LettersLetter from Karen to Taos News about Horse Slaughter - 29 May 2013
Letters From All-Creatures.org and The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation

Letter from Karen to Taos News about Horse Slaughter - 29 May 2013

Published on TaosNews.com

The author is a resident of Albuquerque.

Urgent challenge to all people of faith

Regarding the controversy over a horse slaughter plant opening in New Mexico, people are missing the point. There is no such thing as humane horse slaughter. Pro horse slaughter people are dead wrong. Their disgraceful misinformation and absurd falsehoods are effective and designed to mislead. According to veterinarian, Dr. Lester Friedlander, former USDA slaughter inspector, it is an indisputable fact, there is no such thing as humane horse slaughter. The public has been duped into believing this outrageous lie, because it promotes acceptance.

Seventy-five percent of New Mexicans claim they belong to a religious community, over half of them identify with being Catholic. Is it not contrary for people of faith to reconcile and accept extreme brutality and unspeakable violence against one of God’s most magnificent creatures, instead of looking upon the horse with awe and wonder?

People of faith need to speak up, because silence is consent. God never said, I give you dominion over my animals and you can do whatever you want to them with impunity, including the most excruciatingly painful and terror-filled end to their lives. It is not written in any faith doctrines that we have the God given right to inflict such pain and suffering on any living creature, let alone, the horse. This dishonors us as human beings and it dishonors God.

There is a spark of the Divine in every living creature on this earth and there is no justification whatsoever for this most deliberate and hideous cruelty. Compassion and mercy for God’s creatures has not gone out of style. It still defines us as human beings.

I challenge anyone to go on the Internet and watch horses being slaughtered on youtube videos. It is so shocking and obscene that the human spirit can be emotionally damaged by even watching the videos. Indeed, many people recoil in horror and cannot even bear to watch such deliberate and despicable butchery take place. For the record, captive bolt stunning was never meant to kill the horse, only render it unconscious, because they want them alive so when they are hung up and their throats are slit, their own hearts pumps out their blood unto the kill floor. They are often conscious and ware of not only bleeding out, but being disemboweled, and skinned alive. Captive bolts are horrendously and agonizingly painful and ineffective for horses. It takes a long time for a horse to  die. (They have twice the amount of blood as a cow). Any veterinarian who states otherwise has been bought and paid for by the horse slaughter industry villains.

We were not put on this earth to exploit living beings in such a sadistic way just to make a buck. There is no honor in hat. This is just another example of greedy and depraved individuals who think they have the right to inflict such horrific pain on a noble creature just because they can. It is an awesome failure of good people to stay silent on this issue. The most effective thing New Mexicans can do to stop this appalling industry, is to call the governor’s office and politely ask her to stop it by executive order. Horse slaughter in our state will trnish our reputation and be another black eye for New Mexico. Instead of the land of enchantment, we will be known as the killing fields of New Mexico.

Powerful and highly effective ways to deal with horse overpopulation from horses dumped here by other states, must be established. Many are already in place; stiff fines for dumping and over-breeding, responsible horse ownership by ID chips like dogs and cats have, on all horses, fees required for every horse in every race for an end-of-life care fund for horses, gelding programs, aggressive use of the inexpensive contraceptive PZP, (which is not allowed in New Mexico for some reason), euthanasia and rendering funding programs, food and veterinary funding programs, really effective adoption programs, wild horse therapy horse training programs by prison inmates like they have in Canon City, Colorado, to name a few, instead of continuing to blame the Indians and poor people for overpopulation.

If we still believe there is something sacred and holy regarding stewardship of God’s animals then we must speak out with our fierce conviction against a reprehensible industry that maligns, disparages, and ridicules that belief. If not, we have lost all common decency.


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