DeLauro’s “tough decision” on Horse Meat
In her acceptance speech Monday night before Third District Democrats, nine-term incumbent Rosa DeLauro praised herself for “making the tough decisions,” as the most liberal member of Congress. She said the “middle class is being squeezed like never before,” and promised continued vigilance against big oil and mortgage lenders.
One of DeLauro’s recent “tough decisions” was her leadership on the issue of horse meat, or rather the “slaughter” of horses who have come to the end of their lives in the pen or prairie.
According to the Jim Santomaso of the Livestock Marketing Association, the ban creates a humanitarian problem since there is no way to properly dispose of horses who are dying or head to the final grazing area in the sky.
DeLauro’s Agriculture subcommittee ending funding for oversight of three horse slaughtering facilities in the country, effectively ending the practice. You, know, a day doesn’t go by when someone from Derby or East Haven calls this office to complain about horse slaughtering and how cruel it is. But that is the DeLauro mindset. Turns out this policy, a priority for someone who represents a district with a few horses grazing in maybe Orange, has consequences.
“We told the lawmakers that horse owners want and need a legitimate, practical and humane way to dispose of their horses that have come to the end of their useful life, but still have value as a slaughter animal,” Santomaso said.
The “terrible result” of legislation banning this slaughter, he said, “is to close legitimately operated food processing plants, based solely on cultural and emotional arguments. And that sets a very dangerous precedent of banning a legitimate meat product for reasons other than food safety or public health.”
Supporters of the ban, Santomaso said, have been successful in framing the issue “as an emotional one, similar to a person dealing with an ailing pet. What we told members of Congress, and their staffs, is that the horse slaughter issue can, indeed be an emotional one. But it’s much more than that. It encompasses humane animal treatment, private property rights, and economic rights. LMA’s member businesses are the marketing agents for thousands of U.S. horse owners.
So, while people struggling with higher energy prices, pay more taxes than any other state in the union and watch the equity in their homes evaporate, Rosa DeLauro continues her quest for animal justice.
There has to be a joke in there someplace.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Kudos to DeLauro. Owner’s rights? Yes, owners have rights. They have the right to own a horse but with ownership comes responsibility. The responsibility of caring for their horse in life and death. The responsibility of common sense in knowing that they should not breed their horse if they cannot afford to care for the horses they make a conscious decision to bring into the world. They take on the responsibility of not abusing their horse. They take on the responsibility of feeding and vetting their horse. When the time comes, they have the responsibility of humanely ending their horses life. Horse slaughter is not a humane end unless you consider butchering an animal that is fully conscious, humane. Food animals are slaughtered. Horses are not bred or raised as food animals. They are NOT an accepted food source in this country. They are not treated as or considered livestock. They are work, sport and companion animals.
DeLauro is right on target. The majority of Americans are against slaughter and she is acting upon the will of the people. It’s time to realize that any problems that exist are brought on by irresponsible owners and breeders. Slaughter does nothing but perpetuate the breed and dump cycle. Slaughter does not prevent abuse and neglect and slaughter does not solve problems. Slaughter exists for one reason, money. The kill houses are not ridding the US of unwanted horses. They are not rounding up unwanted horses – they are buying them. The amount they buy is based on the demand for horse meat, not the number of available horses. Slaughter counts dropped over 300,000 from a few years back. Where are all those horses that weren’t slaughtered going every year?
Nobody is taking away owner’s rights. Nobody is condemning foreign countries for eating horse meat. They are free to eat whatever they choose. If they choose horse meat, they can slaughter their own horses.