York DispatchHorse advocates push anti-slaughter bill Tuesday, July 13, 2004 -
They carried generals into battle and monarchs around
their kingdoms.
They've pulled carriages bearing the coffins of
revered dignitaries as crowds solemnly watched the procession.
"Horses are majestic, a symbol of power and
strength and if they have to die, then it should be done humanely with
sensitivity, not slaughter," said Tracy Young, owner of Lost and
Found Horse Rescue in Jacobus.
Young talked about his passion for saving horses
during a gathering with other equine advocates at Glen Rock Mill Inn
last night, where they discussed putting a stop to horse slaughter in
America.
Young supports the proposed American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act -- before the U.S. House of Representatives -- that would
ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption and export of horses
for slaughter.
"They're killing them here and sending the meat
overseas to Europe and places where they eat horse meat," Young
said. "If Europe wants horse meat, let them raise their own horses,
but eating horses is not acceptable here."
Raising bids: Former U.S. Rep. Bill Goodling of
Seven Valleys attended the meeting, and explained how he goes to horse
auctions in Timonium, Md., and drives the bid up to $1,000, out of the
"meat people's" price range.
He said he recently purchased a horse, retiring it to
a peaceful life at his farm, where he has several mares and
thoroughbreds.
"I grew up on a farm and horses became
family," he said. "I sold four horses last fall and I check to
see how they're doing. "
Goodling said he also sends anonymous notes to horse
owners who either don't take proper care of their animals, or put them
up for auction where they can be bought for slaughter.
Horses that can't be saved because of severe injury,
pain or diseases, deserve to die humanely by euthanasia, rather than
being slaughtered, Goodling said.
"We realized that afterwards they're used for dog
meat, but give them a sensitive exit," he said.
Horse owners who no longer want their animals should
avoid sending them to auctions where slaughterhouse representatives bid
on them, Young said.
He said many abused or injured horses still can be
rehabilitated and retrained to live a peaceful life with new caretakers.
But instead, they're sold to people who put them up to
for auction -- sometimes without the knowledge of the animals' former
owners -- and sold for slaughter.
Slaughter process: At the slaughter houses,
horses are put on a chute and rendered unconscious by stun guns. The
animals then drop down the chute to an area where their hind legs are
shackled and their throats slit, Young said.
"But the horses aren't always stunned unconscious
and they freak out," he said. "The horses are dangling,
flailing with their legs in the air and slit throats. And then they're
butchered."
Horse owners who sell their animals should keep track
of where the horses are going and how they're being handled. Sometimes
owners are deceived into believing that the buyer is taking the animal
to another home, not the slaughterhouse, Young said.
He also suggests owners donate their horses to equine
shelters or retirement farms, where the animals can live in peace and
safety.
Young's Lost and Found Horse Rescue offers healthy and
abused horses a place where they can be rehabilitated, retrained and
prepared for adoption, he said.
The rescue -- which buys horses from slaughterhouse
representatives at auctions -- retains ownership of the adopted animals,
checking on their well-being at their new homes.
"That way we can get them back if anything
happens or the people don't want them anymore," he explained.
--Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com
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