Posted on 05/01/2013 4:31:41 AM PDT by iowamark
The southern New Mexico plant that has been fighting for more than a year for permission to slaughter horses will open soon, unless Congress reinstates a ban on the practice, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Mr. Vilsack said his department was working to make sure the process was handled properly for the opening of what would be the first domestic horse slaughterhouse in six years.
“We are going to do this, and I would imagine that it would be done relatively soon,” he said.
The Valley Meat Company sued the Department of Agriculture last year, asserting that inaction on its application was driven by emotional political debates and that the delays had cost it hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The department reinspected the plant last week.
“It will open unless Congress restores the ban on horse slaughter that they had in place,” Mr. Vilsack said. “If that doesn’t happen, then we are duty bound to do what needs to be done to allow that plant to begin processing.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Thus we have taken only to eating what we consider the choicest meats.
That really only happen in the less hundred years or so.
Hate to break it to you, but horses don’t get fattened up for slaughter. And most horse owners I know support slaughtering horses, because there are too many unwanted horses living in miserable conditions or turned loose.
Right now, horses going to slaughter are trucked to Mexico, where the quality control is...mexican. It would be far better for the horses to be shipped less, and killed more humanely.
Well, it’s about time McDonalds just comes out and...nevermind.
Without local processing plants it only makes it more expensive to put down a horse.
Last horse I put down cost $250. Many people simply go to the auction house and sell their horses for $50-$100 to the meat guys, who drive them across the border where the horse is slaughtered without ANY regulations.
Raising the price of disposal does not help the quality of a horse’s life. It often leads to neglect or even abandonment.
And most of the horses get slaughtered anyway in Mexico or Canada, in very inhumane conditions.
You don’t have to restrict a horses movement for it to get fat. Just put a round bale of hay in front of it and it will stand there all day long eating.
Most breeds get fat very easily.
Deer get a lot more activity than horses. Deer have to search for food, water and shelter, often times over a territory of a square mile or more depending on where their food is in comparison to their water and shelter.
Humans on the other hand confine horses in fences and bring their food and water to them.
Although I am a horse lover, I would like to try horse meat sometime.
Be the first out of the gate, gallop on over to your local McDonald's and saddle up for a thoroughbred entry that's sure to be first in the Winner's Circle!
In the beef industry, the cows are pastured to a certain age at which time they go to market - usually at about the 8 month to 1 year mark. The cows are then sent to the feed lot where they are grain fed for a period of time so as to fatten them up. They are held in small areas and the weight is put on them slowly, so as not to create a fatty meat but more to encourage the marbling that is inherent in their cross breed.
As Americans become more comfortable with eating horses, the same can be expected.
Ask him if they're slaughtered immediately or if they're held in a feed lot.
Odd. I haven’t met any horse owners who reject slaughterhouses in the US.
Why do YOU want horses to be shipped to Mexico in trucks, and killed inhumanely without inspectors there?
Horses will never be raised for slaughter. They are too expensive and fragile compared to cattle, and aren’t bred to gain maximum weight for the least food.
I'm opposed to the BLM rounding up horses to begin with. How much land does Fedzilla have?
Think again. They will become a commodity once eating them goes mainstream.
I'm not. However, we are not discussing BLM mustangs going to slaughter. If you don't understand that, then I doubt you really know squat about horses.
"They will become a commodity once eating them goes mainstream. "
Nope. Not economical. Horses couldn't compete with cattle. Again, if you don't understand that, then you don't know much about horses.
Do you realize a grade horse after weaning can sell for less than a Heifer? Also, horses were a form of personal transportation and then for fun, they were raced. That's not now its own industry, correct? Showing horses isn't its own industry, correct? Polo? <==== not its own industry?
But then again, I know nothing.
Nope. You sound like someone who knows nothing about horses. Sorry.
Diets change....I have eaten horse meat in Italy...sweet is what I remember..its just another protein...and available if we chose to eat it...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.