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Since 2007 the United States has said no to horse slaughter.
Now it's estimated that there are more than 100-thousand unwanted horses in the US.
What happens to those animals?North Dakota is looking for a solution.
But is horse slaughter the answer? Ag. Reporter Sarah Gustin visits with those both for and aganist the humane harvest of horses.
(Sarah Gustin / KX News) The last horse slaughter facility in this country closed its doors in 2007. John Mittleider with the North Dakota Department of Commerce says there is no law saying you can't process horses
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Last Updated on Thursday, 05 May 2011 20:08 |
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By now everyone is familiar with the subject of horses being neglected or starved, along with the claims from those in agricultural circles that slaughter is "necessary" to prevent horse neglect and that it is a way to dispose of unwanted horses.
I've been hearing that litany from all of the agricultural publications and blogs, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), various state Farm Bureaus and from a group of clueless politicians including Illinois' Rep. Jim Sacia, Sue Wallis of Wyoming and former Texas congressman and paid slaughter lobbyist, Charles Stenholm.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 April 2010 20:07 |
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Veterinarian Gerald Kitto has euthanized more horses this past year than ever before.
As the saying goes, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.
Kitto, of McClusky, says better he puts a horse down with a .357 Magnum than someone who can't correctly locate a fist-sized brain in a large head mass.
"How many cowboys know that, know exactly where to shoot them?" Kitto asks.
This is not a rhetorical question. It's one that gets precisely to the hot-button topic of whether North Dakota or other states should operate horse slaughter facilities.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 April 2010 20:07 |
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If it is built, a North Dakota horse slaughter plant could also benefit equine management and studies programs at Dickinson State University and North Dakota State University, supporters of the proposal say.
Meanwhile, critics of a proposed $50,000 study of the feasibility of building a slaughter plant told the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday the proposal was a waste of taxpayer money.
"I don't believe I should have to pay my tax dollars for a slaughterhouse, so people can unload their horses," said Karen Thunshelle, a Minot horse owner. "It doesn't seem to be a problem for all horse owners."
Ranchers say the number of abandoned horses has risen since the nation's last horse slaughter plants in Texas and Illinois were closed in 2007.
Federal appeals courts upheld state laws that banned the sale of horse meat for human consumption, and blocked the U.S. Agriculture Department from charging fees to provide horse meat inspections.
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