Is Salon.com Soft on Horse Slaughter?

Bonnie - You Are Handing Out Dangerous Advice!

Horse meat IS tainted with many drugs that are NOT permitted in food animals. In the US, horses are not classified as food animals, so there is NO USDA oversight - no nothing.

If you don't believe this you are woefully uninformed and dangerous. Allow me to quote: In an interview with EWA, Henry Skjerven, a former director of the Natural Valley Farms slaughter operation in Saskatchewan, Canada, said: "Unfortunately, North America, US and Canada, were never geared for raising horses for food consumption. The system as it stood when we were killing horses was in no way, shape or form, safe, in my opinion."

Skjerven went on to say, "We did not know where those horses were coming from, what might be in them or what they were treated with. I was always in fear - I think that it was very valid - that we were going to send something across there [to the EU] and we were simply going to get our doors locked after we had some kind of issue with the product." http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1006

Also check here: http://www.flyingfilly.com/drugs_in_horsemeat.htm

This is real, check with the FDA, or the European Union if that's what it takes to convince you. Frankly, I'm appalled at your handing out such uninformed and irresponsible advice.

EU & Canada cracking down on drugged US horses

Of course Salon was soft on horse slaughter. In China, the executives responsible for melamine contamination in exported grains were beheaded by the Chinese government. While we don't do that in this country, we still have a moral responsibility not to poison our customers overseas.

Breaking: Canada and the EU are cracking down on drugged US horses going into the food supply. Sadly, just like the Chinese melamine scam, the people responsible for contaminating the food supply knew all along.

As of next April, Canada is imposing a 180-day quarantine on undocumented horses coming from the US. This may well make the US horse killing industry crash. The EU has a passport system tracking every drug in horses raised for the food supply. They are very concerned about the lack of any records on US horses, and they are well aware how many are medicated - including EPOs, hormones and things like cobra venom in race horses.

For some drugs used regularly in the US, like bute, wormers and fertility drugs (even minute doses of those can cause miscarriage in women) there is no legal use in food animals.

Too bad the US Farm Bureau kept pushing for horse slaughter, knowing about the drugs all along. Makes them look, well, greedy. Bernie Madoff driving a double deck trailer.

With these strict new rules we take one giant leap into the post-slaughter era in the US. Zero tolerance for drugs is the tipping point that will put an end to US horse slaughter, way before the last puppy mill style breeders admit that it's not acceptable to cut up healthy, young companion animals with a knife while many are awake and sensitive to pain.

Instead of arguing for an outdated practice that its customers no longer trust, that is making people sick, we need to get busy planning for the post-horse-slaughter era with responsible breeding practices, retraining and rehoming.

The game is changed. Hallelujia.

HORSE SLAUGHTER

Dear Bonnie,

Do you understand the abuse the anti slaughter movement has inflicted on the horse population in the US? Horses now are shipped 1000's of miles instead of 100's to be slaughtered, the value has decreased by two thirds of the average horse, people are now buying horses that have no idea how to care for them, and there are many many horses suffering and starving because owners have no outlet for the unwanted animal. Yes, I called a horse a animal. Not a pet, not a friend or person. The anti slaughter bill has tortured the horse's life. I own many horses and would gladly see them sent to slaughter than starve, or suffer from and incurable illness. So from all the tortured, suffering horses out there, THANKS ALOT!!!

To LA

The box warning on the side of the Ivermectin box is NOT a half-truth. This is the WHOLE truth. The company did not perform the safety studies. Therefore, you are NOT allowed to sell horses to slaughter if they were given Ivermectin. Even a pro-slaughter person on another board agreed with my assessment of this box warning.

There is NO withdrawal period for bute. Any horse given bute must NEVER enter the human food chain. There is no oversight to prevent US horses given this dangerous drug from entering the human food chain.

The FDA found a lot of bute at farms when they went on site visits. They also found bute residue in dairy cows sent to slaughter for human consumption. This prompted the FDA to ban bute in dairy cows that are 20 months and older if the owner intends to send these cows to slaughter.

Bute is a dangerous drug. Bute has idiosyncratic effects. The drug is banned in Europe and the US and only allowed to be given to horses and dogs in the US. Bute is also allowed to be given to horses in the UK. Again, this is one reason the UK has a horse passport system, to prevent ANY horse that was given banned drugs from entering the human food chain. The microchip system which should be implemented next month will add another layer of protection against this drug and other banned drugs to be given to horses sent to slaughter for human consumption.

Your irrational reasoning about bute should be a lesson for everyone. There is no denying the facts and the FDA order regarding phenylbutazone. Yet, there are many horse owners who disregard the AVMA response and the Federal Government agency.

To LA

Thank you for the enlightening pro-slaughter rhetoric. One final comment: The FDA bans the use of bute in any horse sent to slaughter for human consumption. There is no withdrawal period for bute. Bute is NOT allowed to be given to any horse sent to slaughter for human consumption. Thank you for disclosing that this means nothing to people like you who obviously send horses to slaughter regardless of what drugs are given to them. Just read the words from the AVMA that you cited above. Bute is not allowed in horses sent to slaughter for human consumption. Now, I have to go because I have a farm to run too.

It seems very clear that you do not take orders by a Federal Agency seriously.

Pardon Me, Dr.,

This is part of an email I received from a very reliable source. The fact that the drug manufacturers put on the med labels "Not for use in animals intended for food" is a half truth. the anti slaughter advocates have used this and many other such loopholes to lead the unwary public astray. It is apparent to me that you are one such victim. Go to the United Organizations of the Horse, and amillionhorses.com and read up on whats REALLY happening since the loss of domestic slaughter- I dont have time for this anymore, I have a farm to run.

"On the http://www.UnitedOrgsoftheHorse.org website under the "Research" page you will find all of the reports from Alberta and the AVMA that have surfaced so far. Also, and probably the most definitive is a EU report of a mission to the Mexican processing plants to do just that--determine the level of drug residues in horse meat.

As for bute, it leaves the system very quickly. Generally, for purposes of competition, and the drug testing that they do on horses for that, you can count on it being undetectable in 3 days, and always by 7 days, even when the horse has been on bute for a long time. As I understand it these tests are very precise and detect very minute amounts.

The crap about drug tainted meat is just that, crap. Most horses that get sent to processing are not the sort who get constant medication, anyway. All horses that leave the United States for the purpose of processing go to EU inspected plants, and the EU has stringent controls for holding periods, and testing during processing (as evidenced by the Mexican report) that guarrantees no drug residues in meat.

Not to mention the main health concern with butazoldin is in regards to milk in cows, anyway, not many people I know drink mare's milk."

Licensing fee for breeding

Either the Federal Government of every state government should institute a licensing fee for any horse owner who wants to breed their horses. Fees are then used for taking care of the horses their owners get tired of or feel they no longer have a useful purpose. Horses did not create the overbreeding. Humans overbreed their horses and made this mess. Horses should not be subjected to an inhumane death because of fiscally irresponsible horse owners.

To LA

I would still like to know the method for the "stop test" you indicate above. How does this test compare with ELISA/mass spectrometry method in the determination of phenylbutazone? If you don't know, you should ask. Ask those who do the test to show you a comparison of bute levels using the ELISA/mass spect method to the stop test method. Also, ask them what part of the horse carcass they use to determine bute using the stop test method.

To LA

Comment: "Since they are an expensive animal to keep, it is not unreasonable for an owner to recoup some of the investment from an animal who has become useless for whatever the reason."

Response: This is poor business thinking. Horses cost about $1500.00 a year for food and proper care. If you sell this horse at three years of age, it will cost you about $4,500. Even when you were getting $500.00 for a horse you sell to the kill buyer, this still means you lose $4,000. If you think this is a good "recoup" of your investment, you are sadly mistaken and a poor business person. Too bad your horses have to suffer the consequences.Here is another way to work the numbers:

According to a study done for the American Horse Council, American horses generate about $141 Billion dollars a year in direct and indirect revenue through thousands of events like the Kentucky Derby. The slaughter industry pays about $40 Million a year to ship these athletes, companions and entertainers to an inhumane end. Put another way, after all they do for us; we sell our horses to slaughter for just 3 cents of every $100 they earn.

OVERBREEDING AND HORSE SLAUGHTER

Direct quote from Manny the horse killer:

"I provide a service. People are revolted when I tell them I process horses for a living, but without me there would be thousands of starving horses living on our streets. I exploit alcohol. I exploit Burger King. But with horses I provide a service. I mop up. I clean up the mess left by morons who just have to breed their mare. A few years later no one wants the baby anymore, so I come in to mop up. How come you never write about those morons who just have to breed their mare? Every spring I send dozens of mares and new foals to the meat plant. And every spring there are idiots breeding more babies. All of your do right for horses cause they built America is crap. The only way to do right for horses is to stop breeding them."

To LA

Sorry but you have overlooked a salient reason why the horse market has taken a downturn: OVERBREEDING. A free market does not have a bottom. You of all people should know this. To allow any horse owner to send their culls to slaughter is not the mark of a capitalistic economy.

Great words from the AVMA but you only cite the 2005 red book. Horse carcasses were under FSIS in 2006 but none of the horse carcasses were specifically tested for phenylbutazone by ELISA/mass spectrometry. Other animal carcasses were specifically tested for bute but not horse carcasses.

Comment: "Again, do you really think that if there was a danger issue with the meat, that we, would export it or THEY would accept the shipment?"

Response: Yes. Do you give your horses ivermectin? And, do you send those horses to slaughter for human consumption? If you do, you are in violation of the manufacturer's instructions on the side of the box. The box warning states that the drug is not to be given to horses sent to slaughter for human consumption. And, do you know why the manufacturer did not do the safety studies for ivermectin? If you read the remarks from the company, they state it is because horses are not food-producing animals.

On a popular website (The Horse), owners were asked what drug they give to their horses for pain/inflammation. The overwhelming response (about 80%) said they use bute. Over 1000 people responded. This is because bute is the cheapest drug on the market for this purpose.

If you are still reading, Lights on Broadway was pulled off the slaughter truck by a horse trainer last year (2008). He was given bute 6 weeks prior to being bought for slaughter for human consumption. If the trainer didn't pull him off the slaughter truck, the tainted meat would have been eaten by our fellow humans overseas. This is just one example. I am sure you know many horse owners who give their horses bute.

Finally, if you identify yourself, I will be more than happy to refer to you as Dr., Mr., Ms. or Miss. Please give me the same respect by referring to me as Dr. Marini. Thank you.

PS: There is more than one misleading/fallacious statement in the document you cite above. And, you are still wrong about a withdrawal period. There is NO withdrawal period for phenylbutazone. Drugs that are banned in horses sent to slaughter for human consumption are a BIG problem. This is why the UK instituted the horse passport system, to make sure NO horse given banned substances like bute enters the human food chain. All drugs must be prescribed by vets and written in the horse passport by the vet. This, along with the microchip system, will markedly reduce the possibility that any horse given banned drugs is not sent to slaughter for human consumption.

Finally, do you give your horses bute and send them to slaughter under the guise that horses are subjected to a withdrawal period?