Citizens getting informed and getting involved

Daily Herald
April 10, 2004
LTE
No Headline
Daily Herald Reports
Posted 4/10/2004
Speak out against horse slaughter
Today I called an Illinois state representative about the recent vote on SB
1921, which if passed, would ban the opening and operation of a
horse-slaughtering facility in DeKalb. I asked why he voted no on this ban and was thoroughly
dismayed by the reply: "Because poor horse owners who can't afford to have
their animals destroyed humanely when they are old or sick, find that sending
them to a slaughterhouse is so much better than having them suffer and die a
slow and painful death."
Wow! Can there be a better display of compassion?
Ample information regarding the horrors of a slaughterhouse is available at
libraries, as well as the Internet. Pain-free and comfortable are certainly not
words that could ever be used to describe the hideous and barbaric workings
of a slaughterhouse.
If this facility is allowed to open, horses from all over the country will be
shipped here for slaughter. From 100 to 200 could be killed each day. Young
or old, sick or lame, mares or foals, thoroughbreds or "pets," they are loaded
into crowded trucks with little or no room to move. They may be transported
for days at a time and given no food or water.
The slaughtering process itself is a hellish affair, and the animals may or
may not be unconscious when it commences. It's hard to believe that anyone
knowing the facts can vote against a bill which would ban such a practice.
This horse-killing facility is to provide horse meat as food for human
consumption and will be shipped overseas, because it is not a lawfully sold product
in the United States. Since horses are treated with so many different
medications for various diseases, as well as preventatives for other afflictions, the
meat can present a real health threat when eaten by humans. The state of
Illinois will reap no financial benefit on the shipment of this meat to foreign
countries because there is no export tariff on horse meat.
The first vote on SB 1921 was March 25 and was defeated by five votes. Sixty
are needed for passage. It will be recalled for another vote within the next
week. The following Illinois state representatives voted no in support of the
ban: Mark Beaubien, JoAnn Osmond and Ed Sullivan Jr.
Please contact them and ask them to vote yes the next time SB 1921 is
presented for a vote. Their phone numbers are listed under state government in the
phone book or under Illinois General Assembly on the Internet.
Pat Slusser
Beach Park