But I do want to add about composting. Contrary to what you may of heard,, composting of a large animal is not easy and is not done to the letter, or if you live in a area with a lot of rain or lots of cold,, the animal will not compost. Here it would be impossible for me because I have such a high predator base....they would just dig it up out of the compost pile. I also have no way to bury an animal that large... deep enough so ...again the predators don't dig it up.
Absolutely! Composting for an owner who has loses a horse occasionally may be an option, but not for the thousands that must be disposed of every year. Think of when the hoof and mouth crisis hit Britain a few years ago. They had to burn or bury absolutely thousands of animals. It must have cost a staggering amount. If this had to be done with horses who on earth would pay for it on a regular basis, and where would they put them when we run out of room? One does have to be realistic about this.
My horses are my heart and very much loved and needed. But I do not like zealots telling me I am evil for breeding once in awhile, or for even owning animals...
I have never sent a horse to slaughter and all my animals have found good homes. But some of you lump us all together.
Anti slaughter people seem to think that anyone who does not strongly oppose it does not care about animals. On the contrary, I deeply love every creature in my care, and care also for the ones I do not own and am not able to help.
Just for the record, I used to be an opponent of slaughter, until I TRULY started thinking about both sides of the argument. If there was an alternative I would support it, but there just isn't one, and never will be.
Like Jane, I am not a vegetarian. I don't like that any animal has to be killed for food, but as that is what God gave us the animals for, I eat meat. It does not mean I do not have sympathy for any creature that is destined for the table, whether we raise it ourselves or not. Or that God does not intend us to be kind, compassionate and humane with these creatures that I believe He delighted in creating. I feel a pang of sadness for any truckload of cows, hogs or sheep or whatever we see heading to the stockyards, but it is because I am concerned for how they are transported, handled and killed. I don't want so much as a chicken to be treated badly while it is alive. We owe it to any animals we eat to see that they are well cared for, handled and transported humanely, and dispatched as quickly and painlessly as possible. I can't imagine ever eating horse meat, it is repugnant to me, but this is not the case for many people. I also feel sick at the thought of eating rabbit, but my mum was raised on it and loved it.
Has it occurred to anyone who watched with bated breath as they tried to rescue those hundred or so horses off the sandbar in Holland recently (and I was among those desperately hoping to see them rescued from their situation) that these horses are very possibly intended for food? Some Dutch people eat horsemeat, as do many of the neighbouring countries. Who am I to say that this is wrong just because I have a different relationship with horses than as a food animal?
To whomever it was that said it's not that difficult to find a home for a free horse....no, it's not. But finding a home for a free horse doesn't mean that horse is in a better place. Quite frankly, I won't give away a horse. There might be one or two people I know that I would give a horse to in certain circumstances, but I've seen too many people that figure if they didn't pay anything for the horse, they don't owe it much in the way of care. Others that will take free horses do so only so that they can turn around & sell the horse for slaughter. If you think people wouldn't do that--think again! It happens all too often. I could name you people that go looking for the giveaway horses, spin a story about the great home the horse will have at their place, then the horse is immediately flipped on to the kill buyer.
Exactly, finding a home for every unwanted horse will never ensure that it is not condemned to a life of misery or deprivation. I know of more than one person who has been given a free horse or pony only to turn around and sell it.
I'm like Beccy; horses get euthanized here & buried. If it happened to be the dead of winter then we'd have to get the rendering truck in to pick the horse up. We have in the past had a local dog food processor come & shoot the horse & haul it away; shooting is still my favorite method, but there's no longer anyone around that I trust to do it well.
This has not happened to us yet Holly, we know a man with a backhoe who when we have needed him, came almost as soon as we called, and buried the animal (cows in the past as well as horses) for us. When our old palomino mare had to be euthanized one January, he was able to get her in the ground JUST before we had a deep freeze, had it been even a day later we would have been faced with a problem as a horse euthanized with euthanol must not be left where any other animal can eat part of it. Not everyone has someone available to bury though, and it HAS to be deep burial if euthanol was involved.
I also agree that done by the right person, shooting is instant and painless, with no stress or fear. If we were not able to get a vet and it had to be done, my husband would be the only person I would trust to do it. I know him well enough to know that A) he knows what he is doing. B) He has a great love for these animals and does not ever want to see one suffer in any way. and C) that he would be doing it as a necessity in the situation, not a cheap way out. I would not trust anyone else.
The long and the short of it for me, is that every living creature deserves to be treated with respect while alive, and since there are not enough of us who take in old and unwanted animals (and those of us who do can only take so many) there will always have to be an alternative. Like it or not that is slaughter. I wish it wasn't, but it is, so our concern should be for how those horses are treated.
They say that, properly done, there is very little to no odor, and in about a year's time, even the bones will be reduced to nothing.
