Got Horse? It's..... whats for dinner...

[lib2DaBone]

Miami is already a third world country. Wait until they kick in the windows of the local grocery stores and strip the shelves bare.... it's going to happen... soon...

What part of 'hunger' don't Republicans understand? I wonder how Hannity and Rush are going to spin this?

This meat is not being sold on the black market... its being bar-b-qued on overturned shopping carts in vacant fields and under the freeway overpass. Its consumed the very same day.

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http://sz0096.wc.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/mail#

MIAMI — Someone is killing the horses of Miami-Dade County.

Since January, police say at least 17 horses have been butchered, their carcasses left on roadsides or in stalls or rural pastures.

Police tiptoe around questions about who is doing the killing and why, but animal rights advocates believe the meat is being sold on the black market to people from other countries where horse is a delicacy.

"It's a real ugly problem we're trying to take hold of and eliminate," said Richard Couto, an investigator with the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which has recently looked into six horse killings. "Extremely, extremely difficult to find the people that are doing the slaughtering."

[Orrex]

1. Doesn't pay to be a horse these days

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6182383&mesg_id=6182383

[villager]

2. though how come this offends people, yet slaughterhouse conditions for pigs and cows don't?

n/t

[robinlynne]

3. and horses. Our gov't sells wild horse meat to foreign countries. or at least the horses

themselves. I'm not sure whether the butchering is done here. I know there is a proposed bill to stop horse slaughter in the US for meat export....

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. You gotta admit there is a substantial difference between a cow going

to a slaughterhouse and a horse being stolen from its stall and slaughtered at the side of the road.

[villager]

10. is it just the "rustling" that bothers people, but not the killing or consumption?

n/t

[JonQ]

27. I would think the rustling would be the biggest issue

horses aren't cheap.

I imagine there would be an added outrage if it happened to be a beloved pet as well.

[JonQ]

7. I don't see a problem with either

well the stealing and lack of regulation is a problem. But slaughtering horses for meat doesn't seem an issue to me. This is likely the result of the ban on horse slaughters here in the US.

Blackmarkets thrive on prohibition afterall.

[SWr]

31. other than ...

Other than its against the law.

But whos counting.

[kestrel91316]

12. Horses are considered companion animals. Pigs and cows raised as livestock

for food are NOT considered companion animals. THAT'S why it disturbs people.

But I'm sure you knew that.

[villager]

16. all perception, though, since each species is similarly equipped for awareness, to feel, etc.

So again, why is one "ethical," and the other isn't?

[JonQ]

28. Seems like a vague definition

as people raise livestock as pets all the time, and slaughter horses and dogs and cats for meat.

[superduperfarleft]

34. Cuddlytarians are so cute when they attempt to rationalize the irrational. n/t

[nyc 4 Biden]

13. I'm offended by both.

Animals are not commodities to be tossed around and tortured. Support CEK (Controlled-Atmosphere Killing) for chickens and turkeys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Atmosphere_Killing

http://www.peta.org/cak/

[superduperfarleft]

32. Or just quit eating them altogether.

:shrug:

[BonnieJW]

18. I am offended by all of it.

But horses are companion animals. They are pets. I travel to another town to purchase beef from a farmer who pastures his cattle without hormones or chemicals. They are treated humanely, even allowing calves to stay with their mothers until they wean themselves at seven months.

[superduperfarleft]

33. So if the horses were treated humanely, you'd be okay with it? n/t

[northernlights]

35. I had someone trying to steal my horse a few years ago

out of my backyard.

I rescued him from near-starvation 20 years ago, trained him to Prix St. George dressage, and now he is enjoying a well-earned retirement.

It offended me to no end that some fucking asshole tried to steal him from my pasture a few years back because he was too fucking lazy to get a job and earn a living. I'm not far from Canada, and I did not rescue him, or put my heart and soul into him, so that he could be trucked in miserable conditions to a feedlot and come to a terrifying and miserable end before landing on someone else's dinner plate.

The fucking asshole kept me out of work for a year, while I stayed home to protect my animals. He cost my my living for a year.

THAT'S WHY IT OFFENDS SOME PEOPLE. BECAUSE STEALING FAMILY MEMBERS AND SLAUGHTERING THEM IS KIDNAPPING, TORTURE AND MURDER.

[MineralMan]

4. Since I'm a food explorer, I tried horsemeat in a

restaurant in France. Not bad, but not enough different from other meats to be worthwhile. Cattle are cheaper to raise than horses, and animals like rabbits and chickens are even cheaper yet. Horses are an impractical food source, frankly.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Only practical if you gat them for free, i.e., through theft and illicit slaughter. nt

[alfredo]

20. Like Buffalo, it is a very lean meat. If I had a good, cheap source, I'd

eat it. I like Goat, Buffalo, Elk, Venison. Octopus is tasty too. Goat chitlins are tasty!
Forgot to add: Wild Boar is very good too.

Yet to try ostrich and kangaroo.

[villager]

21. had some elk recently, that a friend hunted himself

rare to see that much "hands on" responsbility for one's food! Especially animal-derived!

It was tasty.

And we were sure to thank the elk!

[alfredo]

23. I'd like to see more buffalo. It seems more tender than Elk.

[lame54]

6. I tried horse once - it gave me the trots

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. lol

[timeforpeace]

9. Two words. Horseradish. OK, one word. Makes it go down a treat.

[L0oniX]

11. Kangaroo anyone? ..Australia Burger King ...home of the Rooper

[doodadem]

15. Exactly

I just posted about this on another thread, same article. This meat is not being sold to the local French and Japanese populations, its being sold to people who either don't know any better, or are too hungry to care. Not that its any more right, but they're going after the horses that are well cared for and have some meat on their bones--not the ones that people are abandoning because they can't afford to feed them anymore.

And BTW--yes indeed, the horse slaughter bill did pass last year, and the last two slaughter houses in the U.S. were closed for horse slaughter. We thought that would end this kind of thing. The BLM has never sold mustangs or wild burro's to Europe for meat. There have been problems with people adopting the animals, and then selling them for meat.

Horses are not food.

[FreedomTrain]

19. Yes, horses are food

Please, don't try to pass your cultural preferences off as universal truth - it's unbecoming and a tad bigoted. Horse meat is accepted food in many countries, and I too will eat it gladly. The stuff up-thread about horses being "pets" and as such differentiated from other animals that we may eat is also silly. A horse if anything is a tool - or at least it was back in the day. And when the tool had lost its usefulness either through age or injury, you would slaughter and eat it. One of my European ancestors before he came over used to make and sell a special brand of horse sausage. It is still made over there to this day, and I, as a European-American, swear by its delicacy.

[Sentath]

22. Ooh, Were the skills passed on to anyone?

A good charcutier is worth his salt.

(can something be too true to be a pun?)

[doodadem]

24. My my.........3 posts

Three posts, and already winning friends and influencing enemies!

Have you ever been up close and personal with a horse that wasn't in a sausage casing? To some of us, they're actually much more than pets. They are partners and friends. Having owned both horse and cow, I can tell you horses are much more intelligent and perceptive. But no animal deserves to be knocked between the eyes with a hammer.

So you eat your tools after they have "lost their usefulness". Tell me, do Volkswagens taste like chicken?

[csziggy]

25. Horses can be food, stealing and butchering one that is a beloved companion is cruel

I also know people who own goats, chickens, and cows that they consider their pets and that they would never kill for meat. Forget the cultural differences - OUR culture says if someone considers an animal their pet, it is not permissible to kill it and butcher it, no matter what the species. Incas ate guinea pigs, Mayans ate Chichuahuas, but we don't eat either in our culture.

My horses are my companions - three of the four were born here and I was there at their births. I've seen news stories about people who went out to feed their animals in the morning and found partially butchered carcasses. If that happened to one of my horses, I would be heartbroken - and would be out for the blood of whoever killed them.

Frankly, I don't see anything morally reprehensible about eating horse meat, or anything different from eating any other kind of meat - but this country has made the choice that it is not acceptable at this time. Times change but we do not live in the past or in another country, we live here and now.

The closing of the slaughter houses has caused a big problem - people cannot get rid of dangerous, undesirable, and unneeded horses anymore. The price of horses is lower than I have seen it in thirty years. People who cannot afford to feed their horses can't sell them at all and they are abandoning horses. Rescue groups are overwhelmed with horses that they also cannot afford to feed.

[SWr]

30. Oh well

Doesnt matter ... cultural differences dont matter ... doesnt matter what the hell other countries consider "ok".

In the US of A ... the slaughter and sale of horse meat for human consumption has been BANNED by LAW since at least 2007 (last I checked).

If there are Euros or others here who like it they can find the nearest EXIT sign and leave the US.

Dont like the law fine work to change it but until then dont be surprised if you get bit breaking it.

[madokie]

17. I've often wondered if the red meat in the c rations we were eating

in VN wasn't horse meat.

[doodadem]

26. The other big problem here

The other big problem here is that these well-fed horses are much more likely to be fed various medications, wormers, etc. on a regular, even daily, basis. These supplements have big bold warnings on them that state, "NOT TO BE FED TO ANIMALS INTENDED AS FOOD". I don't know what the side effects are in humans, but I'm assuming the manufacturers are giving warning for a good reason.

[Dr.Phool]

29. You want fries with that?!

Probably supersized too.