Groups push to restart horse slaughter in US, Including American Indians

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

July 19, 2009

Several groups are pushing to renew the slaughter of horses in the U.S., possibly starting in Oregon.

Proponents are pushing Congress to introduce a bill to allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume inspecting horse meat for human consumption.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs also are considering building a slaughter and processing facility — possibly for pet food — on their reservation north of Madras.

The project was recommended last spring by a coalition of Northwest tribes.

The success of either idea is far from a done deal, however.

A congressional spokesman says bills that favor the slaughtering of horses face a chilly reception.

And a tribal spokesman says it's too early to say much about a reservation slaughter facility.

Supporters of horse slaughters say it's a way to deal with tens of thousands of unwanted horses. Factors in the glut include uncontrolled breeding, closure of the last U.S. horse-processing plants and an economy that left many owners unable to pay for feed and care.

"We think it is very fair and accurate to say there are probably 100,000 horses that would go to processing today" if a plant were available, said Wyoming state Rep. Sue Wallis, a rancher in favor if reinstating horse slaughtering.

Animal-rights advocates say slaughters are inhumane and repugnant.

"This is a predatory business," said Chris Heyde, spokesman for the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C., who called reports of horse abandonment exaggerated. "It is making a political game out of a serious issue."

Until two years ago, as many as 100,000 horses were killed annually in the U.S. for meat for foreign markets.

A federal court ruling in 2007 closed the nation's last horse-processing plant — Cavel International in DeKalb, Ill. — on the heels of two Texas closures resulting from a state decision to enforce a 1949 ban on horse-meat facilities.

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Bloggers note: Apparently the writer of this article was not informed that American Horses are still going to slaughter in numbers even greater than before the closing of the US plants. Slaughter is still very much an option for horse-owners who want that service, so....so much for that argument...it keeps popping back up however. The pro-slaughters are grasping at straws for excuses to keep horse-slaughter going.

July 224 - UPDATE - Correcting MisInformation about the Confederation of Warm Sprngs Tribe; They ARE NOT for horse-slaughter!

This just out in response to above article;

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Native Americans proved not to be proponents
News Room 12:58 AM 25-Jul-2009 NZT

A prominent equestrian author, R.T. Fitch, has exposed information reported in an Associated Press article as bogus. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon refuted claims made in the article quoting tribal sources saying there are no such plans to build a slaughter plant on any reservation. The story was reported in the online edition of Horseback Magazine.

On July 18th, 2009, an Associated Press story hit the internet quoting sources saying the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, would attempt to reintroduce horse slaughter into the United States. The headline, “Groups Push to Slaughter Horses for Meat Possibly in Oregon” swept across the internet like wildfire.

”Native Americans and others are pushing for the renewed slaughter of horses in the U.S….and processing them into meat,” The AP story said. “...The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are considering building a slaughter and processing facility…on their reservation north of Madras, as recommended last spring by a coalition of Northwest tribes.

The story by Dick Cockle is inaccurate. Several days of data mining and calls to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs revealed information that refutes virtually everything Cockle reported.

“No, we are not making any plans to build a horse slaughter plant on any reservation”, stated Tim Outman, field representative for the Warm Springs Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources.

Putting all cultural and moral conflicts aside, Outman said, “Who would invest $8-10 million into building a facility where there is absolutely no market? Shipping horse meat is against Federal Law. We have no idea what, where or who, is perpetuating this misinformation.”

“This sort of journalism does nothing to further the cause and public relations of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs”, stated Outman.

The AP also misquoted Chris Hyde of Washington’s Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as well, says the DC lobbyist.

“Richard Cockle has again written another poorly researched and unsupported article on horses,” an outraged Hyde told an Oregon news organization. “I spent a great deal of time on the phone with him providing facts and evidence dismissing the misleading claims put forward by individuals more interested in abusing horses than advancing the truth.”

“However, what does he do? Prints rhetoric,” Hyde continued. “It is a shame that Mr. Cockle, Sue Wallis and others continue to exploit the truth and suffering of horses just to make a name for themselves nationally.”

Wallis is a Wyoming state representative active in an effort to return equine slaughter to the United States.

R.T. Fitch is Author of the acclaimed Straight From the Horse’s Heart.


Vicki TOBIN


http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=74002

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KUDOS to the Warm Springs Tribe, However, the National Congress of American Inidans came out last summer asking Congress to allow them to build horse-slaughter plants on some Indian Lands; To my native american brothers and sisters who want horse-slaughter, we have made a petition; Click on the post-title above to go to the petition;

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/south-dakota-sioux-to-slaughter-horses