Running Horse

Posted in Antiques on 10/13/2009 12:45 am by admin

31HUGE Chinese Regius Collection Bronze Lucky Auspicious Two Run war horse Pair
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US $5,800.00

30 INCH Chinese Regius collection Bronze Lucky Auspicious Two Run war horse Pair
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US $5,620.00

original 30 bronze art sculpture carvings a run horse statue
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US $4,000.00

75cm75cm Battle Steed Horse Running emblazonry Exquisite Antique Statues
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US $1,199.00

RARE CARVED CHINESE HARD STONE RUNNING HORSE 18 19TH C
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US $1,005.82

36Height HUGE China Hand Made statue Cast Bronze Flying Run Lucky Horse Statue
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US $954.00

Are there any still running horse slaughter houses in the US?

Just wondering if there were any horse slaughter houses still up and running.

I hate the idea of slaughtering horses, and was curious if we still did this in America.

Not any more, thanks to the federal ban on horse slaughter which was passed and signed into law by George Bush a little over a year ago now. Nowadays, horses who don't make it on the track, or are too old, ill, or lame to work any more, or which have behavior problems that make them a threat to themselves, other horses, and to people, get put on trucks and sent to Canada, Mexico, or overseas to Europe and the Pacific Rim, where slaughter is still legal. Horse meat, particularly young horse meat, is considered to be a delicacy in large parts of the world- the US is one of the only countries which has a cultural taboo against consuming it.

Out of country shipment has also become a prime means of disposal for all the overbred, inbred, injured, lame, and often insane young ex-racehorses which come off our nation's tracks each year. These horses have no future- and prior to passage of the slaughter ban, they were typically sold for meat and disposed of here at home. This is sad, yes, but it's necessary, or we would quickly become overrun with these poor unfortunate animals which no one wants or has any use for. There simply aren't enough homes or people available to care for them all- and in many parts of the country, there is no food available for them to eat, thanks to the droughts last year which destroyed the hay crop in a lot of states. This has meant that the price of what little hay is available ( and we had to import our hay from the Midwest last year at the farm I live on, because there was nothing available locally) has skyrocketed, which in turn means that a lot of people can't afford to keep their stock. Since slaughter is now illegal, these owners have few options open to them. The market is flooded with excess, usually unsalable animals- and the rendering plants and glue factories can't handle the demand right now. Many people also can't afford the costs associated with having horses euthanized, because such animals must be either buried afterwards, or the carcasses must be cremated and burned. That process isn't CHEAP- I know, because I have been through it myself several times. No euthanized animal is ever turned into dogfood or meat, because the drugs used to do this are POISONOUS to people and animals alike, and in any case, federal laws prohibit this.

So what's an owner to do in this situation? Well, a lot of these horses get put on cattle trucks bound for Canada- and there are others which get put into tiny feedlots somewhere and are left to fend for themselves. It's not a pretty picture- but there is no way to really end this situation, short of having someone make an appeal to the Supreme Court- and that's not likely to happen.

What a sad story.