The Oklahoma legislature has approved horse slaughtering of horses for human consumption in their state. No news if the governor will sign off.
What is so wrong with this legislation? Let's start with the alleged reason they want to allow the slaughtering of horses. They claim to many horses are being abandoned and slaughter is a humane way of handling the problem. Dare I say few if any of these legislators have ever seen a commercial slaughterhouse slaughter a horse. If they did, I would be curious to see if they still considered it 'humane'.
One of my other problems with this legislation is it once again, lets the general horse owner off the hook for failing to be good owners of horses. Instead of this quick solution, why doesn't the state mandate micro chipping and institute fines for any horse found abandoned and/or abused by their owner. Instituting such a law would then force owners to do the responsible thing and end a horses life with humane euthanasia; in effect require responsible treatment of horses.
Lastly, in the ultimate irony, while allowing horse slaughter in Oklahoma for human consumption, it bans the sale of horse meat in the state. Why? Because horse meat is full of toxic chemicals due to the drugs and medication given them. So while they won't allow Oklahomans to eat the meat due to safety concerns, they have no qualms about selling it to others.
Quite honestly, my problem with horse slaughter laws is two fold. One is we are giving irresponsible horse owners the opportunity to get away from being responsible and good guardians of their horses. If an owner can't do right by their horse then maybe they shouldn't be owning them. Secondly, under the guise of humane, and the only thing humane about it is the shorter drive to a slaughter house, the real motive is profit. Making money for those that trade in horses.
As far as I am concerned, any states that approve horse slaughter are states that should not be visited. I would ask all horse loving people to boycott those states and visit and spend your money in states which are animal friendly.
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