Kill pen horses

[Egapal]

I don't see why it is ridiculous for the same reason that I don't see why the taboo against feeding your pet poodle Fido to your snake is ridiculous.

Feeding Fido to your snake is taboo because there is no precedent for doing so and other than that there is nothing wrong with it, presuming your snake is large enough to quickly dispatch Fido. There is a long standing precedent for turning horses into food, human or pet food. Horse meat is actually pretty good for you, better than beef.

I am fine with the death of anything. I am not fine with inhumane killing of anything. And I am not fine with animal abuse.

A slaughter house does not necessarily mean cruel. I don't think anyone would argue that regulations should be in place to keep the slaughter houses as humane as possible.

Sure, farm a horse for dog food then. Or farm a dog for snake food. But, it rankles the sensibilities to ask a dog or a horse to serve his human master for the length of his lifetime then feed that same dog/horse off when it dies.

It rankles your senses. Many cultures including ours not so long ago had no problem with an animal serving its human masters for a lifetime then being used for food. Milk cows, oxen, sheep, chickens and yes horses all can have long lives of service only to end up as food. The fact that dogs typically don't as you already stated is a cultural thing. Many societies don't have a problem with dogs being used for meat and they are not less civilized for that practice. To say they are is to be ethnocentric.

We, snake keepers all feel that sensibility when we get attached to our feeder rats. I didn't make the rules - American culture did.

Whose point are you making? My breeder rodents get cared for as if they were pets then fed to my snakes. I have no problem with that. I would likewise have no problem taking in someone else's pet rodent (assume it was healthy and well cared for) and feeding it to my snakes. The fact that I feel something for my animals is part of keeping them. It does not mean that I should cremate them when they die of natural causes.

And, in case you don't know, I was paraphrasing Mahatma Ghandi's quote. The actual quote is:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man"

Great, we all agree, who am I to argue with Ghandi. Slaughter houses are not necessarily cruel. I would certainly agree that animals who serve as food should be treated with dignity and respect as all living things should be. I eat local organically raised animals, and the few horses that have gone to slaughter went to a facility that we had thoroughly vetted.

Yeah, it would be awesome if you can discuss these points after you get off your high horse - pun intended. Throwing insults serve nothing but to make you sound idiotic.

It would be awesome if more people could put pointless cultural taboo's aside and go back to a time when we didn't waste so much. There was a time not to long ago when it would have been taboo to let an animals body go to waste. Are there issues surrounding horse slaughter? Sure. As for sounding idiotic. The American Quarter Horse Association was against the closing of slaughter houses on the grounds that it would do more harm than good. Do you really think we should ignore the AQHA's well thought out position and accept yours.

[anatess]

Feeding Fido to your snake is taboo because there is no precedent for doing so and other than that there is nothing wrong with it, presuming your snake is large enough to quickly dispatch Fido. There is a long standing precedent for turning horses into food, human or pet food. Horse meat is actually pretty good for you, better than beef.

I don't understand what you mean by "no precedent". In the long history of America, there was a time when dog was food. In some areas of the Philippines, dog is still food.

I'm not arguing whether horses should be food or not. I'm not even arguing whether horses should be food or not. I am merely stating (and if you re-read my first post on the matter, you will see me state it clearly) that I UNDERSTAND the culture. It is not my culture. I'm Filipino, not American. But, I understand how the American culture of not eating Fido came to be. And I agree with that culture.

I didn't say - at any time - you should agree with it too. But, it is YOUR culture.

A slaughter house does not necessarily mean cruel. I don't think anyone would argue that regulations should be in place to keep the slaughter houses as humane as possible.

I never said it did.

It rankles your senses. Many cultures including ours not so long ago had no problem with an animal serving its human masters for a lifetime then being used for food. Milk cows, oxen, sheep, chickens and yes horses all can have long lives of service only to end up as food. The fact that dogs typically don't as you already stated is a cultural thing. Many societies don't have a problem with dogs being used for meat and they are not less civilized for that practice. To say they are is to be ethnocentric.

Many cultures including yours not so long ago had no problem hanging a man in the center square. One can argue that it did not mean they were less civilized for that practice.

So, if you read my first post again, you will see that I did not say Filipinos are less civilized for that practice. I said Americans (remember, I'm Filipino) look at Filipinos as uncivilized for that practice and I can agree with it if you measure civility by the way a society treats their pets (which, is not my quote either).

Whose point are you making? My breeder rodents get cared for as if they were pets then fed to my snakes. I have no problem with that. I would likewise have no problem taking in someone else's pet rodent (assume it was healthy and well cared for) and feeding it to my snakes. The fact that I feel something for my animals is part of keeping them. It does not mean that I should cremate them when they die of natural causes.

Sure, that's your sentiment. It's not the general consensus in the United States of America. And uhm, did I mention I'm Filipino?

You have rats in your house because you raise them to feed your snake. Nothing wrong with that. But according to American culture, pet rat Stanley, do not need to be fed to the snake. Hey, don't look at me. I'm Filipino.

But, yes, I wouldn't feed my pet hamster to my snake. He gets a burial in my backyard right next to the old dog complete with flowers. That's just how I roll. No, I didn't waste the poor hamster's life. He served me well.

Great, we all agree, who am I to argue with Ghandi. Slaughter houses are not necessarily cruel.

I never said they were.

I would certainly agree that animals who serve as food should be treated with dignity and respect as all living things should be. I eat local organically raised animals, and the few horses that have gone to slaughter went to a facility that we had thoroughly vetted.

Yeay, we agree.

It would be awesome if more people could put pointless cultural taboo's aside and go back to a time when we didn't waste so much. There was a time not to long ago when it would have been taboo to let an animals body go to waste. Are there issues surrounding horse slaughter? Sure. As for sounding idiotic. The American Quarter Horse Association was against the closing of slaughter houses on the grounds that it would do more harm than good. Do you really think we should ignore the AQHA's well thought out position and accept yours.

Again... re-read my post. I never said to close slaughter houses. All I said was that pet horses, like pet dogs, don't need to be eaten. So, rename slaughter houses into kill shelters and you're good to go.

And about an animal going to waste - if you hunt deer and not eat it, then that's a waste. Fido can be buried/cremated like grandma because, you know, we just don't eat grandma regardless of how yummy she is. And yes, grandma is human while Fido is not. I see the difference. But, we're all one happy family in this thing called the Animal Kingdom.

[Kymberli]

So upsetting to know such beautiful animals aren't cared for. I have an Egyptian Arabian and a Tennessee Walker, myself. I wish I could rescue others, but money is too tight.

[Egapal]

Ok I get it your Filipino. So let me change the tone of my objection. You are making some pretty big generelazions which I guess I should excuse because you are Filipino. Most people who hunt in the USA eat what they kill if the meat of the animal is palatable. In short, we eat the dear we kill for the most part. Sure some Americans look down on cultures that eat dogs and or horses. As I said those people would be considered ethnocentric (not a great quality to be saddled with). The United States of America is a huge melting pot. We have cultures from all over the world all side by side. There are good things and bad things about all cultures. I am going to go out on a limb and say hanging a man in town square is an uncivilized thing to do. I can site lots of reasons for this. Eating horses, dogs, and feeding rats to snakes are not uncivilized and I can site reasons for that. The fact that some people thing that it is uncivilized does not make it so. You have to look at the person making the claim. That being said you don't know a whole lot about horses, the horse industry in the United States and how its all affected by slaughter houses. So it all comes down to the fact that you don't think a horse who has served its keeper should be slaughtered for food. Well I disagree and as a person who has cared for horses in the united states I think I have a right to chime in on the topic. As for Grandma, she is not going to taste all that great. She is old and probably tough. I don't know about your Grandma but my Grandma donated her body to medical science when she died. I believe that the use of her body was far better used by a medical school that trained future doctors than as food. My Grandfather was part Native American and when he died he wanted nothing more than to be put in a tree stand where the forest could come and take what it wanted of him. Although he was not of the Sioux tribe he studied the customs of many tribes and always admired their funeral customs. Unfortunately my Mother and Aunts and Uncles decided to go with a more traditional burial as his wishes were against the law.

I don't understand what you mean by "no precedent". In the long history of America, there was a time when dog was food. In some areas of the Philippines, dog is still food.

I'm not arguing whether horses should be food or not. I'm not even arguing whether horses should be food or not. I am merely stating (and if you re-read my first post on the matter, you will see me state it clearly) that I UNDERSTAND the culture. It is not my culture. I'm Filipino, not American. But, I understand how the American culture of not eating Fido came to be. And I agree with that culture.

I didn't say - at any time - you should agree with it too. But, it is YOUR culture.



I never said it did.



Many cultures including yours not so long ago had no problem hanging a man in the center square. One can argue that it did not mean they were less civilized for that practice.

So, if you read my first post again, you will see that I did not say Filipinos are less civilized for that practice. I said Americans (remember, I'm Filipino) look at Filipinos as uncivilized for that practice and I can agree with it if you measure civility by the way a society treats their pets (which, is not my quote either).



Sure, that's your sentiment. It's not the general consensus in the United States of America. And uhm, did I mention I'm Filipino?

You have rats in your house because you raise them to feed your snake. Nothing wrong with that. But according to American culture, pet rat Stanley, do not need to be fed to the snake. Hey, don't look at me. I'm Filipino.

But, yes, I wouldn't feed my pet hamster to my snake. He gets a burial in my backyard right next to the old dog complete with flowers. That's just how I roll. No, I didn't waste the poor hamster's life. He served me well.



I never said they were.



Yeay, we agree.




Again... re-read my post. I never said to close slaughter houses. All I said was that pet horses, like pet dogs, don't need to be eaten. So, rename slaughter houses into kill shelters and you're good to go.

And about an animal going to waste - if you hunt deer and not eat it, then that's a waste. Fido can be buried/cremated like grandma because, you know, we just don't eat grandma regardless of how yummy she is. And yes, grandma is human while Fido is not. I see the difference. But, we're all one happy family in this thing called the Animal Kingdom.