There's a lot of emotion in this thread, and rightfully so.

hmfarms, you have only participated in this thread and I am wondering if you joined to only debate within it. You will find that this site is full of people who truly care about animals of all kinds, since most of us here deal with some of society's most scorned creatures (reptiles, invertebrates, etc).

My family has been in the horse business for decades. We have bred as well as rescued horses and we all have a very strong passion for them. Something does need to be done to help stop cruelty to ANY animals, whether they are dogs, cats, snakes, horses, cows...whatever. Animal cruelty of any sort is not right.

Does that mean that all slaughterhouses of any sort should be shut down? No. You will have a hard time convincing people to stop eating meat. Slaughterhouses, along with any industry associated with food animals, should be put under closer scrutiny to ensure that the animals have minimal suffering prior to their deaths.

I have been to slaughterhouses, I have also been to feed lots, chicken houses, and other sorts of processing facilities. The conditions that some of these animals are raised and kept in are equally, if not more disgusting than their relatively swift departure at the slaughterhouse.

Yes, we need stronger laws towards animal cruelty of all sorts. Yes, we need more scrutiny towards slaughterhouses and the facilities associated with them.