# Horse to plate video



## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

So someones shared this video on facebook and i watched, i don't think i'm entirely convinced by it, i mean surely not all horse transport going to slaughter is like this. I used to stay with my dad when i was little and we'd deliver cattle and sheep for slaughter and the conditions were nothing like that.
Anyone care to help shine a light for me.


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## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

forgot to post the video oops.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

And this is why I wish they would allow the slaughter of horse meat in America so we could regulate it and save our horses some time on trucks.


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## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

Same with the u.k, horses here get shipped to france (correct me if i'm wrong) i think there was talk about opening a slaughter house in wales, i dunno how its went through though.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm really not familiar with the process in the UK but I do imagine it would be the same. 

I do know though that when we were slaughtering our horses in the US and the companies had to keep up with standards and could face some very heavy fines, horses suffered a lot less. Money talks. Success rate with the captive bolt is very high and from what I saw and understand, double decker trucks were certainly not the norm. 

The less time they spend in transit, the less stressed they will be (and the better the meat). 

May as well bring in some revenue and make some jobs available in your own country rather than shipping them somewhere else so someone can do your dirty work.


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## Eliz (Jun 16, 2010)

What I don't understand is.. 
Wouldn't the not-starved, hydrated, semi-healthy horse yeild a higher-quality meat, therefore creating more profit, so incentive to treat the horse better? And also, keeping them in better condition would decrease the number of dead animals, in turn increase the amount of meat per shipment of horses.
:/
Growing up, we would feed out a steer or a hog to eat and that thing was always fed and watered.
I guess the world is an illogical place.. Which would explain why people want slaughter eradicated in the US only for the US horses to be shipped further and under more strenuous conditions.


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## whiskeynoo (Mar 17, 2010)

I know that's what confuses me, as spastic_dove said the less time in transit = less stress which in turn makes for better quality meat.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

Eliz said:


> What I don't understand is..
> Wouldn't the not-starved, hydrated, semi-healthy horse yeild a higher-quality meat, therefore creating more profit, so incentive to treat the horse better? And also, keeping them in better condition would decrease the number of dead animals, in turn increase the amount of meat per shipment of horses.
> :/
> Growing up, we would feed out a steer or a hog to eat and that thing was always fed and watered.
> I guess the world is an illogical place.. Which would explain why people want slaughter eradicated in the US only for the US horses to be shipped further and under more strenuous conditions.


I agree with this. Healthy, well kept horses would have much more muscle to be used. A thick QH would have as much muscle as about 4 of those half-dead horses. And it would actually live rather than just falling over dead. I would assume that would generate much more profit..


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

But since horses here generally not raised for the sole purpose of human consumption, the horses that end up at the KB are the cast offs that people dont care to or cant afford to feed/lame old horses/etc. By the time they get to be processed, they've already been ran through the ringer. 


Not to say that perfectly healthy quality horses don't end up at slaughter of course.


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## Velvetgrace (Aug 17, 2008)

I am a livestock owner; owning pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, and horses in the past. Horses are considered Livestock. Though I would rather not see my mare on the plate at home, I don't mind seeing or knowing of horse meat being served our setting store shelves. People have a choice to buy it or not to buy it. 

However, there are humane ways to treat and slaughter livestock. Because some person look out their anger on an animal or a company did not follow regulations, it leads to animals being beaten and bruised prior to slaughter. The FDA needs to step in and inforce the rules.

Since the ban on Horse slaughter, more horses are suffering animal curelty because their owner cannot afford to feed them. Plus the down turn in the economy has contributed to the problem as well. Just think if there was a ban on cattle, hogs, or chicken slaughter... Sure would cause a problem for farmers because the pigs keep rooting up the wheat fields, the chickens would roost in the backs of the trucks, and the cows would cruise up and down the highways with the vehicle traffic.


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