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Chicagoist hasn't ever eaten horse meat. We don't really have a moral objection to it, any more than we have a moral objection to eating veal, lamb, chicken, frog legs, fois gras, and on and on; we just haven't eaten it.
But some people do have a moral objection, and those people are feeling pretty happy after the nation's only operational horse slaughterhouse, DeKalb County-based Cavel International Inc., was shut down on Thursday. A federal judge ruled that "it was illegal for horse slaughterhouses to pay the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cover costs of their health inspections," essentially because the USDA is also the organization that would shut them down if they didn't pass the inspections. While it wasn't really a moral victory against horse slaughterhouses, it was good enough to shut Cavel International down. The plant normally slaughters 1,000 horses a week, generating $30 million a year in foreign trade.
The horses at Cavel International, Inc. are killed with "a handheld 'penetrating captive bolt device' applied to the skull that opponents consider barbaric but regulators consider humane." This is the same device used to kill cattle. Once the horses have been slaughtered, they are shipped off to Europe where people don't seem to care one way or the other what they put in their mouth as long as it isn't genetically modified.
Even without this most recent ruling, the good old days may be over for Cavel, since a variety of legislation is on the table that would prohibit the slaughter of horses for consumption. A bipartisan bill passed the House of Representatives 263-146 last year and was reintroduced this winter. Here in Illinois, a ban passed a House committee by an 8-4 vote last week.
Image via Dee Dreslough.
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The difference between a horse and a cow is huge when it comes to this slaughter tactic- cows are very passive creatures and, reportedly, do not panic when killed in this manner (I've never actually visited a slaughterhouse but this is what I'm told). horses, on the other hand, become absolutely terrified, and will buck/kick/do just about anything in an attempt to save themselves. Additionally, the manner in which horses are transported to slaughter is grossly inhumane- horses routinely break their legs, enucleate their eyes, and endure various other significantly painful injuries en route to the slaughter house. This is also not a problem with cows.
Chicagoist Typowatch, Week somethingsomething...
"But some people do an objection a moral objection"
Sounds like a bonus-track line from the doe, a deer, a female deer song. =)
bopo - thanks for letting me know. It should be fixed now.
the difference between horses and cows IS HUGE!!!!!
horses do not carry diseases like mad cow
horses meat is much leaner
horses meat tastes better
your argument about which animal is more frightened at the time of death is silly, at best. You OBVIOUSLY have never been to a slaughterhouse for any kind of animal. I've seen a few and I understand how some people choose vegetarianism. But meat is good, so kill away.
Horse sushi is on my toplist of foods to explore, as I've already enjoyed different horse sausages in Belgium, France and Germany.
I have also been outside the horse slaughter plant in Illinois, and I can tell you, it's farmers bringing their horses to the slaughter in the same way they cart them around to horse shows. No broken legs or any BS like that.
So there you go, some people want to make more lawsand now many people will go jobless and many horses will simply get a bullet through the head at the farm. Way to go big gov't!!!!
never forget that animal rights people may say they want this stuff to be "humane," but its a lie. they want to erode the meat industry's clout gradually so they can push vegetarianism.
if you're okay with meat, which you should be, it's ridiculous to nitpick about what animal is being used for food (unless of course its an endangered species).
If horse owners were prepared to bear the considerable expense of keeping old horses, there wouldn't be a need for slaughtering them. Prohibiting the practice sounds like a pretty silly idea, aimed at the more foolish wing of PETA.