Until we understand that, we will not be fully developed human beings. We are capable of understanding this but so many choose not to putting their sense pleasures above thoughtfulness.

What you do not understand is that the human animals thrives best on a species-appropriate diet that includes meat. I do not eat meat out of a hedonistic need to please my taste buds -I eat meat to nourish my body. I avoid many foods that taste very very good because they are bad for my body - anything with sugar being the prime example.

To say people eat meat just because it tastes good is naive, ignorant, and/or a dirty lie. Your dogma, while cute and cuddly and fuzzy, completely ignores the biological fact that humans are animals with very specific nutritional needs.

...people.

Having again read all these posts, the problem is with people who have had little contact with live animals, and who want to vilify those who do have knowledge of animals. Sensitivity, such as the sensitivity displayed by both horses and cattle, does not imply sentience.

Many persons might prefer that the rest of us become vegans, out of deference to that sensitivity.

One writer states that all animals suffer when humans make money from those animals. Another objects to calling them livestock. Others parse the conditions of slaughter and transport, and still more cite Temple Grandin. A bountiful barrel of blarney, but each of them should pony up the three thousand or so dollars it really takes to maintaina horse for a year. Multiply that by the 100,000 or more surplus horses annually, and it is a chunk of change.

My suggestion is to stop reading about how animals are supposed to be, get off the computer screen, and give your time to the horses. Then, should someone wish the end of a horse's life to serve a better purpose--say, Alpo, or a fine meal--be satisfied that your time, money, and sentiments are being served by your efforts.

Until then, stop trying to dictate what another person does with their property. Horses are livestock, and if it isn't your horse, it is none of your business, no matter how touchy-feely your ill thoughts may be.

Absolutely not! No horse exportation for slaughter! I consider horses to be companion animals and pets, regardless of what they do. Those who want to purchase a horse need to think about taking care of it for its full lifespan.....or don't purchase one.

Too many people think animals are disposable. When they are done with them, can't afford them, whatever, it's OK to kill them. No guilty consciences, here. Just down right cruel human beings who do this. Horses serve their owners well for a some years, but their owners do not wish to serve their horses well.

It is against the law, at least in Pennsylvania, to kill a dog, including your own. A Veterinarian must do it! Most Veterinarians would not euthanize a dog at the will of an owner, unless there is an illness or age-related problems. This law needs application to all owners, to include horses, throughout the US.

Sorry, to all owners who sell their horses to slaughterhouses. I pray the laws eventually crack down on all of you. Maybe, this will cause you pause the next time you think of purchasing a horse forcing you to ask yourself, "What will I do with this horse when I no longer need it, want it, or can afford it?" Hopefully, you will not buy it. This includes all horses, race, farm, ranch, sport, riding, any horse. If you can't commit yourself to the entire life of these wonderful animals, or, at least, find a home for them, you are not the kind of person who should have one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfmI1HiSiRk

So whatever happened to the so called phonies who preach their philosophy of "Pro Life"? Apparently all God's creatures were created unequally.

but, despite their mystique and majesty, like any other 'managed' animal, if overpopulated they should be culled.

Hey, pigs, cows, fish and chickens are also amazing!

Yet we eat them.

We require protein and we get it efficiently through eating meat.

So until ours is a vegetarian society, which deifies all animals, treating them as pets or idols, we shall eat them - cats & dogs as well. We simply don't care to know where our protein comes from, and the sooner our burgers come from the SPCA, the sooner we, as a society, will value 'meat.'

What you do not understand is that the human animals thrives best on a species-appropriate diet that includes meat. I do not eat meat out of a hedonistic need to please my taste buds -I eat meat to nourish my body. I avoid many foods that taste very very good because they are bad for my body - anything with sugar being the prime example.

To say people eat meat just because it tastes good is naive, ignorant, and/or a dirty lie. Your dogma, while cute and cuddly and fuzzy, completely ignores the biological fact that humans are animals with very specific nutritional needs.

******************

This is only your opinion. If that is the case, how come I've been doing very well on a meat free diet for 23 years? How come? Because I have chosen to do so. You could choose to, too. That is the only difference, choice.

Millions of people now and in the past have lived and thrived without meat. You only need to educate yourself about the diet. It's a choice.

I do not claim to be unbiased but I do claim to be knowledgeable. I am in the leather business and I sell horsehide.

The ban of horsehide slaughter may keep horses alive but it makes their lives miserable. In addition to what is mentioned in the Salon article, the horses are transported in trailers that are designed for transporting cows. Because horses stand higher than cows they bump into the bars of the pens in which they are held and end up with their hides bloodied and torn. The horses are killed for their meat and not their hides. Hides are merely a byproduct so nobody cares about the damage to the hides and apparently nobody cares about to discomfort to the horses.

Whether it is the nature of the process or lack of courage on the part of our legislators these bills banning horse slaughter are attached to larger bills so in essence legislators are never voting on these bills but rather more "important bills", such as large spending bills, defense spending bills, etc. Let me emphasize I do not recall the specific large bills to which these horse slaughter ban bills were attached, but when I researched it a year or so ago I discovered that they were in fact attached to much larger bills.

If somebody really believes that killing a horse is wrong there is little I or anybody else can do to convince them otherwise. However if you really believe that by banning the slaughter of horses in the United States, you are giving these horses better lives, nothing could be further from the truth. The horses are essentially transported in torture chambers, where they are transported to foreign countries, where they are often treated far worse than they were ever treated in the United States before they are slaughtered there.

Those horses that remain alive, as detailed in the Salon article do not necessarily receive the care and treatment that one would hope. I would never condone intentional cruelty and mistreatment of living creatures. However we live in society that consumes meat and utilizes leather in many forms. While I believe we should do all we can to minimize unnecessary suffering to animals, especially mammals, I believe I can state with confidence that ban on the slaughter of horses in the United States has added immeasurably to their suffering and not their welfare.

alpin53