Horse slaughter in Missouri bill

[Tbird]

One of our state representatives (Jim Viebrock, R-Republic) "intends to file legislation this week aimed at bypassing a federal ban on meat inspectors working in horse slaughtering plants by getting processors to pay for the inspections. (Springfield, Mo., News-Leader, Jan. 12, 2010)

The move is said to be the solution to a poor market and poor sales of horses.

Not to start another slaughter debate here but I and others are finding it difficult to understand how (for example) the fact that I am unable or unwilling to sell my 28-year old arthritic gelding to slaughter diminishes the value of my young, healthy, sound, well-trained horse.

The "abondoned and starving horses" issue was mentioned in the article and, interestingly, the article was accompanied by a stock photo of some very thin horses which were confiscated from an owner years ago before the slaughter ban. Those horses were cared for by the MO humane society and either placed for adoption or humanely euthanized so the picture seems to be an inaccurate image for this article.

I'd be interested to hear opinions on the market/value point. Isn't a $20, 000 show horse still a $20, 000 show horse whether or not I can sell my old pensioner to slaughter?

Thanks.
Karen

[madelyn]

Horses at the top end still command top end prices, without any appreciable price effect from the slaughter market. But it's not a fair, entire picture, since the top end might comprise only 10-20% of the market.

At the other end of the spectrum, riding horse prices were affected DRASTICALLY in my area by the banning of slaughter. Since a well fleshed, decent horse was worth $400-600 at slaughter value (depending on the week/commodity pricing) one could reasonably expect to get at least twice that for a health animal, decently sound, decent conformation, "family horse" at a local stockyard auction. NOT ANY MORE. These days, the "family horse" type that shows up at a stockyard auction might bring $60, if there is even a buyer. As a result of the drop in prices, the yards have raised their fees, and there's a good possibility that the seller can actually end up owing a few bucks for having sold that $60 horse. This includes registered, sound, TB's, QH's, Paints, Arabians, ASB's TWH's, other gaited breeds, etc. The current economic conditions contribute, along with the bottomless market, to the large numbers of starved or abandoned horses.
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So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....

[griff]

I have purchased defendable high ground with clean water in NC and I am taking my horses along with salt, flint & steel, a lot of ammunition and Deep Woods Off with me when the commercial real estate mortgage default rate drives us over the next financial cliff.

Food and transportation.

griff
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"We has met the enemy and he is us" [Pogo]

[Fairplayfarm]

Griff you are a riot and i will gladly join you@

i aggree with madelyn before the slaughter ban a decently bred weanling without much of a show pedigree could fetch well over $1000 in our area or out of state...now no one can give even the best bred ones away. now you go to the one and only auction left in this state and livestock is slowing leaving and its all junk...a nicely broke registered young horse is lucky if they come anywhere close to $500...the rest maybe bring $60-$100 and are headed to canada for slaughter....rescues are full, dealers cant sell (and the ones they cant sell they usually ship to canada) and no one can find a home for the horse they can no longer afford to feed due to the economy...seems when it comes to food on someones table for their family/heating or the family horse the horse will always lose out...but what if that family could get 4-500 for that same horse (like it used to be) to be able to get by another month with heat food etc when they have no work?

Also we used to see alot of horses shipped in from out west at an annual horse and tack auction that has since the ban stopped and also shipped in locally for resale at some dealers take some pretty good prices....$1000-$8500 just before the ban depending on the horse most were well into the 2500 mark those same quality horses are now bringing maybe 1200...so its limiting lots of places locally for people to find agood horse to suit their needs that otherwise maybe they couldnt go out west to purchase as well as other venues to compete with each other (tack, supply, grain, livestock etc) so now the ones left raise their prices on regular goods to either get by or make a huge profit where they can....this effected more than just the sales markets for horses...its touched into the entire agricultural industry...think about it those who make hay may still sell their goods but have increasing costs that those in the horse industry can no longer afford so they fold and the hay supplier or other supplier loses a valuable customer....
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~Alexis Ingraham
Fair Play Farm
www.fairplayfarm.net

[madelyn]

Fairplay, our legislators who banned slaughter call the bedlam in the market that they have caused, "unintended consequences." I call the legislation "half-baked idiocy that was not thought through." We can't seem to agree
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So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....

[Fairplayfarm]

How true how true....everyone who pushed for anti slaughter views this time period where horses are going neglected and starved for years as a transitioning period .... They say its all in the name of slaughter being inhumane but imo what is worse 24 hours to a week of feedlot and a relatively quick death or a slow agonizing death due to starvation or lack of medical care....I would just as soon see a healthy horses life end sooner than see them suffer for years with no care.... But I guess the way all the anti people feel is that the horses suffering during this transition time are simply martyrs and of no concern...its too bad really. Time will tell where this all leads....
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~Alexis Ingraham
Fair Play Farm
www.fairplayfarm.net