The New York Racing Authority is the lastest to join in the anti-slaughter movement with the establishment of an Anti-Slaughter policy. Does your local standardbred track have such a policy? Most likely not.
It is time that our standardbred tracks adopt such policies. There is no excuse not to.
5 comments:
No excuse not to? In an age where unwanted horses by multiply day by day? You must be kidding! NYRA and like minded groups should stay out of the business of what goes on with a racehorse when it leaves the track. Their business is to keep the horses safe while on their premises, from injuries incurred while using their facilities. Anything else is overreaching and plays right into the hands of groups using the Stop Slaughter slogan to push for restrictions on sale, transportation, transfer of registration papers, lower level claiming races, running older horses and geldings, ect. The list goes on and on. Why don't you check out the groups of organized anti-racing cults? They have a check list a mile long, starting with the idea that they very act of horse racing is slaughter just dressed up in silks. The racetracks need to stay out of easy ways for owners to dispose of their large unwanted livestock! Not every owner who provides proper care for their racehorse buys into the notion of often soundness compromised, or even perfectly sound horses, needing to be placed in forever homes that are shrinking all of the time. Racetracks should have no control over horses after they are done at the track. We're not a communist country yet.
More slaughter houses are being planned in this country as we speak. They provide a realistic and VETERINARIAN SUPERVISED end of life choice for large unwanted animals that no one else wants. Horse slaughter will continue, the public and especially Hispanic and Cuban populations will accept it, the racetracks need to start living in reality and stop bending over backwards to activists whims. Let the activists pay for horses they want to save, be they wildhorses or racehorses. Check out the website after website full of unsuitable horses for adoption. These people insist on taking horses that no one wants, instead of focusing on horses that can soundly and safely live on to productive lives for their new owners.
Slaughter provides an easy way for an owner to dispose of an unwanted horse and not burden the system of horses who are good candidates for adoption. Stay out of the owner's way NYRA. Anti-slaughter is anti-reality.
I disagree, sending horses to slaughter for human consumption is going to be one of the things that will get horse racing outlawed.
I realize there are more horses than there is a demand for adoption. If we need to dispose of horses, there is a humane way to do it and it is not slaughter. It is called euthanasia. If owners can spend thousands of dollars on vet care and they have a horse that is so crippled that it can't race or be adopted, then they should do the right thing and euthanize the horse. If they can't afford to euthanize, then I suggest they have no business owning race horses.
Actually, I reported on this before. Unless things have changed, the European Union will require certificates indicating horses have not been treated with drugs harmful to humans for at least 180 days. The result is every race horse would need to be put on feed lots in quarantine for 180 days before it can be slaughtered. If a horse gets sick and is treated (and usually the who group would have to), the 180 day clock starts again. This should make using North American race horses impractical, cost wise for slaughter. Canadian slaughterhouses will follow EU rules and in Mexico any slaughterhouse sending meat abroad will follow these rules.
Unfortunately, they are going to accept affidavits that the horses have not been treated or have been through quarantine. There won't be any cross checking:
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/12/051.shtml
Time will tell how much abuse of the system will take place. I imagine if the EU finds widespread fraud, they will ban the product like they have done with other meats.
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