Canadian undercover video shows horses conscious as they are shot multiple times
New undercover video footage released Tuesday by the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition confirms the horrible abuses inherent in the slaughter of our horses for human consumption, and illustrates the need for the U.S. Congress to bar the export of tens of thousands of U.S. horses each year to slaughter plants across the border. At the Bouvry Exports plant in Canada, a chestnut horse is shot three times while a gray mare waits in the kill box. As the chestnut horse panics and struggles—as horses are biologically wired to do—the the gray mare is shot. She remains alive and kicking even as two more .22-caliber shots are fired at her face. She languishes. The pattern repeats itself.
The CHDC's video footage, titled "Chamber of Carnage," further demonstrates what The Humane Society of the United States has documented for years about horse slaughter: Foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses have set up shop just over the border, and U.S. horses will continue to suffer both during long-distance shipping and then during a gruesome butchering process—all for the culinary whims of foreign gourmands.
To see the "Chamber of Carnage" video, click here. Some horses in the CHDC footage bear tags from the United States Department of Agriculture, indicating animals shown in the video originated in the United States.
"Every day while Congress delays, 'killer buyers' are transporting American horses to Canada and Mexico, and there the animals are meeting an awful demise, often after a painful and harrowing journey," said Wayne Pacelle, The HSUS' president and CEO. "This new investigation affirms again that there is unmistakable cruelty in this industry and it will only end when the Congress passes the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act."
The footage is consistent with similar footage obtained by The HSUS of horses cruelly butchered in foreign-owned plants on U.S. soil as well as that of horse slaughter in Mexico. One theme runs through every investigation – U.S. horses are generally not raised for food and where this trade occurs, there is inherent abuse.
Horse slaughter is not a form of humane euthanasia — something The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition's video clearly shows. Horses are trusting, majestic creatures, and extreme flight animals. They fight or try to flee, and they suffer in these slaughter houses. Approximately 100,000 U.S. horses are purchased by "kill buyers" at auctions across the United States, who frequently outbid good horse owners to secure the fattest, healthiest horses, and are then transported cross-country often with no food, water or rest to slaughter plants in Canada and Mexico, where they are butchered. Despite Canada's regulations and inspection standards for plants that process horses, this investigation shows how ineffective they are at preventing suffering.
Nicholas H. Dodman, D.V.M., one of the world's most noted and celebrated veterinary behaviorists, a founding member of Veterinarians for Equine Welfare, and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine professor, reviewed the videos for The HSUS and echoed the same sentiment: "Noise, blood and suffering is what you get at the Bouvry equine slaughter plant: Horses kicking after they have been shot, sinking down and rising up; sometimes periods of struggling or paddling before a second or third shot has to be administered. This atrocity goes against all veterinary guidelines for humane euthanasia. Terror and suffering is the rule at this equine house of horrors...and all in the name of the gourmet meat market."
The HSUS joins CHDC and hundreds of other horse industry and animal welfare groups in calling for the immediate passage of H.R. 503/S. 727 to prevent our horses from the cruelty of horse slaughter for human consumption. This legislation, authored by Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Dan Burton, R-Ind., and Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and John Ensign, R-Nev., has 181 House cosponsors and 29 Senate cosponsors.
-30-
1 comment:
IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO SUBJECT HORSES TO THIS FOR A MOMENT LONGER, WE NEED IMMEDIATE PROTECTION AND STOP OF HORSES BEING SENT TO OTHER COUNTRIES TO BE HORRIFICALLY TORTURED AND TO PASS HR 503/ HR 305 and S 727 immediately to protect horses from this horror. YES NOW - NOT ONE MORE HORSE TORTURED - ALSO WE ARE HORSE LOVERS AND WE ALL ARE COMMITTED TO PROTECT HORSES AND WE VOTE.
URGENT PLEASE PROTECT ALL AMERICAS HORSES - COSPONSER & PASS HR 503/HR 305 & S727
Horse slaughter is brutal inhumane , a horror, it is not a nice service for people to humanly put to sleep a horse, - it is a cruel brutal predatory industry that steal horses, tricks people in getting there horses , robo breeds, deviously makes up lies such as abandoned horses and unwanted horses to legislatures to get them to repeal or pass laws that would allow them to again exploit and brutalize horses. listen to former Mayor Paula Bacon - about the horror in her town Kaufman Texas here:
http://wflendangeredstreamlive.org/savingamericashorses.html
The FOIA -(freedom of information act )shows horses bound for slaughter in the U.S. endured shockingly cruel treatment. Photographs documented horses with legs ripped off, eyeballs hanging on their cheeks and other severe injuries. report found horses were slaughtered while conscious, which are considered significant violations of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.Executive Director of Animals’ Angels, a Maryland based animal welfare organization, said, “We are asking the GAO to thoroughly examine the ineffectiveness of laws in preventing documented cruelty and inhumane practices. It seems clear from the USDA FOIA, earlier GAO reports, ours and others’ investigations, that horse slaughter is a predatory business whose economics require cruel and inhumane practices. It is definitely not, as horse slaughter advocates would have the public believe, a service motivated by altruistic concerns or humane practices.”Horses are slaughtered for consumption overseas, primarily in parts of Europe and Asia. A USDA study shows that 92% of the American horses at slaughter are young, healthy and without behavioral problems, refuting claims that horse slaughter provides a service in disposing of horses that are old, lame, sick or crazy.Meadows said, “Irrefutable evidence of brutality is already quite plentiful, unfortunately. We believe the GAO’s report will be the definitive wake up call to the new USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and the Obama administration to push for an immediate ban on CRUEL-COWARDLY-BRUTAL HORSE SLAUGHTER BY GREEDY PREDATORY INTERESTS WHO PRETEND THEY CARE FOR HORSES -THEY DO NOT . In face pro-slaughterers have abandoned telling the truth all together as the facts are not acceptable to any one but them. Pro-slaughterer are bold faced lying about abandoned horses all over the place - this is not true - it is in fact very rare- the economy is bad but reputable groups will help, pro-slaughterer's are the main ones who are rob breeding and then want to throw away their excess. this DOES NOT JUSTIFY HORSES HAVING TO ENDURE HORRIFIC ABUSE THAT ALL SLAUGHTER IS, rob breeding and irresponsible breeding and ownership
Post a Comment