Montana HB 418

[kansasrunner123]

They breed nurse mare foals in Kentucky. And from the looks of it, 4j, I'm not even sure if you know what one is! Certainly you wouldn't agree with foals being overbred and slaughtered when only days old! Also, it accounts for much of the overpopulation of horses and is completely unnecessary.
Also, I can ask if you know what that is. Because this new slaughter house will contribute to it. And I don't know that anyone with a heart would be for nurse mare foals. And what do you mean 'too much money in it?"

[gaitedrocky]

cough up the money for all the unwanted horses out there KR I know plenty of people around here that have unwanted horses and cannot take them to facilities because their full X( Shall I direct them to you? Will you pay out the money to save these animals from a fate worse then death! X( G-Whiz Popcorn! Get over it. Slaughter is needed. Plain and simple and its the people like you that are wrong with the world. You eat beef right? Your not against slaughtering cows right? Yet they go through the same torment? As do hogs and Im sure you eat bacon too! So some people eat horse! They are livestock animals. Guy!

[kansasrunner123]

Where do you live and I shall see what I can do! Seriously.
No, I don't have anything against slaughtering cows or pigs for that matter. First off, cows were BRED for slaughter. Horses aren't!
The slaughter method used for horses is designed for cows. So yes, it is more inhumane for horses.
Baby horses only days old are being slaughtered. Not all facilities are full. Slaughter is unneeded.

[4jpainthorses]

FYI I do know what they are, and there is to much money in it for people to quit doing it. They are going to continue to have nurse mare foals as long as the TB industry is going and as long as PMU mares are needed too. Since TB's have to be live cover at least it is only one per mare unlike other associations that allow embryo transfers.
My husband has a mare that after her baby was weaned she nursed another foal. We did not breed her last year because he was showing her but I wish we had so that when my mare died she would have taken my 2 month old baby. She will not be skipped again. She is worth her weight in gold to allow other foals to nurse. She is bred this year, just in case we need her next year for another foal, as well as her own.

[gaitedrocky]

Who says they arent? Before horses were domesticated when they were still running wild, before riding was ever a concept, Native Americans hunted them just like they did the bison for their meat and skin. Im sure people in India look down on us because we slaughter cows as cows over there are not slaughter and in some of their religions are considered holy. Shutting the slaughter houses down did not help the horse population. It hurt it. It did not stop slaughter it just made it more cruel. Now they have to be hauled thousands of miles with no rest or food or water, only to be slaughtered with even more inhumane methods in another country. I know Mexico is cruel. Canada Im not so sure but they still have to be hauled a very long ways in those conditions, cramped in a trailer and treated badly. Here they did not have to be hauled and it was done right away, humanely, atleast for the most part, so in actuality, you people that pushed for it to be stopped did not stop it. You just made it worse. Maybe horses are not relied upon as much as they used to be but in American History, yes, they were eaten. During american civil war and any american war, when soldiers were hungry and their rations had run out, it was not uncommon for them to slaughter one of their horses and eat them. It was not uncommon for horse meat to be sold on markets. Do you think horses went into retirement homes back then? No they did not. When a horse was deemed too old to be able to be useful anymore it was shot, probably with a rifle or shot gun and then butchered and eaten, consumed by the people that had owned it, probably in the form of somekinda stew or soup. Horses are livestock animals. They are no different then cattle or pigs. Cattle were used back then, almost as much as horses, Oxen trains, bull trains, pigs were domesticated long before horses, yet, tests show that they are actually smarter then horses and some are pets as well, but it doesnt stop the pig market. Horse slaughter is not going to stop. Period. The worst thing you couldve done is have it stopped in the united states because now they have to endure much worse conditions on the way to the same destination. So if you really want to help and start putting your money where your mouth is, start adopting horses and stop complaining about horse slaughter. It's a fact of life and needs to there. It's been there for 100's of years and was never thought twice about. So you see? Cattle and Horses really arnt that different. They both had their uses in american history and both played a big role in american history but it seems along the lines they became seperated and horses are no longer thought of as livestock animals, which they are, and are now thought of as life long companions and friends, people love their horses to death and forget the fact that horses cannot love and are incapable of it. They do not care about their owners, they are simply tame. They put off the air that they care because you feed them but in actuality, they do not love. They cant. I love my horse, but do not think twice about the fact that if something were to spook him he would runover me to get away. They are animals with animal instincts, but because theyre beautiful somewhere along the lines they were deemed to good to be slaughtered. Deer are beautiful, but yet people still hunt them. Sorry for the rant but my point is, some countries do use horse meat as a means of a food source, as did we, at one point in time. Horses were bred for work. Plowing, carriage/stagecoach, riding, ranching. They were bred to serve a purpose and when they were too old to do any of those things, yes, they were shot,butchered and eaten because the people saw them for what they were, livestock.

[BUDDYSGIRL]

Thats exactly right GR!! And it's been said a thousand times. If GOD allows the overpopulation then for what reason? Maybe to feed starving people? To me, food is food and people are more important etc...We all may get back to having to ride the horses to get any where when we can't afford gas etc..The LORD killed the first animal and made clothes, and I'm sure it was eaten. HE gave us dominion over all the animals. In the coleseum days all manner of animals were brought there tobe battled against man. Like bull fighting is still today. How about that cruelity? Like was already said, horses are not capable of love, only instinct to survive. We choose to make them pets and others choose to make them livestock. I have a pet pig but would not quam about having to eat her if it came down to it. That includes my pet chicken and cow as well. As I don't eat meat often, it will be a while for that but I would not stand in the way of them being eaten. My horse will be rendered if he dies and hope he goes to good use. If I have starving people around me I will give them the meat. Slaughter is necessary for a number of reasons but I do not like that they are transported and sold to foreign people when we have so many hungry here in the US.

[kansasrunner123]

4j: I would think you wouldn't be for Nurse mares because they contribute to the overpopulation of horses in America. It's not neccesary because there is now a drug that makes mares lactate without having to be pregnant.
Gaited Rocky: You are an idiot. If you knew ANYTHING about American History you would know that horses weren't introduced to the Native Americans until Christopher Columbus brought them over to the 'Indies' or current day America, when they were ALREADY domesticated. Native Americans prized their horses, unlike they did bison or buffalo. Don't tell me I'm wrong, I have studied American history in-depth.
Buddys: You are also an idiot to think that horse meat goes to starving people. It goes to Europe, where it is a delicacy and sold for more than beef. Slaughter houses aren't going to give it away? How would they profit from that?

[4jpainthorses]

You call everyone idiots but you are the one that is an idiot here. Know matter what is said you come back with the same ol shit.
Slaughter will continue as long as their are people in the world that eat horse meat and people will eat horse meat just like people eat beef until the end of time. FYI there are people in the US that eat horse meat. I know of a ranch in Texas that fattens a colt every year, ol yea and they will be eating it this weekend. They always do on the 4th of July.

[kansasrunner123]

Well 4j, that is plain evil. But its their horse there is nothing I can do. We aren't slaughtering horses to feed starving people and 4j, even YOU should know THAT. I also just want to ask. Do you agree with nurse mare foals? Do you? Because you shouldn't. It's unnecessary and pure evil. It is more evil than horse slaguther itself. Not everyone in the US would eat horse meat. I can PROMISE you that well over 90 percent of America wouldn't ever eat horse meat.
And you should also know that to say a horse doesn't have the ability to LOVE is COMPLETELY ABSURD. Is there a scientific FACT that proves that. I know you didn't say that, but I'm sure you agree to it. Horses have the ability to love just like us. If you don't beleive me then whatever. It's true.

[kansasrunner123]

And 4j, I beleive its NO matter