There is a thunder storm brewing in the Canadian equine industry and the eventual decision will concern many of us.
Most people have firmly set opinions on the subject: some formed strictly from the heart, some molded by daily contact. Of the two, the latter often leads to the more realistic knowledge that just because you love something, it doesn’t mean that it’s possible to keep it forever.
In 2007, the U.S. banned the slaughter of horses.
Now there is a movement afoot to bring the ban to Canada. At the forefront, anti-horsemeat activists who wish to halt human consumption of “chevaline.”
Approximately one billion humans consume about one million tonnes of horse meat each year. In China, they consume about 400,000 tonnes per year. Who knew?
In Korea, some eat boshintang, a dog-meat-stew. Dog is also eaten in parts of China, Japan and the Philippines. Urban legend says that street vendors in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) sell “churrasquinho de gato” (cat barbecue).
In fact, worldwide there are many meat dishes that you’d not be able to force the average Canadian to eat, knowing beforehand what animal was killed to make it. Different cultures, lifestyles and tastes — worlds apart. What makes one right or the other wrong? Public perception of a custom outside of our range of normal?
Mark Schatzker of The Globe and Mail wrote three facts about horses: “1) They’re cute. 2) They’re edible. 3) You probably haven’t eaten any lately because of fact No.1.”
Very true; most of us have never eaten horse meat, and have no plans to ever do so.
Still, there should be grave concern at the thought of the Canadian government blindly galloping into the same box canyon as the U.S. regarding horse slaughter. Four years after the fact (in the U.S.) there is mounting evidence that unwanted horses now face far crueller fates (ends) than ever before (pre-ban).
One stockyard owner in Wyoming had to purchase a state-of-the-art security system for his stockyards. Were thieves stealing him blind? No, people were dumping off their unwanted horses in the dark of the night!
Horse euthanasia in the U.S. and in Canada is expensive, and horse owners caught in economic crisis who can’t afford the costs of keeping their beloved animals certainly can’t pay for a kind release.
Instead, they are resorting to desperate measures — loading their horses into empty horse trailers standing in the yards, driveways and farmyards of total strangers for them to deal with upon discovery, while others just take a drive out into the country and dump the unwanted horses on a deserted side road, ending their problem (unless they’re caught) but adding a new burden for the unfortunate (and unaware) land owner or the government.
According to an article in the Daily Nebraskan, the American Veterinary Medical Association “estimates that completely eliminating horse slaughter in Canada and Mexico would require 2,700 more horse-rescue facilities to care for 90,000 to 100,000 unwanted horses that have been slaughtered each year. Considering a horse can live for 30 years, that number can grow quickly to several hundred thousand horses over the next decade that need to be cared for. At an average cost of $1,800 to $2,400 to meet the basic needs of one horse annually that comes to more than $1 billion after three years. Where is this money supposed to come from?”
Now, many American horse lovers are advocating the return of humane horse slaughter. Sometimes when the heart rules over common sense, the result isn’t ideal. For unwanted horses in the U.S., the new reality is uglier than ever-before; the Canadian government must carefully consider every detail of the situation south of the border before making any decisions.
We may love our horses with all of our hearts and souls, but trying to keep them all forever might not necessarily be the kindest, most humane option.
