person to stand up for what they believe in and make a difference in any way and not follow the 'sheep'.

Of course there is suffering everywhere but it should never become'acceptable' just because 'it happens'. Thats the lazy way out-we know that the people who work hard with the aim of ending/lessening suffering are the type of people who are prepared to go that extra mile and sadly most are too lazy to do that so they choose to ignore!

I think its absolutely essential for any animal welfare organisations to bring awareness to people. They do it for the sake of the animals and lets be honest with the attitudes of some , someone needs to!

Why not encourage organisations such as animal aid-frankly i dont understand why they have recieved critisism??
how very odd!

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'Deterring away'??? - speak English girl! I have no idea what that is supposed to mean...
'It takes a better person' - you mean YOU, I presume. I'm not usually this rude - but how UP yourself can you be?!
You would be one of those who thinks it's cruel to put the ickle ponies to sleep so would leave them suffering a bitter and degenerating end in some windswept field somewhere, or even worse, ship them off to ILPH
I find people like you, (who refuse to take responsibility so they can massage their 'I was too kind to put him/her down' ego) are the main problem with the equine industry.
If you can't see the problems that would be caused if UK slaughterhouses are closed, you only have to look at the USA example.
I do find your posts very difficult to read...please spell check before you post, thanks.
And no poisonous PM's please.
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[ QUOTE ]
You keep deterring away from the main post and the main issue.

I am happy for you if your ethos and ethics on such a matter allows your conscience to let you sleep at night.Its easier to turn a blind eye on things but it takes a better person to stand up for what they believe in and make a difference in any way and not follow the 'sheep'.

Of course there is suffering everywhere but it should never become'acceptable' just because 'it happens'. Thats the lazy way out-we know that the people who work hard with the aim of ending/lessening suffering are the type of people who are prepared to go that extra mile and sadly most are too lazy to do that so they choose to ignore!

I think its absolutely essential for any animal welfare organisations to bring awareness to people. They do it for the sake of the animals and lets be honest with the attitudes of some , someone needs to!

Why not encourage organisations such as animal aid-frankly i dont understand why they have recieved critisism??
how very odd!

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WHAT!?!?!
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I really don't understand the point of your post. You've completely and utterly baffled me.
What are we turning a blind eye to?...that horses end up at a slaughterhouse in the first place, or that they are shot, then their bodies disposed of at said slaughterhouse?

I saw nothing on that vid that made me feel anything other than relief that those horses were put down in a calm and efficient manner. And IF that mare was pregnant, what do you think they should have done with the foal other than what MAY have been it's fate?

What I did see, and hear, was a load of emotional blackmail aimed at those who haven't a clue what happens in the real world. I strongly believe that there should be more slaughterhouses, not less!!

I also feel that Henryhorn's experience was unacceptable and that in those circumstances yes, the people at the abbatoir were very definitely in the wrong.
 
I also watched this video - like all of you.

What my gripe is, and one that no other brought up, is the use of the rifle. IT CANNOT BE ACCURATE IN 100% of the animals it kills. What if you get a flighty one in who is looking everywhere - it is balanced precariously.

I know from experience of these places that some do not die instantly and when they are hoisted through a small amount are found to be still alive - the shot only rendered them unconscious.

I have been to potters and found it professional and the slaughtermen very compassionate. They managed to have the horse I was with shot and headcollar off before it hit the floor. I could not fault them and all the horses were very relaxed. I was just heartbroken to watch the horses all line up ready for their turn as they follow the other. And I was upset to see what looked like otherwise very healthy and nice horses. There was a dun horse, all clipped out, that was just stunning. We tried to buy him but were told by the slaughtermen that most of these horses are here for a reason. They called the owner and asked would they sell and the answer was NO. So we went home.

I do not have a problem with slaughterhouses - PROVIDED they are humane and done quickly and humanely. I do have a very big problem with those being transported abroad alive.

It is obviously preferable to have them put down at home in familar surroundings but as Henry has said, they are often factors that mean that is either not possible, or not viable.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You keep deterring away from the main post and the main issue.

I am happy for you if your ethos and ethics on such a matter allows your conscience to let you sleep at night.Its easier to turn a blind eye on things but it takes a better person to stand up for what they believe in and make a difference in any way and not follow the 'sheep'.

Of course there is suffering everywhere but it should never become'acceptable' just because 'it happens'. Thats the lazy way out-we know that the people who work hard with the aim of ending/lessening suffering are the type of people who are prepared to go that extra mile and sadly most are too lazy to do that so they choose to ignore!

I think its absolutely essential for any animal welfare organisations to bring awareness to people. They do it for the sake of the animals and lets be honest with the attitudes of some , someone needs to!

Why not encourage organisations such as animal aid-frankly i dont understand why they have recieved critisism??
how very odd!

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I give up! You're a member of PETA too, aren't you?

I prefer to support groups who actually do something for the good of animals, rather than posting biased vids to show their point of view. Quite frankly, I have no use for Animal Aid; they and PETA are ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS. They're not animal welfare groups.
 
Definitely don't have a problem with the first 2 mins of footage, they grey mare looked sweet though. That all seems humane and fair. The chestnut was only filmed for 7 minutes, if any of fine were fatally injured it would take a vet 30 mins and the huntsman 20 mins.....

Thats rubbish about ponies nolonger being needed, most parents would have to sell said pony to buy a bigger one for kids, personally don't know of anyone who would sell a perfectly healthy pony to Potters for a few hundred when they could get a couple of K for it, I wouldn't have the heart anyway.

We all know the wiggling of legs is nerves...cut a chickens head off and it will run around for a few mins...doesn't mean its still alive. They've clearly been careful to sweep blood away, the horses waiting are fed and they're shot privately...this is how horse slaughter should be I think. Have a look at the video in the post below...thats the horrid way of doing it.

Re. the pregnant mare, I think it should be against the rules to take them unless there is a bloomin good reason to.
 
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What my gripe is, and one that no other brought up, is the use of the rifle. IT CANNOT BE ACCURATE IN 100% of the animals it kills. What if you get a flighty one in who is looking everywhere - it is balanced precariously.

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I don't have a gripe, I think you'll find a high powered rifle will easily kill a horse 99.9% of the time. Even pistols aren't 100% accurate. The use of a pistol is very dangerous for the slaughterman too.
 
Exactly Weezy!

Should we ban Potters like USA has done and send them out to Europe on a gruelling journey for a far more inhumane death?

I wasn't keen on them shooting a pg mare unless there wasa very good reason (which we don't know there wasn't) other than that I thought the video was fine. Even in the room they were shot they didn't look stressed.
 
Not sure what to think really. Horses were dispatched cleanly, without suffering.

As for the injured horse - tragic. But not sure what the abatoir could have done if they couldn't slaughter it immediately.

Like a lot of these things - these campaings are highly contentious and prey on people's emotions.

Sure a lot of things go on that shouldn't. But for them to comment on the site about the casual manner in which the workers bantered whilst slaughering is incredibly niaive. As long as they carry out their job efficiently, and with little stress to the animals (and they certainly didn't look stressed) how are they supposed to act???

I was appalled at the post yesterday about the slaughter of the horses in Mexico. But this just seems emotional clap trap to me.......
 
Re: the injured mare - she doesn't look distressed, sits up and looks around and lies flat out again. No flailing, no panic
 
I agree, although it isn't something I want to think about, or be confronted by, I know it has to be done and this seems as good as it can get. I'm not sure what VictoriaEDT wants here, is she saying that horses should be dispatched by lethal injection?

Some horses may appear to be is excellent health, but their slaughter is necessary for unseen aliments and occasionally for other reasons.

I hope that when the time comes my horse will be handled by experts such as those shown in the film, from what was seen they handled the horses fairly and dispatched quickly and efficiently.

I hated watching but in a strange way I was not 'upset' as it seemed to proffer the 'best practice' face of the work.
 
As a matter of interest i am commenting on the first original post, as simple as that!
Not confusing.
Everone has opinions and not everyone has to agree of course.

i don't think one abuse or mistreatment is better or worse then the other.
i hate with a passion the practise of live export of horses to their slaughter.
but eqeally i hate the avoidable suffering of any animal, be it in an abatoir or elsewhere (in this country or anywhere else)-we all have a responsiblity to our horses to ensure they end their days humanely.

it isnt a lot to ask for, lets be honest.

i am not an animal aid activist by any means, but anyone involved in the welfare of any animal is commendable.

Consideration is all it comes down to.

if horses are slaghtered humanely, i dont have a personal issue
we had to have one of our mares PTS a few years ago, she was a wonderful horse and owed us nothing.
She was euthanaised in her own stable after coming in from the field, it was the evening (she was photosensitive, so could not go out during daylight).
it was very qwuick and peasecful with an injection and i paid extra for her to be humanely disposed of-not for meat!!

yes it cost us extra-but worth every money.

we all have a duty as horse owners to have a considerate responsibilty.
 
oh dear!! that spelling thing again.

Did i say slaughterhouses should close, there we go again-presuming
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never mind-it isnt always to think straight when worked up.

It bothers me none you or anybody being rude to me-i wouln't put the energy in sending nasty pm's-never done it yet so i aint gonna start now!
 
i think more of this energy should be put into things like dog fighting and the slaughter of horses in mexico ect ect that is damn right cruel vicious and barbaric as these are causes more for concern than arguing about potters as like i have said in past posts and so many others they do their job well, its the wasteful owners that send perfectly good animals there but that will never change there will always be people that dont respect their horses and so cannot be bothered with them (not aimed at anyone on here!!!!!!!) but we do not know why any of these animals were there, but i hope for certain ones there was a very good reason ie preg mare!
 
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