Showing posts with label Humane Society of the United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Humane Society of the United States. Show all posts

5/23/14

Plot Against Allowing Horse Slaughter For Meat Thickens

Plot Against Allowing Horse Slaughter For Meat Thickens - Farm Progress

Plot Against Allowing Horse Slaughter For Meat Thickens


What about this, FDA? Are you or are you not going to enforce your own regulations and permanently ban horse slaughter in the US? What are you waiting for?


New findings suggest FDA's own "animals of unknown origins" policy may prevent U.S. resumption of horse slaughter for human consumption.


Published on: Mar 11, 2014
Efforts to prevent the slaughter of American horses for food made significant progress last week. Front Range Equine Rescue, a national nonprofit working to end horse abuse and neglect, discovered that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits use of animals for meat if those animals don't have sufficient medical records.
It's not clear from the information whether this provision is from the Food Safety and Modernization Act. But FRER, along with the Humane Society of the United States, contends that FDA's policy concerning unsafe toxins and drug residues found in meats should result in a ban on the sale of American horse meat.
FRER found more than 125 FDA citations to producers of adulterated meat reported in the past two years. Citations are issued for failing to maintain complete veterinary treatment records for an animal, failing to systematically review treatment records before slaughter to assure drugs have been administered only as directed, or failing to hold an animal for the proper length of time following treatment. Any of these actions leads to prohibiting use of those animals for meat.


NO MORE HORSEBURGERS? To qualify for slaughter plant sales in the future, horses may be required to have better certified health records.
NO MORE HORSEBURGERS? To qualify for slaughter plant sales in the future, horses may be required to have better certified health records.

No or false verification of safety

Unlike other livestock raised within the agricultural system, virtually all horses sold for meat began as working, competition or sport horses, companion animals or wild horses. "Slaughterers and middlemen have virtually no knowledge about the horses' prior veterinary histories," claims Hilary Wood, president of FRER, "although falsified documents are often used to suggest they do."
"Horses are often used from show rings to trail riding to therapy programs. They're treated with many different drugs throughout their lives because horse owners don't expect they could end up as meat," adds Wood. "We are committed to preventing the slaughter of horses for human consumption to protect human health, the environment, and horses from cruelty and suffering."


Plot Against Allowing Horse Slaughter For Meat Thickens
Plot Against Allowing Horse Slaughter For Meat Thickens

In March 2012, FRER and HSUS filed a petition requesting that FDA certify all horses and horse meat from American horses as "unqualified" for human consumption. The petition lists more than 110 drugs and other substances commonly administered to horses that are or should be prohibited.
More than 100,000 American horses are sent to slaughter each year, mainly for consumption in Europe and Asia. The current federal budget stripped away USDA funding for horse slaughter operations. But Wood says it remains to be seen whether that funding will be restored come October.
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8/2/13

BREAKING! New Mexico Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Against Opening Proposed Horse Slaughter Plants!


Great news!


Judge Blocks Planned Horse Slaughter At Two Plants


 — A federal judge on Friday temporarily halted plans by companies in New Mexico and Iowa to start slaughtering horses next week.
U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo issued a restraining order in a lawsuit brought by The Humane Society of the United States and other groups.
I deliberately did not post the rest of the article because it's rife with the usual disinformation about "thousands of abused and unwanted horses across this country," and other ridiculous pro-slaughter propaganda like that.
Here is the link if you want to go comment. The only accurate thing about this story is the temporary restraining order!
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3/14/13

Save the Horses! Three Lawmakers Will Try to Ban Slaughter for Food

Save the Horses! Three Lawmakers Will Try to Ban Slaughter for Food - ABC News
Save the Horses! Three Lawmakers Will Try to Ban Slaughter for Food

By Chris Good
@c_good
Follow on Twitter
Mar 12, 2013 7:05pm
gty horse slaughter us nt 130301 wblog Save the Horses! Three Lawmakers Will Try to Ban Slaughter for Food
gty horse slaughter us nt 130301 wblog Save the Horses! Three Lawmakers Will Try to Ban Slaughter for Food













Image credit: Getty Images

A trio of U.S. lawmakers is saying “no” to horse meat.

The U.S. is set to begin slaughtering horses again for the first time in six years, and recent news of Ikea sausages and British Taco Bell beef containing small amounts of horse has raised horse-meat alarm bells among the meat-consuming public.

Congress originally banned horse slaughter in 2006 by defunding USDA’s horse-meat inspectors. But after the ban lapsed in 2011, a lawsuit and industry pressure has forced USDA to start inspecting again, and a company says it expects to open the first slaughterhouse in Roswell, N.M., within the next month and a half.

“These companies must still complete necessary technical requirements and FSIS [the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service] must still complete its inspector training, but at that point, the Department will legally have no choice but to go forward with inspections, which is why we urge Congress to reinstate the ban,” a USDA spokesperson told ABC News.

Enter Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.

The three will introduce a bill on Wednesday that would put a stop to the pending horse slaughter.

The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, as the House version is dubbed, would not only ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. but would also prohibit shipping horses outside the U.S. for food slaughter. Unlike the appropriations rider that had prevented horse slaughter until now, the statutory ban would not expire.

The Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will hold a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday with the three lawmakers, the two groups announced on Tuesday.

“Horses sent to slaughter are often subject to appalling, brutal treatment,” Schakowsky said in a statement emailed to ABC News by a spokesperson. “We must fight those practices. The Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013 will ensure that these majestic animals are treated with the respect they deserve.”
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2/27/13

Horse meat scandal latest: Are you eating frog poison? | UK | News | Daily Express

Horse meat scandal dominating the front pages
Horse meat scandal dominating the front pages (Photo credit: Gene Hunt)
Horse meat scandal latest: Are you eating frog poison? | UK | News | Daily Express
Horse meat scandal latest: Are you eating frog poison?
A POWERFUL painkiller made from the poison of jungle frogs is feared to have entered the food chain in contaminated horse meat.
By: Stuart Winter
Published: Sun, February 24, 2013

The-painkiller-is-made-from-the-poison-of-jungle-frogs
The-painkiller-is-made-from-the-poison-of-jungle-frogs The painkiller is made from the poison of jungle frogs

The drug, extracted from South American tree frogs and used to illegally dope racehorses so they can run when badly injured, joins a host of banned medicines that might be lurking in our food.

Animal welfare campaigners highlighted the threat of dermorphin or “tree frog juice” in the food chain last night when they called for a moratorium on horse meat being shipped into Europe from North America.

More than 100,000 horses are slaughtered there each year and sold to Europe but because of failings in the system there are questions over the meat reaching EU food standards.

Although the EU bans the presence of medicines in animals destined for the meat market, there are concerns that American carcasses contain drug residue because there are no requirements for their veterinary records to be shown at slaughter.

"We now know that criminals have passed off untraceable horse meat into products" Mary Creagh

Sport, working and companion horses from the United States are all killed for the European market. Recent scandals in the racing world, which have seen animals “nobbled” with drugs made from frog juice and even cobra venom, have raised the threat of illicit substances entering the food chain.

Earlier this month, the Sunday Express revealed how a racehorse treated with the painkiller phenylbutazone, known as bute, a drug linked to liver problems, may have been one of six horses that entered the food chain after being slaughtered in Britain.

The horse meat scandal shows no signs of abating, with Birds Eye removing a number of ready meals and a catering giant supplying schools, the Armed Forces and Ascot racecourse also withdrawing its beef.

There are now calls for a new round of checks on products for a wider number of contaminants. Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh said: “We now know that criminals have passed off untraceable horse meat into products that thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people have eaten over at least several months.

“The Government should order companies to test all products adulterated with horse meat to check that there is no risk to human health from any horse medication.”

The threat that “tree frog juice” has found its way on to the market was highlighted last week by Humane Society International. The animal welfare organisation is campaigning with its American partners for a moratorium on the sale of horse meat from across the North Atlantic.

It says there can be “no doubt that substantial numbers” of American horses sold to Europe have been administered with veterinary drugs, which is at odds with the lifetime ban on these substances for food animals.

horsemeat
There are concerns that American horse carcasses contain residue of the drug

Holly Hazard, of The Humane Society Of The United States, said: “There is virtually no horse racing around an American track or on exhibition in the show ring that has escaped a prescription for pain-masking drugs clearly prohibited for use in food animals under EU regulations.

“In addition, there is no way to track illegal substances such as dermorphin, routinely used by unscrupulous horse trainers to enhance performance, because laboratories wouldn’t even know to test for these drugs.

“Sport, working, companion and performance horses do not belong in the food supply as the meat simply cannot be guaranteed safe.”

The Food Standards Agency said: “We are assessing the need for any further veterinary medicine testing of both horses slaughtered in the UK and of horse meat found in food.”
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4/16/12

State Officials, Humane Groups Oppose Proposed Horse Slaughter Plant in New Mexico

Reblogged from Horseback Magazine: http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/15151

State Officials, Humane Groups Oppose Proposed Horse Slaughter Plant in New Mexico

April 13, 2012
Governor and Attorney General Blast New Mexico Plant

WASHINGTON, (ASPCA —The Humane Society of the United States, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), Front Range Equine Rescue and Animal Protection of New Mexico condemn plans to open a horse slaughter plant in Roswell, N.M.

The plans for the slaughterhouse were uncovered in an investigation by Front Range Equine Rescue, a Colorado-based equine rescue organization. The proposed facility would be operated by Valley Meat Co., LLC, a company in Roswell that has already applied with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service for inspection of the slaughter of equines for human consumption. According to Front Range’s investigators, FSIS officials were scheduled to conduct a preliminary walk-through inspection of Valley Meat’s facility last month. USDA temporarily suspended inspections of cattle slaughter at Valley Meat Co. in February 2012 and November 2011 due to failure to comply with humane slaughter regulations.

“A horse slaughtering plant in Roswell is a terrible idea,” said New Mexico Attorney General Gary King. “Such a practice, while not illegal, is certainly abhorrent to public sentiment, and I strongly suggest it be abandoned. I come from a ranching family but processing horses for food was never part of the plan for raising livestock. Horses are different and should be treated differently.”

“As a veterinarian and someone who has had the great good fortune to grow up with and around horses, I am very saddened and angry about the recent revelations of mistreatment of horses in New Mexico,” said New Mexico State Land Commissioner Ray Powell. “If a horse is hurt, terminally ill, or has no chance to find a loving home, then humane euthanasia is a realistic alternative. I am told New Mexico is entertaining the idea of a horse slaughtering facility in our state. Since we do not have the horses in New Mexico to make this economically viable, it means horses would be trucked in from surrounding states. This is a bad idea on every level, and I strongly oppose it. New Mexico can do much better by these intelligent and gentle creatures.”

“Horse slaughter means tremendous suffering of horses, a proven history of environmental and waste violations, and allowing a toxic meat product to enter the human food chain,” said Hilary Wood, president and founder of Front Range Equine Rescue. “Solutions to horse slaughter include stopping irresponsible breeding practices, more gelding and euthanasia assistance programs, re-homing and re-training options, and short-term owner assistance programs. Horse slaughter has no place in the U.S. or across our borders.”

“American horses are our partners in sport, work and recreation—not dinner,” said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for The HSUS. “The entire process of horse slaughter is filled with nonstop terror, pain and misery for horses, and it is proven to have a severe negative impact on surrounding communities. It would be irresponsible for the federal government to sign off on a predatory industry that has no regard for animal or human welfare.”

“New Mexicans have a deep and enduring appreciation for horses, especially given their important role in our state’s rural way of life. It’s an affront to our citizens to suggest bringing the cruel, dangerous and polluting enterprise of horse slaughter to New Mexico as we celebrate our state’s centennial,” said Elisabeth Jennings, executive director of Animal Protection of New Mexico.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans are intensely opposed to this cruel practice, and as more people learn that we are allowing our horses to be shuttled off to gruesome deaths all for the sake of foreign gourmands, they are outraged, and opposition to this grisly practice is growing,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations. “Horse slaughter plants abuse more than just horses as they have proved economically and environmentally disastrous to communities in other states.”

In November 2011, Congress chose not to renew a ban on funding federal inspectors at horse slaughter plants in the United States, even though a similar provision has been part of the agriculture department’s spending bill for the past five years. That action opened the door for a return of horse slaughter to American soil, including taxpayer funded inspections of horse meat destined to be sent abroad, despite broad opposition in this country to the practice. A January 2012 poll commissioned by the ASPCA confirms that 80 percent of American voters oppose the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

When the last three horse slaughter plants in the U.S. closed, the surrounding communities cheered. These communities had endured water pollution, an unending stench of rotting blood and offal, and a negative stigma that caused other businesses to leave the community. The slaughter plants employed no more than a few dozen employees in low-paying, dangerous, high-stress jobs. In their quest for higher profits, the foreign-owned companies did their best to avoid paying property taxes and the fines levied against them for environmental violations.

Additionally, it is unclear how Valley Meat Co. or the USDA would address the medications, vaccines and other substances that are routinely given to American horses and are known to be poisonous if consumed by humans. Earlier this year, The HSUS announced its intention to pursue legal action if the federal government failed to follow required protocols to ensure that food safety and environmental review requirements were observed.

Last month, The HSUS joined Front Range Equine Rescue in filing a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to declare the meat of former companion, show, and working animals to be unfit for human consumption due to the risk of the meat containing toxic residues. Last week, the two groups filed a separate petition with the USDA to ban the slaughter for human consumption of such animals for the same reasons.

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"From my earliest memories, I have loved horses with a longing beyond words." ~ Robert Vavra