Steely Dan Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Linkage Hidden Horses Few casual horse racing fans are aware that many former racing horses are slaughtered for profit. When a thoroughbred race horse reaches the end of its career or is simply no longer profitable on the track, it is often taken directly to auction and sold for meat. Because horse slaughter is no longer practiced in this country, these thoroughbreds are now being shipped by "killer buyers" to slaughterhouses abroad, which are frequently less regulated and less humane than former U.S. slaughterhouses. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg, who recently won the 2008 Sports Emmy® for Outstanding Sports Journalism for his 2007 REAL SPORTS story on the NFL concussion crisis, traces the disturbing journey many of these young and healthy horses take from the track, to auctions, to slaughterhouses, and finally to the plates of European and Japanese diners who pay top dollar for the delicacy. Ok, we're supposed to get all teary eyed over these horses while we munch on pigs and cows and chickens and turkeys? I love all of the meats I just listed. I've never had horse, don't know if I want to, but why are people getting so upset about this? Why do horses demand greater treatment? Is it just because they're horses? It's like animal rights activists who cry and protest against bunnies, dogs, cats and monkeys being used for testing. I don't recall anyone protesting rat experimentation. I can understand if you're a vegetarian or a vegan being upset about these things but if you eat meat why do you get upset about horses? More about the show: One woman raises money to buy these horses and put them out to pasture. That's great! If you can do that for every horse even better but don't begrudge someone making money off the sale of a no longer profitable animal. I bet some of the chickens I've slathered in hot sauce were great egg layers at one time. End of rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 I'm kind of at a loss to wonder why its such a big deal. Like you said, we eat cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dib Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Horse, the other white meat. During WW2 it was not unusual to find horse meat at butcher shops, and certainly in the field horses were the first to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Horse, the other white meat. During WW2 it was not unusual to find horse meat at butcher shops, and certainly in the field horses were the first to go. Yup, my Dad is a WWII kid, he remembers eating horse meat. But he was dirt poor as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 My daughter loves horses and wants to at least minor in equestrian studies in college. In Virginia to graduate, 11th graders have to write a very detailed research paper, basically doing all kind of reserach on a subject and writing the results up. Mine daughter basically wrote hers on the abuse of horses. She's all for horse racing, and realizes that is a part of the business, but she really went into a lot of these types of abuses that occur and a lot are against failed or old thoroughbreds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 We treat some animals differently than other animals as a society. That's just the way it is. People can get upset about horses and dogs being slaughtered, but do not get upset about pigs and cattle. I wouldn't get too upset by this "hypocrisy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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