Taunton abbatoir - not for the light hearted. Video footage

would you believe i went to grammar school
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no more rushing-my computer keeps crashing and its frustrating!
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if i can edit i will.
 
I am TERRIFIED of death, and the thought of my horse or me or anything dying, but I must say that video actually made me feel CALMER about it.

I would rather a time served person do it than a vet who might miss or might get the dosage wrong for an injection.

I would like to know though where people expect these horses to go if they do not go to slaughter? Who will look after them? Where do the extra farriers to do their feet come from, extra vets to take them on. 5000 is not a lot to go to slaughter, but 5000 a year NOT to go is a lot of extra horses.

I still believe that you should be banned from breeding unless you have a license, and you must apply and give your reasons, and that if horses are to be stallions they must be graded like the top ones already are, and if they do not pass they MUST be castrated. I know someone who's mare was unridable so she bred from her to have a foal that could be used, but she is lucky enough to have land to keep her and is more than happy to keep her as a pet - but in order to do that I had to buy her other one so she had the time/money/resources.
 
I watched it through a couple of times, yes its unpleasant but the horses all seemed calm & quiet, they had no idea what was going to happen. The slaughtermen were also very calm with the horses, & it was all very quick. If the mare was pregnant, she was dead, so they would have had to dispatch the foal too, the injured one on the ground was obviously dealt with once the man was able to make the arrangements, perhaps he had no driver for the loading machine? It is not what I would choose to do, but if OWNERS choose to send thier discarded horses & ponies to market, unfortunately this is what is likely to happen. The little grey pony & the shiny black cob I found particularly upsetting, as they looked all fine & dandy. As for the men talking, wouldn't you want to keep cheerful in that awful depressing place??
 
Very impressed - the horses are handled properly, the place looks clean, I would not be opposed to my horse going there.
 
Thank you for that Victoria; it shows what has always been my experience of having horses shot; that they know nothing about what is happening because of the speed of it all.

The rifle seems like a far better option than a handgun to me and the slaughterman was certainly competent at doing his job swiftly and cleanly. Thank goodness there are places like that where horses can go in the UK rather than be transported live to those god-awful European abattoirs.
 
IM NOT KEEPERS COTTAGE, im her daughter. my mum wouldn’t even watch that video. i actually feel physically sick, im a hard person and live in a very rural area so im not some townie living in a disney like existence. im disgusted that people think this is the way to treat their horses .they live for us and that is how they are treated! how is every horse killed instantly? i highly doubt it, ' professionals' do make mistakes. if animal owners lined up their cats and dogs to be shot like that there would be an uproar. that chestnut horse was on hard concrete and laid there in distress and pain. how is this the way to treat horses? the pregnant mare was obviously distressed by going into that death room, a pregnant mare. i cant believe that we live in a modern world and such cruelty and callousness goes on. people are writing its luckier there not in America etc. but where ever it happens its disgusting, horses should not be treated like a piece of rubbish. Horses are far clever than what you think, they can sense what is going to happen. dont even say they look calm because there is only a couple of second footage on each horse who knows what went on before. It is impossible to say that every horse is given respect this is a 9minute piece of footage out of god knows how long. Animal aid are here to help animals but why is everyone who is ‘an animal lover’ against them or making a joke of it? Im not wrapped up in cotton wool about the death of horses but I respect them. I had my old 12.2hh put down by injection; my mother had her old horse shot who she had for 22 years and she said never again, any other horse put down by injection, unless emergency (broken leg) both horses were subsequently cremated. My pony went peaceful in familiar surroundings and definitely not transported. My mother says ‘’ generally people don’t respect animals’ and this footage proves it. They are just commodities. I feel so strongly about this, I am a hunt member but I can not condone what goes on in this abattoir or any. I CAN cope with the final decision but this does not mean sending my much-loved horse to an abattoir. Horse are part of my life and family, I would not discard my family like this or any other pet I own. I am just disgusted.
 
just to add amy tryon is apparently a disgrace to the equine world. she made a mistake albeit a terrible mistake but how is everyone hating her, and not disgusted by that footage. my father in his capacity as an enviournmental health officer has worked in many abbatiors and found the slaughter men are predominantly sidistic and enjoy their work. bear that in mind!
 
no need to elaborate....

horses come, horses go...

i'd rather mine go effieciently and profesionally then faff about either breeding from a totally substandard mare, keeping a crock alive because it made ME feel better or paying OTT fees to a vet to have it dispatched.

this abattoir has been, IMHO,WRONGLY vilified in public by "do-gooders"....

that place is, and always will be, a decent well run abattoir who offer a a good and needed service.

some folk who own horses/ponies shouldn't wear rose-coloured specs...wake up and smell the roses......
and no, before you jump on the "you aren't/cant be a horse lover" bandwaggon........i am...and have been for 40 years..but horses, to me personally, aren't pets....they are there to do a job..and that is why NOT ONE of my ponies have EVER had worms/been overweight/underweight/badly behaved/traffic shy/poor for the farrier/etc/etc...


they are there to do a job...or move on....
 
Woah there, JM07, this is keeperscottage senior here, not my daughter! I've been around horses since 1963 and owned them since 1970. I work with horses on a professional basis and I feel capable of a serious, sensible, informed response. In my opinion, you buy/acquire a horse......they work for you, they do a job, but they ARE pets to the point that you care for them with respect and love, not cast them aside at whim, to end their days alone in a slaughterhouse. We hunt, but my daughter is a veggie. We are ARE NOT townie saddos! We live in a VERY rural communituty where my neighbour laughed at my daughter when slowing down.whilst driving, for squirrels/rabbits/phesants in the road....well, so do I!! We're not on a mission to kill everything!

Do you have any pets yourself or are you so stone-hearted that nothing can penetrate your soul?
 
Better a horse go to the abbatoir than left in a field because the owner cannot face putting them down. I hold my hands up, I am a hard nosed bitch when it comes to dispensing with horses. When you have had to watch almost 100 horses die a horrible death because they were not permitted to be PTS, all you want is to put them out of their misery. I have always, and will continue to, opt for a bang rather than injection - injections are only done for the owners to feel better about themselves! I have come to the conclusion that people are more bothered about horses being dispatched than, say, cows, because we give them a name and that, to some people, makes them more human - but they are not human, they are animals!
 
My daughter, the author of the most recent keeperscottage posts, has now taken herself off to bed. However, I feel the same, if not stronger, than she does. You own a horse, you love it, and, assuming you retain it into old age, you dispatch it with respect and love, ie, ON YOUR OWN PREMISES. When my daughter's elderly, much loved, 12.2hh became ill, we were liveried at a hunt yard. The owner, a cousin of the VERY senior Master said to me "Don't let her be taken away, will you?". As if we would! She was put down by lethal injection and died peacefully. I remember my vet saying, "it's time for the little mite to go". I didn't send her off to be shot! My own old hoerse I'd owned for 22 years was shot in her field, and then cremated. My biggest regret was not having her put down by lethal injection. We have two ex-point-to-pointers and,yes, I agree that there is indiscriminate breeding in the racing world. One of our TB mares is in foal......a foal which is much wanted and looked forward to!
 
By "own premises" I refer to the place where the horse/pony is kept. In our case, at that time, a hunt yard. Like my daughter has pointed out in her previous posts, we hunt, we're not "Disney" townies!
 
Never heard anything like it before! What happens if there's an emergency, ie, horse breaks a leg.....? Rather than have it put down on site, you have to transport it????????? Unbelievable! What's behind their prohibition on euthanasia on site?
 
If it is an accident fair enough, but for a planned death no. One got PTS on site by a vet and it was pretty horrific and then the dead body dumped in the middle of the yard until someone could pick it up with all the bodily fluids leaking everywhere. After that they said no, never again.
 
I've been around horses since 1963, a small child, and NEVER, EVER, have I heard anything like you've posted. Suggest you move yards pronto! Unbelievable, I'm speechless!

Incidentally, I note you state that having the horse put down was "pretty horrific".......do you think they die in their sleep in slaughterhouses?
 
No, when I took my mare there - the actual one in the video, she walked very calmly into the room and then dropped dead to the floor. A far better experience than what the poor horse at the yard went thru.
 
Sorry, but I cannot condone ANYONE for taking their horse to an abbatoir. My ex-husband's experiences in an official capacity, plus even a very hardened hunt member's views, mean I could never, ever, change my mind about slaughterhouses. You owe it to your horse to have it dispatched at home. Never, ever have I heard anything like you refer to in your earlier post about not allowing horses to be put down on site! I'm off to bed now - late by the standards of someone who has to get up early tomorrow to sort own horses out before going to work with yet more horses! I'm sure this discussion will rumble on.
 
I will NEVER for the life of me know how any of you "horse lovers" would want a horse to end its life with an undignified bullet. When mine goes it'll be at home, in familiar surroundings with an overdose of euthanol or whatever it is vets use. If you or a relative were terminally ill, what would you prefer the ending to be? A projectile which can not be relied upon to be successful first time or a carefully measured dose of morphine?

I also can not believe how most of you thought that establishment provided a more humane service than those abroad. A lot of those unfortunate horses and ponies filmed were STILL alive after being shot. This was obvious as they
were still thrashing about as they were being chained up.

These animals have given their all to humans and this is how we repay them. Disposing of them as if they were meaningless inanimate clapped out old bangers being sent to the scrappy.

You make me sick!
 
As I said earlier I was very impressed with the video - the horses are fed while waiting in a shelter, everything was very calm and effiecent. Having seen many hores put down with injection, it is not prettier, just more of a feel good for the owner.

I wish we had slaughter houses like this in the US - I would happily take my horses there.
 
"If you or a relative were terminally ill, what would you prefer the ending to be? A projectile which can not be relied upon to be successful first time or a carefully measured dose of morphine?"

The point is, they are not relatives. They are animals. In any case I would say the bullet. I agree with others on here, that footage is impressive, especially considering it is secretly filmed, it has been said already, the horses are calm, unsuspecting, and their death is quick. Also, the quote about children's ponies is absurd, and is really aimed at those people who personify their horses. Watching that video, it just seems like they are trying to pin these shocking statements on things that really aren't that horrific.
 
Thank you for that....it has made my mind up should my mare have to be PTS it will be by bullet...How quick and not at all messy. However she would go to the kennels not a slaughter house.

I have nothing against horse slaughter I would rather they were exported as carcases than live.
 
I dont own a horse so I am lucky enough to say that I wont have the dreadful situtation of making the choice, but aftyer watching the video, and seeing a few horses shot, I know which one i would choose. I would rather them be shot at home, in a familiar space with current surroundings that feel safe but an abbatoir like the one shown in the picture looks on quite sympatheticaly. I have seen 2 horses PTS by injection... neither of them were quick or slightly peaceful. I wouldnt have a horse put down by injection to make myself feel better, I would want the kindest and swiftest way possible for them. For me...how ever blunt it seems the bullet would win everytime
 
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I will NEVER for the life of me know how any of you "horse lovers" would want a horse to end its life with an undignified bullet. When mine goes it'll be at home, in familiar surroundings with an overdose of euthanol or whatever it is vets use. If you or a relative were terminally ill, what would you prefer the ending to be? A projectile which can not be relied upon to be successful first time or a carefully measured dose of morphine?

I also can not believe how most of you thought that establishment provided a more humane service than those abroad. A lot of those unfortunate horses and ponies filmed were STILL alive after being shot. This was obvious as they
were still thrashing about as they were being chained up.

These animals have given their all to humans and this is how we repay them. Disposing of them as if they were meaningless inanimate clapped out old bangers being sent to the scrappy.

You make me sick!

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If you think those horses were still alive because they were still moving, then I can see why you're upset.
They weren't...it's just after death muscle movements....so don't let it worry you. Once the brain stem is gone...they are gone.
And lethal injection can go horribly wrong....it's not a nicer way to go....in fact the brain dies more slowly...and it's the brain that feels pain, not the heart.
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I am a self-confessed baby, and a terrible squeam. But that video helped me to stop being scared.

That was over so fantastically quickly, it was done in a calm manner and all the horses seemed content enough.

To the person who said the pregnant mare was clearly not happy to be in there - my horse does the same in his stable sometimes, it still doesnt mean she was in distress.

At the end of the day, like it or not horses have to be shot. Its a sad fact of life. If anyone has a problem with this they should become vigilate and start sorting out the dull people who churn out nag after nag that only ever ends up in this kind of situation.

After having my dog PTS I realised that having your pets humanely put down is the biggest, kindest gift you can give your animals. I wouldnt ever hesitiate to have my horse shot - whatever the circumstances, and if I needed to go to this place, I would.

Its a neccessary evil in my eyes and a job executed in perfect. Quick, clean and unsentimental. Thats what you expect from a professional.
 
Isn't the missed point that horses that end up here either

a) are much loved and this is the right option for the owner in the circumstance, the owner usually delivers the horse and see's what goes on.

2) THe vast majority that end up here aren't from "horse lovers" there not singly owned horses they're not retired riding school horses they're horses that have fallen on hard times as it were. The ones sold through a market with no thought as to where it ends up as long as it gone good riddance. Most times the owner should have put it down themselve first but not being a "horse lover" didn't. So these people and the meat men who buy from the sales do a job that yes is the nasty side of the "industry" but a side that has to be there so that these horses end their days quickly as relativley painlessly.

The US and other places serve to show what happens when the abbitoirs no longer there.

Far far better to be shot then left to starve and rot somewhere out of site and out of mind.
 
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