Monday, October 13, 2008

A Horse is a Horse...of Course

Posted by Jason Ibrahim

Here's some breaking news from the Humane Society. Apparently, A horse from the Fair Dinkum Farm in Evansville, WY was on its way to Illinois recently, enroute to be slaughtered with nine of its fellow kind. In the middle of the trip, Snickers gave birth to a new foal, Willie, while on the truck.

The Humane Society opines:

"The surprise birth of this Miracle foal underscores one of the most gruesome aspects of the horse slaughter industry -- the fact that mares heavily pregnant and due to give birth are are shipped thousands of miles in crowded trucks to be butchered-their unborn killed and cast aside, never living to take a single breath or see the light of day." [Emphasis mine]

Soon after, the Illinois Senate passed a resolution banning horse slaughter in the state. While I have mixed feelings about the merit of this resolution, I think that something needs to be done to protect unborn foals on their way to slaughter. In fact, I call on the Junior Senator from Illinois to take the next logical step, and work to extend the ban to slaughtering unborn horses, not just in Illinois but across the whole country. (After all, the equine abortionists did have to cross state lines to perpetrate this ugly deed, since there were probably no facilities to terminate a horse pregnancy at the Fair Dinkum Farm.)

But then again, that's just me. What are your thoughts?

Epilogue: This is a previously unpublished piece that I wrote several months ago, before Sarah Palin's vice-presidential nomination. In light of her candidacy, and the inspiring story of Sarah, Todd and Trig Palin, this is yet another issue that distinguishes the candidates.

Disclaimer: The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of ILoveAltoona.com or its advertisers.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You don't have the story quite right. Snickers gave birth not going to slaughter but after being rescued after the horses at Cavel were rescued after one of their many shut downs in-between appeals. A friend of mine adopted both Willie (the foal) and Snickers. These horses became known as the Cavel Miracle Horses because they are the only horses to have walked out of a kill house alive.

I fail to see the relevance of a vice presidential candidate that has absolutely no regard for animals. She is behind the aerial wolf killings and a suit to have the polar bears delisted as endangered. Obviously the witch doctor or "masters" that saved her didn't quite get it right.

Or was this just another attempt by the pro side to try to inject abortion into the horse slaughter issue?

www.vickitobin.com

JasonI said...

Hi Vicki,
Thanks for your response. You asked whether this post was “just another attempt by the pro[-life?] side to try to inject abortion into the horse slaughter issue?” Did you read the Humane Society article? It was their writer who lamented horse abortion as “their unborn killed and cast aside, never living to take a single breath or see the light of day.” If you think that’s a partisan statement, bear in mind that those are Keith Dane’s words, not mine.

Anonymous said...

Hi, jasoni. My apologies. I see so many comment threads that try to turn the conversation to abortion that I jumped the gun.

I know Keith and what he was referring to is (trying not to be graphic) the foals are cut away and thrown into a pile with the garbage. While this is disgusting, it's just another by-product of slaughter. When slaughter ends, that is a moot point.

Thanks for taking the time to blog on this issue. It's a hot button for sure but needs to be discussed. I am amazed at how many people still have no clue that Belgium and France are slaughtering our horses.