OpEd by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/President Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Do the Math and the Horse-Eaters Tank
The God of Horse Slaughter Fanatics
When it comes to the years that we have all been working to ensure that predatory horse slaughter stays out of the United States I rank way down on the food chain of the “Who’s Who in Equine Advocacy.” There are many more knowledgeable and eloquent individuals such as Jerry Finch and John Holland, and many others, who carried the torch long before my eyes were opened and my heart-broken by the butchering of companion animals for the profit of foreign interests. But one thing that I do possess is a nose for business and, at the very least, the ability to know what makes a product profitable versus being a dog on the market and it does NOT take a PhD in economics to see that horse slaughter not only tanked in this country but it will never amount to anything, again.
We could take some time and examine the lack of credibility and the total expendability of the disposable non-educated who act as the voice for special interest groups in expounding on the untruths of how wonderful and great eating your best equine friends can be, but we won’t, today. Likewise we could look at their backers and dig into the why, what, when and where they exploit and perpetuate lies against American horses in order to further another bloody agenda that they hold near and dear to their stone cold hearts but we won’t, let’s save that for desert for another day.
Instead, let’s look at some grade school math that the horse-eaters don’t want the public to be aware of, the truth about why horse slaughter was never successful in the U.S. and never will be. Remember, the last three plants in the U.S. were owned by foreign companies who collected the money and sold tainted horse flesh to foreign interests. Virtually nothing went into the local communities and nothing enriched the United States. Horse slaughter was and will always be a total failure.
But to the math; yesterday Purdue University released the results of a study they conducted on the impact of equine businesses in the small, mid-western state of humble Indiana and lo and behold they found out that the business of living horses produced in excess of 2 Billion, yes BILLION, dollars in the state over the calendar year of 2010. What? I thought the horse industry had crumbled since the crappy little foreign slaughter houses closed, even though more horses are slaughtered now, across the border, than before they were closed. What could this mean in a state that is not even known for its horses?
Well, its simple folks and this is not something that someone needs a college education to figure out, you just need to be able add two plus two to figure out that a LIVE horse is worth more than a DEAD horse any day of the week. Any horse, regardless of breed, discipline or disposition, costs money to maintain and by spending that money a variety of businesses profit from the live equines that they support. Feed stores, Vets, tack supplies, trailer businesses, and the list goes on and on. A viable and healthy horse sold into slaughter, that is all the kill buyers look for, is a dead-end, no pun intended, for everyone including the horse. For a few hundred bucks it is the end of the line for the horse and any equine business that supports the industry, full stop.
Lets allow the numbers to talk and only use Indiana’s figure of $2,000,000,000.00 as a base line.
If kill buyers got, lets say, $500.00 per horse, which is very high, to sell them off to a torturous and inhumane slaughter plant how many horses would Indiana have to sell to slaughter to reap the same benefits as dealing with an economy centered around caring for live horses? Do have any idea? The answer is 4,000,000 horses. Yup 4 MILLION horses would have to be sold to slaughter to reach 2 billion in gross sales.
Hmmmm, nationwide the kill buyers are sending about 125,000 horses across the border to their deaths which only accounts for $62,500,000 in gross, really gross, national sales. Not real spell binding stuff and when the three plants were open they were stealing the dreams from about 100,000 horses a year. Not a real money-maker and maybe, just maybe the reason there was not a single U.S. owned company was dumb enough to be involved with horse slaughter in the U.S.. Is any of this making any sense?
It probably makes damn good sense to the 75% of the U.S. public that is vehemently opposed to brutally slaughtering and eating America’s best friend but it sure seems to fly over the heads of the minority who have turned killing horses into a fanatical cult which extols bloody barbarism, uses fraud to further their cause, ignores proven science and threatens the food supply of the U.S. if not the entire world.
And for what cause; simple…money and the need to feed narcissistic egos. There are a lot of emotionally challenged individuals out there and it is a crying shame that they not only have a collective voice, but often times their insane din drowns out the call of the sane.
That is something that we must work on and work on, NOW!
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, The Force of the Horse
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
It’s “possible” that we can save MORE horses now that Slaughter will be Legal in the U.S., because of all the Uproar and Public Awareness it will create. Every time they try to Slaughter a Horse, or transport a Horse from now on, we will show the Horrors to the Entire Planet. Fat Ass Sue will be running to the Hills by the Time we get finished…We are just getting started……..
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Exactly what I’ve been thinking, Judy!
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Gooooooooooooo Judy! You better keep one eye opened at all times, you slobbering queen of horseslaughter Stinky Sue….COS YOU’RE GOING DOWN!!
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Math has NEVER been the killers strong suit…the spend more sending equines to slaughter than they put in their wallets. Of course with big dumpers (breeders and breakers), they may get obscene perks from the tax man,,,,assuming they pay taxes.
The only ones making money are the corps that own the plants; everyone else in the food chain of horseflesh get screwed…especially the equines.
p.s. Is it me or the website? What’s with the format?
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Thanks, R.T.
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The answer to why this small minority of special interest has a voice is such simple math. It’s called adding dollars into the campaign coffers of dirty politicians. Money contributed to politicians is the root of the problem and has turned our country upside down, allowing small groups of special interest to run our country for decades. It’s why the BLM gets away with destroying our wild herds and it’s why the defunding was left out of the appropriations bill. It’s why 3 dirty boy politicians had the power to go in a back room and take out the protection for our equine, our tax payers and the health of the globe. It’s time to take our pitch forks to Washington D.C. and muck the dung we have in both parties out of the building. It’s going to take one hell of big wheel barrow, but it can be done and must be done, if the majority of this country is to once again be the deciders in our Nation as our Constitution was written. I would recommend starting with Wallis, who has flaunted her abuse of power, thumbed her nose at the law and stands to profit hugely from her corrupt behavior and work our way down the list. We have a duty to our Nation to stand tall and stop this madness, from the brutality to our equine, the jeopardizing of our food safety, to the insanity of our debt, while our politicians vote in their own fat raises and benefits for life.
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Beverly, you hit the nail on the head!! The cronyism and greed in our government has gotten so out of hand, it’s disgusting. We all need to shine the light on any and all politicians that support the heinous act of horse slaughter, as well as those who are gaining financially from ripping our wild horses and burros from their homes and freedom!!
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it’s pretty interesting to read the results of similar studies in other states….here’s info for virginia (found at http://www.vhib.org/virginia-equine-economic-impact-study.html)
•The Virginia horse industry has an economic impact of $1.2 billion.
•The industry generated more than 16,000 jobs in 2010 in Virginia with the greatest effects in the agriculture and ag services sectors, and a lesser effect in the areas of trade and construction.
•The largest areas of economic impact continue to be in Northern Virginia. More than 1,600 jobs in Fauquier and Loudoun are horse related. However, the largest employment impact in the state is in Rockbridge Country—the location of the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington. More than 1,330 jobs are industry related in Lexington and Buena Vista.
• The horse industry in Virginia generates $65.3 million in state and local taxes. More than 50% of that figure represents state taxes.
• Horse owners spend $873 million annually on horse-related expenses—including feed and bedding(the largest area of expense), boarding, training, tack, capital improvements, and labor. These expenses average out to $4,060 per horse.
• Nearly 1,200 horse shows and events were held in Virginia in 2010 – generating $25 million in revenue. Some 939,000 people attended Virginia horse shows and competitions last year. Out of state participants spent an average of $3,100 per event per “travel party.”
• Horses are the 9th largest agricultural commodity in Virginia according to cash receipts and Virginia ranks 12th in the nation for numbers of horses. According to the Census of Ag Statistics, while the number of farms in Virginia decreased between 1997-2007, the number of farms with horses actually increased(from 10,972 to 13,520) during that same period—offsetting a more significant decline in farms.
(the full report can be found here: http://www.vhib.org/documents/Va-Horse-Industry-Board-Equine-Economic-Impact%20Study.pdf_
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oh. & how much did the slaughter plant in kaufman, texas pay in taxes? wasn’t it under SIX DOLLARS? hmmmm. yes.
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It was Dallas Crown and it paid $5.00.
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the AHC has a listing of various state horse industry statistics from 2005…. http://www.horsecouncil.org/state-breakout-studies-following-states
of note: wyoming (home of the largest proponent of bringing slaughter back to US soil & who, admittedly, doesn’t even own horses):
The Wyoming horse industry produces goods and services valued at $191 million.
The national industry has a $286 million impact on the Wyoming economy when the multiplier effect of spending by industry suppliers and employees is taken into account. Accounting for off-site spending of spectators would result in an even higher figure.
33,100 Wyomingites are involved in the industry as horse owners, service providers, employees, and volunteers. Even more participate as spectators
The Wyoming horse industry directly provides 1,400 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. Spending by suppliers and employees (in Wyoming and other states) generates additional jobs in Wyoming for a total employment impact of 4,900.
There are 99,000 horses in Wyoming, over 60 percent of which are involved in showing and recreation
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& university of maine did a study (2005–can anyone find any more recent figures & reports???) on the equine industry statistics in new england…..
http://www.umaine.edu/…/Northeast%20Equine%20IndustryGbergmann.ppt
AHC figures indicate that 964,625 equines reside in the northeast states of CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, & WV
This number represents nearly 10.5% of the total equine population of the U.S. living on 6.2% of the land mass, including water.
Applying this percent to the national figures means the Northeast is generating 10.71 billion dollars of revenue, creating 147,000 FTE jobs and contributing 197.4 million dollars in tax revenue
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(Begin, “Preaching to the Choir”…)
One Wyoming ranch held a sale in September, 2011; 80 horses sold. One little unregistered gelding sold for $13,000. The sale total for this ONE ranch brought in just over $350,000. Their Spring sales? Just under half a million dollars, and a gelding someone was willing to pay $22,000 for.
Hard to believe the Horse industry is crumbling given figures like this for a single ranch. Even harder to believe our ‘horseback culture’ (isn’t that how sue characterizes it?) is threatened with exctinction.
Maybe what’s missing from horsemanship ISN’T the ability to send off your breeding ‘mistakes’ or ‘unwanted’ horses to slaughter. Maybe what’s missing is a head for business AND for horses, and when that fails, blame can be placed on crappy horses and mouthy ‘radicals’. Maybe what’s missing is the willingness to breed responsibly, train responsibly, stand behind what you create and take pride in knowing you’ve done your absolute best to insure the future of the animal and it’s owner, rather than simply put one on the ground and make it somebody else’s problem.
Maybe what’s missing from ‘horsemanship’ is ‘craftsmanship’.
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All those greedy slaughter idiots are thinking of is getting rich quick. They can’t even do simple math. I think the Cattlemen’s Assoc. and the Farm Bureau are behind this, but they ought to realized if there ever is a market for horse meat it will hurt their beef prices.
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To date Dallas Crown has NOT paid all their fines to the city of Kaufman.
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forcing Americans to pay USDA inspectors at horse slaughter plants so that the Europeans can eat our horses is stupid and a waste of our money. Americans have enough challanges today let alone subsidize the foreigners.
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R.T., thanks for doing th math. I can barely balance my checkbook, but my instincts told me this was the case. IMO, the slaughter crowd’s agenda not only includes a return to overbreeding in general, but breeding large numbers of big horses specificially for slaughter. To get around the drug issues these animals will never be given anything on the banned or questionable substances list. One problem, and they’ll be on the truck to an inumane death.
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This is something we’ve always known, but thank you immensely for putting it in context of actual numbers.
The other relevant piece of information however, is how slaughtering a horse removes the economic contribution of said horse for the future. So what is the total economic loss to the horse industry each year of slaughtering 125,000 horses? THAT is a number that would stagger Congress.
Each year, horse slaughter removes $x from the equine economy.
Each year, horse slaughter kills x equine jobs.
Etc, etc.
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click here for EVERY media outlet in the United States… Send RT’s article to all of them. you can send 5 emails at a time. just keep blasting them with the truth and the horrors…sit at your computers round the clock blasting this stuff out…..
http://capwiz.com/results/dbq/media/
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I honestly don’t think these people are right in the head. They think we don’t get it when they are the ones who don’t get it.
You made em mad R.T. LOL!!!! (Copied from the UH page)….
Patricia Patty Umbarger
What the….really? Grrrr….this makes me want to gouge my eyes out…well, maybe more like his so he cant write this crap anymore. Really, what a bunch of hateful ignorant people…and hiding under the ruse of ‘Horseback Magazine’.
Simple Math Butchers Horse Slaughter Terrorist Propaganda
rtfitch.wordpress.com
OpEd by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/President Wild Horse Freedom Federation Do the Math and the Horse-Eaters Tank When it comes to the years that we have all been working to ensure that predatory hor…
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Oh, that’s great! It’s always SO satisfying to make them furious, right, R.T.? I don’t see how they can make this R.T.’s fault though. He just did the math, he didn’t do the study it was based on.
Are they going to attack Purdue? I doubt it.
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People are so greedy these days…money,money,money. You don’t see us eating cats & dogs do you? Why should horses be any diffrent? Just because they can’t come in the house, or able to lay on your lap doesn’t mean anything, its the bond that creates between human and animals that counts. Horses are sepcial aniamls, eating them is wrong to do!! Why can’t these stupid people get this through their thick heads? Oh right because all they see is money signs ($$) Those poor horses don’t get a second chance, They don’t have a place for them to go if somebody doesn’t want them besides ending up in somebody’s stomach. When I went to summer camp (horse camp) I found out that more then half the horses there were saved from slaughter! One was just for bucking its owner off once (I know people who have been bucked offf millions of time, you don’t see them sending their horses away..) Those horses were so gentle, broke and sweet animals. Everybody has a bad day, including animals! They are ANIMALS, of course they mess up, that is NO reason to send them for meat! Everybody deserves to know the terror of the slaughterhouses, give the horses a chance!!!
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Did some simple and quick math myself and potential taxes from the industry paid would be half the $5 million congress allocated for inspections. So it wouldn’t even pay for the inspection cost. So why should tax payers have to?
@SHSF actually, New Jersey tried to pass a law to allow slaughtering of cats and dogs for food. Thankfully, the citizens of New Jersey voted it down. While Congress is afraid that banning horse slaughter would open the door for similar moves for cattle and chickens (though after news of this week, something must be done to ensure humane conditions); they don’t see that it can open the door to allow other companion animals to be slaughtered. Unfortunately horses are designated as “livestock” rather than “companion animals,” which is largely what they are in the U.S. Horses are viewed as property in the eyes of the law, though some recent court cases are moving towards the recognition that animals are more than property as sentient beings that people whose companion animals are taken from them in a manner that causes emotional distress are beginning to see rulings in their favor. Unfortunately, this is a slow and arduous process.
@jobunny–so ironic that you post the link to the American Horse Council site where all the statistics reside on what live horses mean to the economy when this is one of the leading groups behind pushing to get slaughter started back up in the U.S.
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yes, leslie! i, too, found that ironic….AHC is a contradiction in & of itself!
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I’ve operated a boarding facility for 7 years now. I take in 1-2 rescues at a time, retrain and give away. I am a big supporter of the Thoroughbred, I just love the bred. I find it a waste of time dealing with the government. Horse people, UNITE!! Let there be no Left or Right wingers here. If you are really, really, REALLY against horse slaughter, start where you are by setting an example. If you have a stallion, QUIT breeding for at least 2 years. Encourage your friends, and neighbors to put a HALT on breeding. Instead of breeding take in one horse in need. JUST ONE because action speaks much louder. If we want to make a change, we must start at home.
We do have a problem with over population, just look at Craigslist. How many ads from backyard breeders selling their unregistered, lame, uneducated pregnant mares for $200 or less? Or their studs? If we can pass laws to protect endangered species, why can we pass laws to fix the problem of overpopulated species? We need restrictions and licenses to breed, most of all we need ACCOUNTABILITY for our actions.
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