Jack in the Box™ tacos are highly suspect.
Posted on 07/25/2006 6:12:29 PM PDT by SJackson
WASHINGTON - The head of a processing plant that slaughters horses for overseas consumption defended his industry in an emotion-packed congressional hearing Tuesday and urged lawmakers to reject legislation that would outlaw the practice.
But proponents of the bill assailed the $60 million-a-year horse-slaughter industry - composed of two plants in Texas and one in Illinois - as inhumane and socially deplorable, citing the death of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand in an overseas slaughterhouse several years ago.
"Hopefully it will not take the slaughter of another Derby winner to put the spotlight on this important issue and shut down these killing factories once and for all," Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, a leader of the bill's backers, told members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
The three foreign-owned plants slaughtered more than 90,000 horses in 2005, largely for distribution to parts of Europe and Japan, where horse meat is considered a delicacy. The meat, which is lean and high in protein, is also sold to zoos.
Dick Koehler, vice president of the Dutch-owned Beltex Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas, testified as a representative of the horse processing industry, which he described as a 100-year-old U.S. enterprise that would be eliminated if the bill passes.
In making his first appearance at a congressional hearing, Koehler told lawmakers that he was using the forum to counter "a cruel, misguided misinformation campaign against our industry that has reached mammoth proportions."
The plants, he said, provide a needed outlet for the disposal of low-value, unwanted horses that, though otherwise healthy, may suffer from infirmities or behavioral problems or prove to be "mean or dangerous." Dismantling the industry, he said, would result in potential abuse or starvation of up to 90,000 horses a year.
Beltex, which has approximately 100 employees, has been in operation in Fort Worth since 1976. The other companies are Dallas Crown Inc. in Kaufman, Texas, and Cavel International Inc. in DeKalb, Ill. Total employment in all three plants is just over 200.
Industry supporters said the horses are killed instantly and humanely by a bolt-gun placed to the head under closely monitored federal regulations. But backers of the legislation said the slaughterhouses are unthinkable in a culture that reveres horses as a noble icon of stories, film and sport.
"Everyone knows who Mr. Ed, Secretariat and Silver are," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., whose district includes Saratoga Springs, the oldest thoroughbred racetrack in the nation. "They are American icons that deserve to be treated as such. Would we ever think of slaughtering and serving a bald eagle in this country? The same should be true of horses."
Pickens, chief executive officer of BP Capital in Dallas, called the plants "a dirty little secret that should shame all of us." He also charged that the slaughterhouses are often dumping grounds for stolen horses, which industry officials deny.
The emotionalism driving the issue was evident in the hundreds of standing-room-only spectators who packed the hearing room at the start of the session. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the subcommittee chairman, later moved the hearing to a larger room, noting "all the passionate advocates" on both sides of the debate.
The legislation, which could come to a vote before the full House of Representatives in early September, also has produced hard-to-define coalitions, dividing horse associations, veterinarians, agricultural groups and lawmakers in both parties.
Backers of the bill include the Humane Society of the United States, Churchill Downs Inc., the National Thoroughbred Racing Association as well as other breeding, showing and racing organizations. Opponents include the American Quarter Horse Association, the American Paint Horse Association and horse councils in 10 states, including Texas.
Opponents say the legislation threatens to intrude on private enterprise, while backers contend it's urgently needed to prevent the mistreatment of animals.
I'm not a horse person, but I'd be up in arms if these were dogs. To those who consider horse a delicacy, hope you don't get too sick. Dog eaters I won't address.
Thanx for posting! I love horses and animals but when they become infirmed or untrainable what is left? Horses are costly to keep when they are healthy, much less ill or lame. And other horses are just stupidly bred.
This industry gives owners another outlet that might recoup some medical or training expenses.
Horse puckey ping :)
People starve all over the world and these bloviating blowholes need more face time on CSPAN.
Jack in the Box™ tacos are highly suspect.
Is this a joke? Are horses more important than cows or chickens? What about dogs? I wouldn't eat horse myself, but if somebody puts it on their dinner table, what buisness of mine is it?
"The three foreign-owned plants slaughtered more than 90,000 horses in 2005"
I didn't see a resolution on what to do with the nearly 100,000 horses that are slaughtered per year.
citing the death of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand in an overseas slaughterhouse several years ago.
Say what? What jackass sold a Kentucky Derby winner to a slaughter house? After winning a Kentucky Derby you'd think he would be entitled to some oats and hay until he kicked off.
He was sold to Japan, I believe, to be at stud. didn't work out for some reason so they slaughtered him.
Let me be the first: I hear Ferdinand is good eatin'.
I actually don't get this. Why is beef legally okay, but not horsemeat? Not that I know what horsemeat is like, but what business is it of the state if someone slaughters horses for meat? Heck, it's just an animal.
Follow the money. What's in it for those who want to stop processing horses for food?
Has a bad smell to it, all around. Horse meat has been illegal for US consumers since the late seventies though it's a delicacy in some places (from the article) and possibly a staple in others.
I've had it. Wouldn't go out of my way for it, but it's a lean protein...
I ate horse jerky once, the best jerky I ever had!!!
PS, this is 'basashi' or 'sakuraniku' (horse meat) in Japan...
No. You can't sell horse for human consumption in the US, they're exported. Myself, I don't much like horses, but I don't have a problem with barring their slaughter if it offends my neighbors. I'd be opposed to slaughtering dogs.
I used to have a pet cow, would have never thought about killing her and eating the meat, but, she was a pet. Never name anything you might have to eat later.
Freakin' Japanese. That's probably where the retired Sumo wrestlers who aren't good studs wind up. Some freakin' sushi plant somewhere.
Learned that with chickens.
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