Story by Steven Long ~ Author/Publisher of Horseback Magazine
Famed Behaviorist Speaks on Slaughtering Horses for Human Consumption
Dr. Temple Grandin ~ Photo by Martha Rial
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – A group of livestock breeders and breeder wannabes who would build a legal abattoir in Wyoming for horses will face stringent guidelines for their proposed facility set by one of their speakers, the famed animal behaviorist Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University. She outlined her speech to the group in an exclusive interview with Horseback Online.
United Horsemen, a newly formed pro horse slaughter organization is promoting a commercial facility in Wyoming where lawmakers have passed enabling legislation which would permit its construction and operation. The structure of the legislation makes the likelihood of commercial viability for such a facility a long shot at best.
The Rocky Mountain based scientist is known for her courageous triumph over autism, and for a system she invented which enables food processors to send animals to their deaths without panic by tricking them into a feeling of well being until the final moment of their lives. Grandin will speak at the Summit of the Horse, presented by United Horsemen, an ad hock group led by Wyoming State Representative Sue Wallis and an Oregon horse trainer, Dave Duquette.
Her appearance has drawn both criticism and support from readers commenting on stories at Horseback Online. In a note last week to organizers, Grandin asked that her name not be used in pre-event publicity. The “summit” has provoked howls of protest from coast to coast from animal advocates opposed to horse slaughter.
“They kind of were misrepresenting my involvement,” she told Horseback. “The whole thing is so controversial I just wanted to pull back from it.”
Other public figures who organizers are promoting to speak include Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency charged with protecting the nation’s wild horses. The BLM has a stated policy of not sending captured horses to slaughter, however, reports persist that wild horses are killed for their meat. Wild horse advocates question why the highly placed official is speaking at what has been dubbed “The Slaughter Summit.”
Grandin will tell her audience she will support construction of domestic horse slaughter facilities if they meet three strict criteria during it operation.
The facility must have video monitoring by independent observers 24/7 of the process; must score between 95 and 99 percent instant kill rate with the “first shot” to the animal, and have “management that cares about what they are doing.”
Callous treatment of horses in the United States, Canada, and Mexico during the pre-killing process and in the “kill box” has been repeatedly documented with video evidence shot at slaughterhouses prompting a growing movement that would ban all horse slaughter worldwide.
Tightened regulations requiring chemical free food animals has all but eliminated American horses legally going to slaughter because of the routine use of drugs such as bute and wormers. However, tens of thousands of horses are shipped across the porous U.S. borders using falsified documents showing animals to be drug free. Innocent consumers are eating horse meat tainted with known carcinogens.
It is illegal in the United States to sell animal meat for food that has been contaminated for food. Tests administered by the United States Department of Agriculture do not examine tissue where residues of bute or wormer would be found and critics charge this has been done on purpose.
In a recently passed law, the federal Food and Drug Administration has been given vast powers over the nation’s food supply and is expected to stringently test meat of all kinds, including horsemeat, for banned chemicals such as bute.
Grandin says she is aware slaughterhouses clean up for inspections. As a globally recognized authority on animal slaughter she is critical of operations that perform their grisly work to perfection when she is present, “then go back to their bad behavior when I leave and my back is turned.”
That is why she is now requiring video monitoring by offsite observers of slaughter operations where she or her system in involved.
But Grandin is also critical of animal activists who are quick to criticize animal agriculture but don’t offer solutions to the problem of the excess horses that feed the markets.
“I ask them, how you are going to solve that problem,” she said. “They don’t have any solutions.”
Horseback countered that much of the over breeding problem both she and activists describe is caused by backyard breeders and others.
“They need to be doing a lot of work on excess breeding,” she said of the activists who are critical of animal agriculture. “They need to work with church groups to bring pressure. I don’t see a lot of effective control of breeding.”
Click (HERE) to read the article in it’s entirety
Related Articles
- Livestock Behaviorist Shuns Advance Publicity at Vegas Horse SlaugtherFest (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Pay No Attention to the Elephants: Who is the REAL Guest of Honor at the Summit of the Horse? (ppjg.wordpress.com)
- SlaughterFest Promoter Blasted by Wyoming Constituents (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Wyoming Legislator Faces Ethics and Fraud Allegations Over Horse Slaughter Plans (animals.change.org)
- Canadian Horse Slaughter Plant Closed (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Whether or not there is video monitoring, horse slaughtering should be completely outlawed. This just sickens me.
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Yeah, and wanna bet who’s gonna be monitoring those videos? Employees of the slaughterhouse.
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“They kind of were misrepresenting my involvement,” she told Horseback. “The whole thing is so controversial I just wanted to pull back from it.”
Then why doesn’t she pull back. Wonder how much money they are paying her???
I know who you really are and when for an instant your mask slips away, I know it’s all a farce….
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UOH says they aren’t paying speakers’ fees. That’s doesn’t mean they aren’t providing travel, accommodations, meals, etc. I should think TG would refuse these types of offers to maintain her credibility. She has a book signing on the schedule, so she won’t come away empty handed.
BTW, Bob Abbey and the BLM folks better be on the government’s dime if they don’t want to end up in an ethics scandal. Okay, it’s the taxpayer’s dime (when we can hardly afford it!), but at least there are ways of checking travel, expenses, gifts, etc., for federal employees.
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Book signing? Perhaps her publisher needs to know that she is actively working toward re-opening horse slaughter in the US.
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Thanks to Steven for getting this interview, and to Temple Grandin for her candid appraisal of the horse slaughter issue.
This should put bees under a whole lotta bonnets (and Stetsons) in Las Vegas:
“The facility must have video monitoring by independent observers 24/7 of the process; must score between 95 and 99 percent instant kill rate with the ‘first shot’ to the animal, and have ‘management that cares about what they are doing.’”
The USDA should require this at all processing facilities she ISN’T associated with. Mobile units as well. BIG ditto for the BLM on EVERYTHING associated with the removal and holding of wild horses and burros.
Caution: Beware the tape loop! Make sure the video is live-streaming, and humans WHO CARE are viewing the feed. And no sleeping on the job!
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TGrandin,, is YES, another face in the crowd, like the saying goes,, BUT,,atleast she has the heart to speake out for the animals,,and proves on videos that she wants the best, relaxing procedure to ending an animal,s life..Catlle or Horses..Slaughter is certainly, not the solution, cause guidlines will never be followed, never did, never will!! but, she does prove her point in caring, compared to many others who don,t give a flying-hoot! EX; Bouvry exports, ect. All tourture and suffrence is there, in these plants and they should be closed down, period. no discussion to that. Lets hope 2011 will bring better results for everyone and for all Equines…
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Back yard breeders yes, a small ripple in a pond with some good sized breeders cranking out foals every spring and with a lot of money invested in blood lines, showing, the whole nine yards. We are so convinced in this country that more is better. Our economy needs to do a 360 (and is actually) and focus on sustainability, quality and upkeep rather than more more more more. It is gonna take some rethinking and a lot of work.
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I am extremely saddened by her involvement in this Ridiculous Display, If she thought of backing out then she should have, does she really think there will be video monitoring !!! Please !!!!! How Naive…………….. This should not even be a issue !!!!! Horse Slaughter is against the Law !!!! My God ! What is she thinking !!! If she wants to fix this then STOP THE OVER BREEDING ,ISSUE SOLVED !!!!! Address The AQHA>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.. I as An American Citizen Love Our Mustangs !!! I believe they have a place here with us……….. they have earned it, Everything Beautiful and Innocent in America is because The Wild Mustang exists…………… There should never a price on the most Beautiful and pure innocence ………….. Allegiance to them for all they have given to us should be a given !!!!
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Why should the “advocates” offer a solution, actually we already have, STOP OVERBREEDING. I for one have done my little bit for the overpopulation issue, I gelded my stallions and retired my broodmares four years ago and they are all now pasture ornaments in my field. I have not made them someone elses problem, I have taken responsibility for my animals. We have repeatedly made this suggestion, but the ball is in the big breeders’ courts now. What more do the ADVOCATES have to do??? “Back yard” breeders ARE NOT the entire problem here.
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LOVE your thinking,,Bravo!!!
Backyard breeders are a serious problem, yes.But, the big guys, are gonna get their taste of medicine, soon,,,you,ll see. People are becoming more aware of their Lies and overbreeding for nothing..Breeding hundreds to choose, only 1 or 2 good ones!? Come-on,,get a life, already….Breeding should be STOPPED, completely for a few years to come,, and you,ll see, the difference..
Tks for your logic words and logic ideas, Lori Schmidt..
Happy Holidays, to all and Equines.
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Lori, I applaude your choice.
The “unwanted horse” issue needs to land squarely in the laps of those who make money from horses. The TB industry has stepped up to a degree, but the only way to make a real difference is to get other Breed Associations and those who profit from “anything horse” on board … a “Do good by doing good!” national and international campaign.
P.S. – I know “backyarders” don’t contribute much to the overall “unwanted horse” issue, but I’ve personally heard a number say, “Foals are so cute, and my kids love ’em!” If the kids simply must have a youngster, there are thousands of equally “cute” ones available for adoption through responsible rescues and the BLM.
Every horse saved is one more removed from the ranks of the so-called “unwanted”.
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last time i checked, it wasn’t your show/work horses that were being dropped off @ national parks. Do you know how much it costs to by a colt from a “big” breeder? i can tell you that ur worthy show horses cost about an arm n a leg. my youngest show horse cost me 4,000. there is a halter breeder in MN that all she does is breed. she does not have hundreds of babies, then use only three of them. she has around twelve, n each one is more than worthy for their job. you know how much they cost?? more than what my show horse is worth now (about as much as a new car).
there is a lot of “homework” that goes into breeding. they don’t just do it willy-nilly n hope for a good outcome. lots of time n money goes into creating one colt. so before you go blaming big organizations n top breeders, you need to do a lil digging around.
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Ashly, last time I checked the “dropping horses off in the national parks” claim was blown way out of proportion. In fact here in Indiana they have implemented ways at these facilities to make sure this doesnt happen and I havent heard of a case in years.
As far as “dropping horses off” it is a constant problem at sale barns, I will never forget seeing a video of horses being slaughtered where a beautifully groomed horse with ribbons woven into its beautifully groomed mane was dropped in the kill box!! That is a picture that will haunt me for the rest of my life along with lots of others. Yes it IS the show horses that are finding themselves in this situation. Hank Weiscamp for instance, a big QH breeder in his days who bred hundreds of mares every year, was well known for shipping all of his “failures” out in the middle of the night to sale barns and probably slaughter without papers. This still happens to this day.
If you think 4 000 is a good price to receive for a horse then again you are living in yaya land. I owned a Sonny Dee Bar stallion and most of my stock are his descendants, but that doesnt mean they will bring “good money”. Start talking hundreds of thousands for a horse and you may be in the league of good prices. I can assure you I HAVE done my homework and because of that the BLINKERS were removed from my eyes and I saw exactly what was going on in our industry and I didnt like it one little bit. I hope you will start asking the right questions too and educate yourself, dont be fooled by the “slaughter is the only way out” proponents, it isnt I can assure you, and yes I CAN blame the associations and big breeders partially for the problem.
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Thank you Lori, i do realize that back yard breeders are not the Big Picture on over breeding !!!! I believe it lies with the AQHA, these people i believe are are alot of the Big Picture !!! Why do we think they embrace Slaughter !!!!!!
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Conrad Burns only lobbying job he had after leaving the Senate was as a lobbyist for AQHA.
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Thank You savewildhorses If we start with AQHA here is where the BIG PICTURE is…………….. Starting at the point of initial breeding of the problem(sorry for the Pun none intended) is the best place !!!!!!! Back yard breeders also are at the beginning but only small Picture !!!!!
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Temple Grandin would be involved with the BLM round-ups–IF the the BLM were truly concerned with humane issues. Anyone who truly has Temple’s best interest at heart would not involve her in such a controversial issue nor would they let the BLM take advantage of her.
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Just received an email from Joe Biden: “President Obama wants to send you a note to express how grateful we are for all you did.” I didn’t “favour them with a reply”, because can’t count the number of horse welfare and wild horse messages I’ve sent and phone calls I’ve made to the White House.
Mr. Obama, until you do something about these issues, you can keep your gratitude. If you do something to truly help American horses, I’ll be the first one to send YOU a note!
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This is exactly what I posted over on Horseback:
I too am disappointed in Ms Grandin’s apparent lack of understanding of horses, both physically and mentally, as well as her seeming lack of knowledge of advocates and what they are doing about the so called “unwanted” horse problem.
First, as has already been pointed out, horses are NOT cows. Their brains are recessed and must be shot from an entirely different angle than cattle. As we saw on the tapes of the Canadian facilities, the “kill box” designed for cattle actually makes it impossible to fire a shot from the correct angle to even begin to stun a horse. It has also been pointed out that the non-invasive captive bolt is not of sufficient length to properly stun a horse. Numerous shots – not the ONE specified in the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 – are the NORM rather than the exception.
Even the AVMA statement that the captive bolt is a humane way to kill a horse actually read: The captive bolt CAN (emphasis added) be humane IF proper HEAD RESTRAINT is used and the operator is PROPERLY TRAINED. This is a million miles from a blanket statement that the captive bold IS humane for horses. It is not, and cannot be made so by observation cameras or anything else.
I’m not even going to go into the horror of transportation, because everyone already knows what it’s like, whether they CARE of not.
As for activists not offering any solutions, all I can say is, where has Ms Grandin been living that she doesn’t know what we have been saying for over 30 years? Vets should be more proactive in educating their clients about what to expect at the end of their horse’s life. They should be ready to help their clients with the best way to handle the body in their area. Seems to me that the educational aspect is a big part in a horse vet’s responsibility to their clients – both equine and human.
As for the over breeding problem – and it IS the most important part of reducing the number of excess horses – she suggests, “They need to work with church groups to bring pressure. I don’t see a lot of effective control of breeding.” She must be kidding. Church groups bring pressure to bear on the AQHA, the Jockey Club and the Arabian Association? They don’t care what church groups think just like they don’t care what WE think. There is no way advocates can do anything significant to stop these huge, rich breed associations from breeding for slaughter except get slaughter outlawed. As long as slaughter is available, they will breed for it, period.
And then there IS the fact that American horses are NOT fit for human consumption, and no amount of ignoring the problem will make it go away. Ms Grandin doesn’t address this at all. Does she intend to keep her head stuck in the sand like everyone else does regarding what may be the most insurmountable objection of all?
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Activists need to work with church groups? Seriously, Temple? I notice that you also state that you are pulling back from this controversial conference, but not pulling OUT of it. Why is that? Please, can we not make Ms. Grandin the expert on how to slaughter our horses? Please stick to cattle, Temple. No one asked you for your opinion on how to slaughter our horses except fringe, radical, extremist, demented whackjobs.
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I couldn’t agree more with your comments. I cannot respect anybody who in any way is associated with the slaughter of horses. In my view, only the lowest caliber persons support slaughter of, or in any way, killing of horses.
Sue Wallis, AKA Slaughterhouse Sue, has consistently, and I think illegally, used certain comments associated with Temple Grandin on her web site in order to inappropriately and wrongly support Sue’s apparently irrational support of horse slaughter. I have noticed that those persons who call themselves “pro horse” appear to be actually concealing a hidden agenda regarding their atrocious plots to slaughter innocent and helpless horses that they pretend to be in support of.
Grandin’s plan to lessen pain of cattle who are slaughtered does not impress me greatly, and I would be more impressed with her if she appealed to our government and Congress to take steps to totally eliminate cruelty toward any animals. I would be impressed if our Congressmen had the backbone and the courage to eliminate the evil of Salazar and BLM in ALL the indecent and heinous cruelty they have perpetrated upon helpless horses.
Temple Grandin would have better served helpless animals if she had taken a stand AGAINST SLAUGHTER of horses, period. I could have had some respect for Grandin if she attempted to stop the BLM and Salazar DESTRUCTION of our horses. If Grandin cannot attempt to prevent the atrocities visited upon horses by BLM and Salazar, she is not part of any solution that is decent, and instead she is part of the problem. If designing a way to slaughter cattle is Grandin’s claim to fame I cannot lend much credence to what she has to say about anything related to our horses unless it is something heroic designed to SAVE the lives of our horses and to stop the barbaric treatment and killing of them.
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Yes, too bad Ms. Grandin is not using her much celebrated insight into the animal mind to stop the decimation of family bands, broken backs, sloughed off hooves, starvation in corrals, trauma suffered by being run for miles and miles by a monstrous helicopter, lifetime captivity with the threat of going to slaughter and the systematic eradication of wild horses on our lands. I, for one, do not give on iota what she has to say about how to humanely slaughter a horse. By speaking at this conference she has now stepped over the line from working to prevent unnecessary animal suffering to actively working to create MORE animal suffering. Shame on you, Temple for allowing your celebrity to be used and exploited by nefarious organizations.
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Exactly !!! Bravo savewildhorses Thank You !!!
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They have and continue to use Our Wild Mustangs to line all of their pockets, Isnt this a sad State of Affairs , when the innocent are persecuted for Capital gains, who better to use then the innocent??? They have been doing this trash for years , lining their pockets with the blood of Horses…. we can only stop this by going directly to the Source and that is undeniably AQHA. (for their participation in Over Breeding) ……………Its compared to using innocent children for capital gain because they cannot speak for themselves…..This is the Great American Tragedy , we need to fix this !!!! To target the very Animals that their blood and sweat and bones Built this Great Country is to say the least ,is as UN American as you can get !!!! WHere are the answer s to this……………………………………………………………. I am ashamed ! That this is allowed to continue………….without Criminal Judgments imposed on the Perpetrators..
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I would like to know WHAT part of The Wild Mustangs are a American Icon does she not understand, or anyone else for that matter !!!!!
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Temple Grandin has stepped into the limelight. She is fair game now. She is not looking beyond the ag community at responsible and educated wild horse advocates who are attempting to save our wild herds! She will help design equipment for an illegal activity that America is rejecting. Bad move, Temple.
Temple Grandin has decided to help kill more American horses and there will be wild ones among them. What has she got to say to that? We did not create the excess wild horses upon designated lands… BLM conjured numbers to remove wild horses from those lands. Now they will be considered to be slaughtered right here where Wild Horse Annie and now all of us have worked to save them from such a fate!
This gets more bizarre all the time. mar
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You have the perfect one liner: “This gets more bizarre all the time” I love it! and agree.
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“….But Grandin is also critical of animal activists who are quick to criticize animal agriculture but don’t offer solutions to the problem of the excess horses that feed the markets.
“I ask them, how you are going to solve that problem,” she said. “They don’t have any solutions.”
Excuse me, Dr Grandin. There have been many concerned individuals and organizations that have made numerous, constructive “solutions” to this situation, of which I know you have been made aware of. So that position of yours is incorrect. Additionally, it appears that (as I have always contended) you believe any animal is suitable for human consumption slaughter. Faulty logic ma’am, with all respect. And your solution is?
I look forward to your comprehensive, detailed plan to include economics and drug residual issues with regard to the “meat” potential of US equines.
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You’re right there are plenty of solutions that do NOT involve setting up horse slaughter houses in America with the horse traders. Temple is incorrect with her statement,“I ask them, how you are going to solve that problem,” she said. “They don’t have any solutions.”
she should also define what “problem” she is making public statements about and who “them” are, so the countless solutions offered can be discussed.
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I think the next question I would really want to hear an answer rom Dr. Granding is:
What are your recommendations for the disposal of condemned meats and carcasses, especially regarding factory farms and mega-slaughterhouses in the US? I assume, as the expert you are, you are concerned about the entire process, right?….not just lining them up and the killbox….right? Me thinks she can’t visualize a dangerous carcass….dead cows don’t feel or panic, but they sure in the h*** contaminate and pollute.
Awaiting anxiously for a public response via paper or blog or interview.
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Brilliant Denise, I anxiously await an answer ………….from her ????
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I appreciate the compliment of “brilliant” (and I’m not), but my concern is that Dr. Grandin has made (and rightfully so) a name for herself as a human that can understand animals, especially to slaughter. Well that’s great, to a point and brings me back to my point….that you can calmly slaughter an animal does not:
(1) make it ethical or moral (and this country (has/is) legislates morality ALL THE TIME from gays to abortion to types of sex performed, pornography to murder); and,
(2) address stolen equiines or lack of production records for slaughtered ones; and,
(3) define what to do with them if they can’t be eaten.
I want a well defined plan from Dr. Grandin that breaks out the profit margins, numbers, etc and the cost of documenting humanely slaughtered, certified good to eat equines in the US….want to bet she has a problem with those specific issues re: equine slaughter?
But I am willing to listen, document and reply when presented with the ENTIRE proposition.
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What is that word–MOOT point? It is ILLEGAL..PERIOD.
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A debatable question, an issue open to argument; also, an irrelevant question, a matter of no importance. For example, Whether Shakespeare actually wrote the poem remains a moot point among critics , or It’s a moot point whether the chicken or the egg came first . This term originated in British law where it described a point for discussion in a moot , or assembly, of law students. By the early 1700s it was being used more loosely in the present sense.
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Arlene, that is the word that we have heard TOO often from Federal Judges.
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Hello Louie, Did you catch it has two meanings one contradicting the first !!!! Should these words even be used in a court of Law, especially because of two contradictory meanings ??????? Its like saying i have a sore throat, then saying no i dont??????
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Louie,
In some ways, “moot” means legally no longer important EXCEPT that some judges use it to say, “it already happened…so I don’t have to decide”.
Read up on “Moot Court” and understand that we are still using moot in law schools.
Again, one man’s moot is another man’s wth!
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Arlene and Denise–BOTH good points. We have heard nothing BUT contradictions.
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This is a cop out point , this would be better to use because that is what it is , a court cop out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!…………….
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If something is wrong, it is wrong…regardless of the timeline. Politicians and judicial put off making the right calls all the time!
Let’s see…how long did it take for the slavery issue?…the right to vore?…calling out our governments for corruption, malfeseince (sp?), not following the LAWS? And even the laws are wrong often.
I love FOXNews…they crack me up and I do watch. The stuff they put out (same with “liberal media”) is pathetic. And the Constitutional clowns! What a HOOT!!!!
The Supreme Court whacks out Constutional this and that most of the year….and even they get overruled when a new court meets the next session.
And technically, what I have heard from our government, to include courts is not good.
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Dr. Grandin should be taken to task about her “humane slaughtering” of our horses. I think maybe we should use Dr. Grandin and Sue Willis as our examples. Place the two of them in a very, very small trailer (noone wants to be near or close to either of them), transport them for days across the border, and finally, the best yet, put them in the killer box so they can have what they deserve happen to them. In fact, I think Salazar, the helicopter company owner, and Abbey should also accompany them. What a great day that would be. WE would see the BLM dismantled as we know it today, and maybe, just maybe, our wild horses and burros would have the last laugh. My gut feeling is 2011 will be the year that the Wild Horses and Burrow will win this fight and these disgusting individuals and agencies will disintegrate all by themselves, with their lies and misrepresentations. Let’s push for this to happen.
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Dear Lynne Jones , They deserve to suffer just the way they made the Mustangs suffer i am in total agreement with What you just said here !!!! In fact its not punishment enough !!!! But they will have to answer to a Higher Power ………………….He created them for us a gift of Love and Promise , if only we all could see them in the Light in which they were created…… I would not want to be any of them when they face the Higher. Power…………… They abused and Murdered and maimed a Loving Gift presented to us out of his love for us……………..they were given to us to help us, teach us , and give us hope, they made a mockery of a Precious Gift !!!!!
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I’d like them just to stand in the 150MPH wind the helicoptor blasts as they say they “gently move” the wild horses by chopper. I bet that sand/stone blasting damages eyes and harms a lot of other small wildlife. Notice a lot of horses with small cuts from rocks blasting at them.
Heres a recent vid of a small chopper blowing a calf across a frozen pond http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/chopper-saves-calf-from-icy-pond-19176
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AND they can all live in a world with NO horses or wildlife or animals of any kind–just polluted water, air and soil. They can all have each other for company.
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I don’t know if the slaughterhouse here in CA that closed used her methods. I’m speaking of the cattle slaughter house that was closed when the HS secretly filmed and released video of abuse.
Shoving water hoses up a cows nose and/or using a forklift to push her to her feet so the meat wouldn’t be wasted is not only abuse but to me the bigger question is FOOD SAFETY. All meat from that slaughterhouse was recalled up to two years prior to th/the date of the abuse. Most of it had already been eaten; alot of it by schoolchilldren.
I’m glad that Dr Grandin sees people cleaning up before her arrival and understanding that it all goes to hell in a handbasket when she leaves. But the truth is that the slaughterhouse needs monitoring 24/7 and we know that isn’t going to happen.
Her idea of 95-99 percent kill is great but that doesn’t happen; it didn’t happen in the States and it doesn’t happen in Canada. And Mexico uses a knife so the captive bolt is not relevant to a discussion in terms of Mexico.
SS sounds scary. I mean you could buy cookies and pick up salmonella. You have to know that food you are buying is safe. That eggs are kept cold etc. SS laws would remove all these safety laws. It would definitely be buyer beware. And if someone picked up salmonella they would have no way to track down where it came from. There is a reason we have food safety laws in this country. Even when the system breaks down they try to track down where things came from. It doesn’t help those who have been sickened–but I wonder what SS would say the first time someone got sick from
stupid thing she passed.
You should know that her district represents some 1100 people of WY. Happily not everyone from WY feels the way she does.
Just for the record I don’t belong to any group; unless you call posting to this board belonging. I don’t consider myself a radical. If someone sees me as a radical because of reading I’ve done that’s there perception. And not the truth. And to be honest I am a carnivore.
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Did anyone ask Grandin, how does she know how a horse feels, when she can only feel what happens to her directly? She has been taught to respond to situations and events, and what is appropriate for her to respond to emotionally, did anyone ask if her therapist was proslaughter, and if you cannot respond properly because of your autism,then how would you know what a cow or any other animal is feeling at the point of death, YOU DO NOT GET OVER AUTISM YOU LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT LIKE ANYOTHER CHRONIC ILLNESS, YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF HAVING IMMEDIATE RESPONSE YOU ARE TAUGHT IT.
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So…. are there any pro- Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro speakers at this so-called Summit? If BLM officials attend this event does that mean the horses they “manage” will be returned to their ranges? Any one going to adopt 40,000 used-to-be-wild horses now in LTH pastures on private property? These 40,000 horses–removed from your public lands (theft)–are they now “privately owned”? How did BLM get into the life and death business? And the President plays nice with M. Vick.
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Not sure about that, but the Master of Ceremonies, Trent Loos, strongly supports sending wild horses in govt holding facilities to slaughter. Seems he feels they should “accomplish something more” with their lives. His words, not mine.
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I see where everybody detests the slaughter of horses. What do you all propose to do with the excess?
It is all fine and good to promote responsible breeding, but what do we do about the horses that are suffering NOW? All I see are people beating their breasts and nashing their teeth about horse slaughter, but no answers for those horses that are being abandoned and are starving, neglected or worse.
If you are not a part the solution, you are a part of the problem. I, for one, have two rescued horses as pasture ornaments. What have you done?
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Oh for heavens sake wake up, the “unwanted” horses amount to about 1% of the total horse population, how hard would that be to absorb without resorting to slaughtering them. When last did you watch a video of horses being slaughtered? I suggest you do.
Do you think we dont do everything we can for the horses in the situation they are in right now? I for one have 10 that I wont send to a sale and ultimately a slaughter house for an easy out because I decided that horses do not sell anymore, I took the responsibility to let them live their lives out as loved pasture ornaments at great cost financially, physically and emotionally and my 11th horse is a mare I saved from a PMU farm when they lost their contract a few years ago and just sold the whole lot off to get rid of them, if i had more money I would have taken on more but it was just not possible. I tell that mare every day of her life that she will NEVER find herself in that situation again in her lifetime and I mean it. I applaud you for the two you have saved.
Dont judge the people on this blog, they are all active, ardent, loving and educated advocates that have devoted every day of their lives to saving our horses, domestic and wild from a horrific, terrifying, painful end to their lives. They contribute financially, emitionally and physically every day of their lives to this cause. Can you say the same?
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to comment on ur above statement to me: buy a 2 yr-old that everyone thought couldn’t be something at 4 then turning around n having people price him at around 50 grand to me is pretty good. not as great as i like, but still good. his half sister, who did wonders at world n had the pleasure of keeping her in “tune”, sold for half a mill(her names Chips Private Stars if you want to look her up). yeah there are some show horses that end up on the trailer, im not denying that. BUT, would you rather them be humanely euthanized here in USA or in Mexico. i can assure you that they are not given great treatment there, and i’ll bet some of that wonderful footage you’ve seen are decades old or from (guess where) Mexico. to fix the inhumane slaughter problem that was happening, not as frequently as everyone thinks, we needed tighter regulations n more inspectors. NOT destroying the market by “abolishing” horse slaughter, n stop horse slaughter inspectors. the people behind this, the main people, dont care about animals n believe we shouldn’t have them as pets.
you must remember that it is the members of AQHA, not AQHA itself, that are breeding more horses. not every breeder is like Hank. please do not put them all in one category, that’s what the ARAs do. how many people are abel to buy a hundred thousand dollar horse in a “surplus economy”?? should people that can’t spend that much money on a horse, along with all the expenses that goes along with it, not have the animal? Stating that you own a majority of offspring doesn’t say much. i can tell you that i own a lopin slow babe, a daughter of invitation only, a grandson of zips chocolate chip, GD of Hickory, etc. i can tell you that i own the now retired horse Zercon Zipper. a well worthy pleasure horse. i love taking him to a barn, n someone recognizing him. but that doesn’t give me any credibility in this discussion.
those videos you talk about are to pull ur heart strings. from all the news relating to the undercover op being the one causing the inhumane treatment, i wouldn’t be surprised if they did it in those videos. these people twists things around n make it into something it’s not. besides, i know quiet a bit about the slaughter process since i took a class on it last semester. it is truly different than what the ARAs want you to see.
back when i was in high school, i was big in this issue. i’ve done lots interviews, read lots of articles, n have experienced people in financial trouble with their horses. i’ve had many people DROP their horses in my pasture! they weren’t show quality horses.i wouldn’t even put them into a 4-H horse show. all this happened, i believe, before we were in the “recession”. so, blaming everything on it is inaccurate.
sorry for my rambling..
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Oh, & excuse me, but who the hell are you, Jennifer?? For all those horse advocates that can not actually “rescue” a horse in person, as you’ve been able to do, they ARE “doing something”, like using their voices as support, sending money donations, making the public aware, calling & writing & sending e-mails, signing petitions, the list goes on. Everyone is doing what he or she can, according to their abilities, so, please back off, & get off your “high horse”. There wouldn’t be “excess” horses, if not for irresponsible, greedy breeders. There wouldn’t be “unwanted” horses if not for the bad economy, or greedy owners thinking their horses aren’t turning a profit for them, & unwanted horses account for a very small amount of the “supposed problems”. There wouldn’t be over-crowding at short or long term holding pens, if not for the assinine BLM continuing to round up all of America’s wild mustangs, instead of leaving them alone, & in the wild where they belong. Humans ARE the reason for the problem, & humans ARE the only solution.
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Temple, wake up! The solution is to stop over-breeding!
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Every word Sue/Dave and all the others that are HELL BENT on opening Slaughter Houses along with Temple Grandin and her grandure of a magical Slaughter is nothing but disgusting….They spurt one thing out of one side of their mouths and then something out of the other side. They are trying to help the horses and give all kind of reasoning’s why………………then here they come with “Horse Industry” …..there you have it…They want to help the Horse Industry, HUH, I thought it was the horses they wanted to help. No, the suffering Horse Industry..Never, not once acknowledging “OVER BREEDING”….=AQHA=Race Industry. When I posted to the Summit of the Abusers, what about the Overbreeding/AQHA/Race Industry….BINGO. DELETED AND BLOCKED……a little to close for comfort, eh?
As far as Temple, the woman has lost her mind, quite obvious. Temple, stop hiding behind Sue Wallis, we still see you!!!!!!!!!!!1
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Breeders create all the problems and then they blame animal rights activist for not cleaning it up. Of course, that’s perfectly reasonable. I wonder if that worked for them in high school when they made a mess and then blamed others for not cleaning it up.
Maybe time has come we all start pointing the finger in the right direction, time to hold the quilty responsible, time to take away their excuses, their bullying and their bail out. Time for them to wake up. Because this is America, not China, this is adulthood not high school, and this is the 21st century, not the middle ages.
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This is SICK !! I don’t care who she is, I think the “good”(highly doubtful!!), Dr. Temple Grandin, should be “humanely”(ha, ha, ha!!) shot in her temple, & hung out to rot or dry, with all the other pro-horse slaughter IDIOTS !! Sorry, but that’s how I feel about anyone who supports animal slaughter, especially horses! There is NO humane way or method of slaughtering an animal.
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I guess Temple has not heard about all the overbreeding going on and AQHA’s celebration of their 7th millionth foal ?????????
TEMPLE WE HAVE A SOLUTION -STOP IRRESPONSIBLE ROBO BREEDING !
Simone Netherlands put it very well here on the over breeding:
In addition to the obvious motives of the slaughter industry, the option of horse slaughter in itself in fact has created, is creating and will continue to create an overpopulation problem, by enabling over breeding (lottery breeding) and encouraging a quick turn around and dumping of horses.
As a convenient and lucrative means of disposal, horse slaughter allows the large breeding industries to dispose of horses that do not have the perfect conformation or speed or strength necessary for their discipline. The larger the quantities they breed, the larger their chances of a winner. The youngster that disappoints simply gets cashed into the killer buyer.
The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) celebrated their 7 millionth foal, and reported over 140,000 foals in 2009. This is approximately the same number as the number of U.S. horses slaughtered. Could it be possible that their motives be related to the fact that they need that same amount of horses to go to slaughter in order to make way for their new stock and keep prices falsely inflated? In any case, they seem morbidly afraid of a bill that will stand in their way of making their fortunes.
So while they cleverly make it seem as if they are protecting the individual horseman and as if they actually care about the welfare of horses, it is about pure and simple greed of the big industries, like it always is.
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There are MANY here that contribute to Horse Rescue Organizations–most don’t even own horses, but they are doing what they can to help.
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Most of the people on this blog have had horses or have been around them enough to understand what high strung, sensitive animals they are, and therefore understand that there is no possible way to make slaughter humane, regardess of what we are told by “experts”. That is why we take such a strong stand against it.
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Amen Louie !!! always can count on you for straight up statements
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Hi Arlene. It’s good to know that you’re keeping an eye on the back door.
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Thank You Louie, The Mustangs are ever so important to me and the total environment, and to all of America , My allegiance to them is very strong, I have always gone to see them out on the Nevada desert, heheheh while everyone was gambling I was out looking for the Magnificent Wild Mustang until 7 yrs ago i couldnt not find them or any signs that they were even there, i made inquires everywhere i could to no avail, finally i stopped at a little Indian fireworks place there i was told the entire truth , that the government took them…………….. I was devastated, he said the Government said they were starving, I knew immediately that this was a HUGE Government LIE………………… Never anytime i have been there to see them had I ever seen and thin Mustang !!!!!!!!!!!! Or to tell the truth even a sick one…………….. I had been to Vegas 125 times just to see them……………… I have always looked at them as The Regal American Ambassadors of Freedom, they have always made me Proud to be An American………….
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