From: lastrefuge.geo
To: againstslaughter@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 12:51 PM
Subject: [againstslaughter] Daniel's Speech - Kleenex Warning
I HAVE A DREAM
Ladies and Gentlemen -- Citizens of DeKalb and all Americans,
Greetings from Madrid, Spain. My name is Daniel Cordero Fernández. I have loved horses ever since I saw my first one many years ago. Today, I am one of the many people fighting the despicable industry of horse slaughter.
Horses have always been in my sleep dreams and waking dreams. I ride them into the sunset. I gently groom them in their stalls. Always, in my dreams, the horses and I show one another love and respect.
If I'm depressed, I think of horses peacefully snoozing under
the moonlight, or wild horses running fast -- the pure essence of
freedom. I hear thundering hooves crossing endless green plains. My spirits
lift.
When I was young, my heroes from European and American history traveled on horseback, delivering justice in a world full of injustices. What child hasn't dreamed of being a knight or a princess, a cowboy or a cowgirl? How many of us haven't dreamed about riding, caring for, and bonding with a horse -- just like the "good guys" of yesteryear? Do today's children have the same dreams, the same heroes, that we did when we were lads and lassies?
But horses are not only the loyal partners of our heroes of olden days; the horses themselves are our heroes! They allow us to find our true selves when we look deep into their kind eyes. Their sweet hearts make us feel unconditionally loved.
Did you know that the symbol of ancient Athens, where Democracy was born, is the horse? Similarly, the horse was part of the dream of Spanish conquerers discovering America, and of American pioneers heading further West to find a new life.
But the greed of several French and Belgian companies has
turned my horse dream into a nightmare. They have brought gruesome, premature
deaths to tens of thousands of horses murdered every year in the two
slaughterhouses left in the U.S. (both in Texas). And to the hundred of
thousands of horses murdered by Belgian-owned Cavel International
when its DeKalb plant was operating between 1986 and early 2002. And to the
three million horses murdered throughout America over the past 20 years.
Yes, those kind horse hearts -- the same hearts that love us so -- are bled out of these horses, often while they are still conscious and kicking. These loving hearts beat for the last time so that the wicked whims of wealthy European and Japanese consumers may be satisfied. Our companions, our loyal friends who are so gentle with children, our most wonderful of God´s creatures -- destroyed to make "designer food" for gourmet appetites.
Americans don't eat horses. Did you know that we Spaniard don't either? We share with you the belief that this practice is outrageous and repulsive.
How have horses served mankind? They've carried soldiers to war. They've made civilization possible, pulling wagons and carriages through cities and villages, plows through fields, logs through forests. And how are we rewarding them for their endless hours of work on our behalf? By sending them to meet the most horrific and painful death possible, suspended head down abject misery, drowning in their own blood.
Horses have deep emotions, akin to the feelings of humans. Their innate sensitivity responds to soft pressure, kind words, comforting songs, gentle whispers. They are closer to us than most creatures in this world. We humans and our horses have shared an unwritten pact for thousands of years: We treat them as partners and companions, caring them like our own children; in return, they offer loyalty and love, strength and speed. We have tamed each other.
But Cavel and its buddies, Dallas Crown and Bel-Tex in Texas, have no problem with violating this pact. They see nothing wrong with destroying our dreams to fill in their greedy pockets by killing our cherished horses.
Why do Americans allow such a barbaric, despicable, and immoral practice? Because most of you don't know it exists. The companies creep into communities quietly, as Cavel is doing in DeKalb today. They sneak in like a cancer -- hiding from detection. If and when they are discovered, they cover their tactics with deceitful propaganda, hoping you will remain ignorant of the truth. They convince you that slaughter is a necessity, and that horse owners have the right to do what they want with their "property."
I, for one, am fed up with the lies, misrepresentations and
immorality of these companies and their hired supporters. And so I
say:
Wake up America!
Our faithful friends are being carved up into a $15-per-pound delicacy, served
in expensive restaurants in France. Don't believe anyone who tells you horsemeat
provides for the nutritional needs of poor people abroad.
Wake up America!
Don't believe the lie that only old, lame, ill, or useless horses are
slaughtered. The vast majority of them are sound, healthy, fat, 1,100- pound
pets (often stolen), purchased at auction by middlemen we call "killer
buyers."
Wake up America!
It is absolutely false that slaughter is either "painless" or
"humane." Pain-searing slaughter is the opposite of painless
euthanasia. Slaughtering a pregnant mare or an innocent yearling – any horse,
for that matter – is the farthest thing from humane! And not just the killing
itself, but transport to the plant constitutes cruel treatment. There are
federal laws against such mistreatment! Many horses reach the plant
severely injured; some die en route. The sole objective of slaughter is profit.
It is not a "service" at all!
Wake up America!
Instead of discouraging horse abuse and starvation, slaughter actually
encourages abuse and neglect by providing a way for the abusers to destroy proof
of their offenses and earn a few hundred dollars. Abusers continue to abuse,
whether slaughter is an option or not. Researchers have proved that abuse cases
did not increase during the years that the number of American horses slaughtered
declined precipitously.
Wake up America!
Slaughter offers a great incentive to horse rustlers, who can easily pocket $700
for a fat, healthy pet horse. When California banned horse slaughter in 1998,
horse theft immediately decreased by more than one-third, and it has remained at
that lower level.
Wake up America!
All profits, if there are any, go to Belgium and France. These foreign-owned
companies do not even pay an export tariff on
horsemeat!
Open your eyes, America! Open yours eyes, DeKalb!
Open your eyes to the bloody, dirty secret of horse slaughter. We can stop this
now. On the federal level, we have simply to exert pressure on our Congressmen
by calling them en masse, persuading them to co- sponsor HR 857: The American
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. On the local level, DeKalb can stop the
rebuilding of Cavel´s house of horrors at any time, under Section 14.03.06 of
the DeKalb Zoning Ordinance – in spite of city officials' claims to the
contrary.
Before I close, I'd like to remind the city officials of DeKalb that, while money and holding office might give you power, they don't guarantee you a place in Heaven. God is watching your actions. He will judge you. Please do the right thing: Stop this nightmare now!
I have a dream. I dream that American horses will never be slaughtered again. Now that you citizens of DeKalb have heard about the nightmare, do you share my dream? If you do, please be brave enough to tell the Belgian and French horse murderers that they are not welcome. Have the moral courage to shout: "NO MORE!" When you say "no" in DeKalb, you are helping horse-slaughtering nations the world over to awake to the immorality of horse slaughter. And that's my ultimate dream: That one day soon no horse in the whole wide world will be slaughtered -- that all will be free to run through endless green pastures.
Thank you very much.
Daniel Cordero Fernandez