Post by pdevlieg on Sept 22, 2006 15:49:50 GMT -5
www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2006/2006-09-22-09.asp
Animal Rights Groups Decry Accelerated Horse Slaughter
WASHINGTON, DC, September 22, 2006 (ENS) - In the weeks before the U.S. House of Representatives debated and ultimately approved legislation to block the slaughter of horses for horsemeat, the nation's three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses dramatically increased their butchering of American horses, animal rights advocates said Thursday.
For the weeks ending August 26 and Sept. 2, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), slaughter plants killed more horses than any other week in over a decade, processing 2,456 and 2,520 horses for human consumption, respectively. The latest week's killings represent a 30 percent increase over the 2006 weekly average and the bloodiest week since November 1994, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
Although few Americans consume horsemeat, there are several foreign nations - including France, Italy, Belgium and Japan - where it is popular and considered a ready alternative to beef.
The House approved the horse slaughter ban on Sept. 7 by a vote of 263-146. The bill amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit shipping, possessing, purchasing, selling or donating horses for slaughter for human consumption. The Senate has not set a schedule for considering the legislation.
"These foreign companies see the handwriting on the wall and are operating under a 'kill ' em while you can' mentality now that a ban on horse slaughter has passed the House and is viewed favorably in the Senate where it awaits a vote," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. "We urge the Senate to enact a permanent ban to end the shameless and inhumane slaughter of America's horses for good."
Last year more than 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States and exported for human consumption - thousands more are shipped live to Canada and butchered there for human consumption abroad.
Critics of the proposed ban say it ignores the realities facing farmers and horse owners across the nation, and argue that the slaughter of unwanted horses is a necessary aspect of the horse industry and provides a humane alternative to suffering, abuse or abandonment.
Pacelle's group pointed to the steady stream of live horses imported from Canada as evidence that it is not oversupply in the United States driving the industry, but rather demand for horsemeat abroad. The USDA reported that nearly 3,000 horses have been imported this year from Canada for slaughter in Illinois and Texas.
"Opponents of the ban claim that horse slaughter is humane euthanasia, but this is a perfectly absurd argument," Pacelle said. "The federal government's own data demonstrate that 9 of 10 horses sent to slaughter are healthy animals - putting the lie to the argument that these are old and infirm animals that the slaughterhouses are disposing of."
Animal Rights Groups Decry Accelerated Horse Slaughter
WASHINGTON, DC, September 22, 2006 (ENS) - In the weeks before the U.S. House of Representatives debated and ultimately approved legislation to block the slaughter of horses for horsemeat, the nation's three foreign-owned horse slaughterhouses dramatically increased their butchering of American horses, animal rights advocates said Thursday.
For the weeks ending August 26 and Sept. 2, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), slaughter plants killed more horses than any other week in over a decade, processing 2,456 and 2,520 horses for human consumption, respectively. The latest week's killings represent a 30 percent increase over the 2006 weekly average and the bloodiest week since November 1994, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
Although few Americans consume horsemeat, there are several foreign nations - including France, Italy, Belgium and Japan - where it is popular and considered a ready alternative to beef.
The House approved the horse slaughter ban on Sept. 7 by a vote of 263-146. The bill amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit shipping, possessing, purchasing, selling or donating horses for slaughter for human consumption. The Senate has not set a schedule for considering the legislation.
"These foreign companies see the handwriting on the wall and are operating under a 'kill ' em while you can' mentality now that a ban on horse slaughter has passed the House and is viewed favorably in the Senate where it awaits a vote," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. "We urge the Senate to enact a permanent ban to end the shameless and inhumane slaughter of America's horses for good."
Last year more than 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States and exported for human consumption - thousands more are shipped live to Canada and butchered there for human consumption abroad.
Critics of the proposed ban say it ignores the realities facing farmers and horse owners across the nation, and argue that the slaughter of unwanted horses is a necessary aspect of the horse industry and provides a humane alternative to suffering, abuse or abandonment.
Pacelle's group pointed to the steady stream of live horses imported from Canada as evidence that it is not oversupply in the United States driving the industry, but rather demand for horsemeat abroad. The USDA reported that nearly 3,000 horses have been imported this year from Canada for slaughter in Illinois and Texas.
"Opponents of the ban claim that horse slaughter is humane euthanasia, but this is a perfectly absurd argument," Pacelle said. "The federal government's own data demonstrate that 9 of 10 horses sent to slaughter are healthy animals - putting the lie to the argument that these are old and infirm animals that the slaughterhouses are disposing of."