Works Cited

Works Cited

American Wild Horse Prevention. Digital image. American Wild Horse Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. <www.wildhorsepreservation.org.>.

Carter, Lisa. Equine Vet Speaks Out Against Horse Slaughter. Digital image. HUMANE SOCIETY VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. Memberclicks, 9 Mar. 2009. Web. 21 May 2013. <http://www.hsvma.org/equine_vet_speaks_out#.UZ6G8bVJOVU>.

Cruelty of horse slaughter. Digital image. Just Say Whoa!! N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. <http://www.justsaywhoa.org/abuse.asp>.

Dukes, Lauren E. Picture from a freelance artist, Lauren E. Dukes. Digital image. Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. <https://www.facebook.com/DreamHorseStudios/photos_stream>.

Horse Politics. Digital image. James McWilliams. N.p., 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 May 2013. <james-mcwilliams.com>.

Howie, James. STOP The Horse Slaughter NOW... Digital image. Care2.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. <http://www.thepetitionsite.com/11/stop-the-horse-slaughter-now/>.

Lisa. STATE UPHOLDS BAN ON HORSE SLAUGHTER HOUSES IN ILLINOIS! Digital image. Blogspot. N.p., 2 Apr. 2009. Web. 21 May 2013. <http://puttinghorsesfirst.blogspot.com/2009/04/state-upholds-ban-on-horse-slaughter.html>.

Mesley, Wendy, and Mellissa Fung. "Horse slaughter rules violated, video shows." National (CBC Television) 17/05/2010, n. pag. Print.

Milani, Kathy. The Facts on Horse Slaughter. Digital image. Humansociety.org. N.p., 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 May 2013. <http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/horse_slaughter/facts/facts_horse_slaughter.html>.

"Slaughter of horses causes outrage." Age, The (Melbourne) 13/12/2012, n. pag. Print.

UPI Top News [Washington] 03/14/2013, n. pag. Print.

Winegar, Karin, and Regan Dunnick. "THE SLAUGHTER DEBATE." Horse & Rider. 11/2007: Vol. 46 Issue 11, p 42-49. Print.

Worden, Amy. Fraud Case turns Spotlight on Horse Slaughter Issue. Digital image. Animal Connection. Blogspot, 13 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 May 2013. <http://animalconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/fraud-case-turns-spotlight-on-horse.html>.

Argumentative Essay

Lauren Street

Ms. McKoy

English II

May 9, 2013

The Facts About Horse Slaughter

            Horses are one of the world’s most beautiful animals. They range from different colors, sizes, and even personalities. Horses are loved by many and live happily on farms or on their own. In reality, hundreds of thousands of horses are killed each year. Horses are often slaughtered due to the fact they are unwanted and have nowhere to go. Once a horse is at a slaughter plant, they are often killed unpleasantly. There are rules in place, but the rules are ignored each day. Horses get murdered daily and they need our help. 92% of horses slaughtered are healthy and sound 3 to 7 year olds. They are sent to slaughter plants because people change their mind and decide they want a better horse. Society expects perfect and most horse owners want to their horses to fit thoroughly in the image of perfection. Horse slaughter is not being taken seriously, because horses are still being slaughtered with a ban, horses are being sent to Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries to be slaughtered, and horses are killed inhumanely every single day.

            A ban was placed on horse slaughter in 2006, but the United States kept the slaughter plants open secretly. Unfortunately, the ban was only for 5 years and in 2011 the ban was forced to be lifted. Many horse slaughter plants have opened up again and started their torturous ways. “The number of horses being slaughtered has doubled every 2 years since 2005,” reports Wendy Mesley (CBC Television, 46). The ban was placed in 2006 so that means the slaughterhouses operated illegally for five years. If slaughterhouses were already operating illegally, then this means slaughterhouses will not care about rules. Horses are killed inhumanely each day and the government has not bothered to do a thing about it. 92% of horses slaughtered each year are healthy and sound. Of that 92% the ages range from only 3 years old to 7 years old. Horses come from all different situations; even racehorses are sent to slaughterhouses. These horses should not end up being murdered just because their previous owners do not want them anymore.

            In 2006 a ban was set on horse slaughter, but not only did slaughter plants still operate, they sent horses to foreign countries to be slaughtered as well. Mexico and Canada were the most common countries horses would be transported to for slaughter. “The U.S.’s two largest veterinary associations …both oppose a slaughter ban for fear it would result in less humane slaughter abroad (especially in Mexico, where more American horses are now being sent), longer shipping distances,, and more neglected and abused horses overall” writes Karin Winegar (44). On the other hand, Chris Heyde supports the slaughter ban to make it more difficult for transport of horses to foreign countries for slaughter. Heyde declares “We don’t want horses going to slaughter in Mexico, either. If horses are going to Mexico for breeding or sale, they’ll have to have vaccination records, be put in quarantine, and have brokers to get the horses out of quarantine” (45). Slaughterhouses or killer buyers look to spend $50 per horse so the killer buyers are losing money automatically. “… 130,000 horses are sent to Mexico each year for slaughtering” Rick de los Santos declares (5). This means double the hundreds of thousands of horses that are killed in the U.S. to include the numbers killed outside of the U.S. “Heyde adds that donors who fund AWI efforts to curtail horse slaughter will also support efforts to strengthen state animal abuse laws…” finished Heyde (47). Animal abuse is still a misdemeanor; the next step to stopping horse slaughter would be raising the charge. Raising animal abuse charges and upping the difficulties to transporting horses for slaughter to other countries would help reduce slaughter. On the other hand, if slaughter houses have been operating illegally, who knows if this will stop them?

            Thousands of horses are slaughtered each day. Most of the deaths result in a heartless, painful death. The Humane Society of the United States reports “The methods used to kill horses rarely result in quick, painless deaths, as horses often endure repeated stuns or blows and sometimes remain conscious during their slaughter and dismemberment” (6). Slaughtering horses is completely inhumane and die unhappily. Mellissa Fung reports (8) “Some of the images these cameras captured too disturbing to show you, so we’ll describe what we saw. This horse will have to be shot three times before it’s finally rendered unconscious. This horse will be jolted with an electric prod 17 times, including in the face.” Multiple horses faced different abuse as they were sent to be killed or were being killed. The most mind boggling fact about the slaughter plants is that there is a veterinarian from an inspection agency at plants to make sure abuses like this do not happen. Jeff Irton claimed “no one at the plant bothered to do a simple check to make sure the horses were actually unconscious before they were strung up to have their throats slit” (20). Reports of inhumane horse slaughter goes on and on and on. The segment done by CBC Television gave more than enough examples of inhumane horse slaughter. Transportation of horses to slaughter and slaughter altogether should be stopped completely. Horse slaughter is not only wrong, but the meat is not good for human consumption.

            Animals Australia alleged that “worker shot the horse twice, did not ensure the horse was dead, and then tied the horse to a tractor and dragged him across 60 metres of concrete and gravel after which he was found to still be breathing” (4). Everyday thousands of horses are violently killed for no reason. Horses are dragged across concrete; horses are strung up to have their throats slit while conscious, and horses are even alive during their dismemberment. The Humane Society of The United States reports “The methods used to kill horses rarely result in quick, painless deaths, as horses often endure repeated stuns or blows and sometimes remain conscious during their slaughter and dismemberment” (UPI 6). The least a slaughterhouse could do is make sure a horse is unconscious and not breathing anymore before dismemberment and slaughter. Mellissa Fung, a reporter for CBC Television, did a special segment on horse slaughter where hidden cameras were set up at multiple slaughterhouses. Mellissa Fung describes a slaughterhouse where “This horse will have to be shot three times before it’s finally rendered unconscious. This horse will be jolted with an electric prod 17 times, including in the fact. Two ponies loaded into the kill box together presumably to save time” (8). There is in fact a veterinarian from the CFIA located at plants to make sure things like this do not happen. Mellissa Fung interviewed Jeff Irton, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, whose main concern was “no one at the plant bothered to do a simple check to make sure the horses were actually unconscious before they were strung up to have their throats slit” (19). The workers at slaughterhouses are either just plain heartless or are not being supervised while slaughtering horses. There is enough evidence and more to prove that horses are killed violently each day. From being dragged across concrete to being alive while their dismemberment. It is time horses have a chance to live their life and die happily, not get killed while still young and healthy.

            Many slaughterhouses do not care about the welfare and happiness of horses. Instead, they slaughter horses and slit their throats while still alive. Slaughter plants even kill two horses at once, just to save time. There are rules set in place so abuses like this do not happen. One rule slaughterhouses must can a non-slip floor and that is not emphasized enough. “Both Grandin and the Federation of Humane Societies did full audits of the footage from the plants and concluded that both failed to meet government guidelines for humane slaughter. What concerned Grandin the most, the number of horses seen to be slipping and falling,” Reported Mellissa Fung (17). That is just one rule of many that slaughterhouses must abide by. Slaughterhouses operated illegally during the five year ban in the United States. They also transported masses of horses in tiny trucks to foreign countries like Mexico and Canada. If they already operated illegally and slaughtered inhumanely, who thinks they will follow rules since the ban was forced to be lifted? Due to the fact thousands and thousands of horses were killed while having a ban, horses are transported to foreign countries like Mexico and Canada for slaughter, and horses are killed inhumanely every single day, many people will continue to ignore the voiceless cries for help. 

Annotated Bibliographies

Lauren Street

Ms. McKoy

English II

14 May 2013

Annotated Bibliographies

#1:       In this article, “THE SLAUGHTER DEBATE,” Karin Winegar and Regan Dunnick argue that there should be solutions for reducing the number of unwanted horses being slaughtered. This article, written by Winegar and illustrated by Dunnick, “examines the role of irresponsible breeding in creating unwanted horses.”  This article is out of a published magazine so I know for a fact that it is credible. The source would not have been published by a well-known magazine that majors in horses. Horse and Rider is a magazine that is based on horse information and helping horses. Karin Winegar, the author, is an award-winning journalist and Regan Dunnick, the illustrations’, draws professionally. Winegar strives to reach the hearts of horse lovers’ and help the number of unwanted horses reduce. This article helps me by saying horse slaughter should be stop as well as giving readers information of reducing the number of unwanted horses.

#2:       In this article “Bill would ban slaughter of U.S. horses,” UPI Top News explains that the ban on slaughter of U.S. has expired. Which results in horse slaughter plants opening up again and there is nothing the people can do to stop it. This article is credible because UPI Top News is well-known and focuses on important issues around the world. UPI Top News publishes its content directly after an incident has occurred. UPI Top News is informing the public, especially horse lovers and concerned people, that the ban on horse slaughter has recently been lifted. Due to the fact that it was only a 5 year ban, the government cannot stop horse slaughter after 2011. The article was aimed towards horse lovers and middle aged people, who talk about world issues with family and friends. This article helps me by showing that horse slaughter is not only an issue in the U.S., but it is an issue around the world as well.

#3        In this article “Slaughter of horses causes outrage,” The (Melbourne) Age argues that western suburbs slaughterhouses are inhumanely killing horses. One horse is seen tied up and dragged along concrete. People refuse to believe that horse slaughter is violent, but this is one of four articles that have evidence of inhumane horse slaughter. A horse was dragged across concrete, how much more evidence is needed? The horse was conscious during this whole treatment. Now if it had been a person everyone in the world would be focusing their attention on the TV to see what happens. This article helps me by providing even more evidence of inhumane horse slaughter.

#4        In this article, “Horse Slaughter Rules Violated, Video Shows,” Mellissa Fung argues that slaughter plants are inhumanely killing horses with inspection agents on site. The mind boggling fact about the slaughterhouses is that they have inspection agents present to make sure no abuses happen. While interviewing Fung discovers from Jeff Irton, that a horse remained conscious while being strung up to have its throat slit. “We did see evidence that one of those horses may have been breathing and evidence of some voluntary movement. The one thing that leads me most confidently to believe that those animals were still conscious is that the employees go to retrieve the gun to deliver another final shot to the head of both of those animals” says Jeff Irton.  This article helps me by providing many different cases of inhumane horse slaughter. 

Academic Summary

Lauren Street

April 11, 2013

English II

Ms. McKoy

Horse Should At Least Get Killed Humanely

            In this article “Horse Slaughter Rules Violated, Video Shows,” Wendy Mesley (Host) and Melissa Fung (Reporter) argue that horses are still being shipped to slaughterhouses and slowly wait in line to be slaughtered violently. Both of these women, mostly Melissa Fung due to the fact she investigated and wrote the article, claim that Bouvry Meats in Richelieu, Nature Valley Farms, and other meat plants inhumanely kill horses. Fung develops this claim by investigating Bouvry Meats and Nature Valley Farms. Fung proves the investigators with footage of inhumane treatment and killing of horses. Melissa Fung develops this claim by secondly interviewing professors, experts, and humane societies. While interviewing Fung discovers from Jeff Irton, that a horse remained conscious while being strung up to have its throat slit. “We did see evidence that one of those horses may have been breathing and evidence of some voluntary movement. The one thing that leads me most confidently to believe that those animals were still conscious is that the employees go to retrieve the gun to deliver another final shot to the head of both of those animals” says Jeff Irton.  Melissa Fung and her camera crew travel to another meat plant to try and see what condition the horses were in when they arrived. When the horses did arrive, the employees blocked the sight of the trailer so the camera crew could not capture any footage. After the employees disappear into the plant, Melissa and her crew go to the back of the plant to discover a horse that is clearly emancipated. The camera crew records “horrific images of cruelty and abuse where a worker is seen hitting a horse with an electric prod in the face as well as on his body.” Melissa Fung ends the segment with saying “The latest statistics show that the numbers of horses being slaughtered have doubled every two years since 2005, making it even more important, animal welfare experts say, that if more horses have to die in slaughterhouses, they’re granted a death that’s at least humane.” Melissa Fungs’ purpose is to show the world that horse slaughter rules are continuously violated. This work is significant because Fung actually has evidence and footage of inhumane treatment and killing of horses while having backup from experts. 

Horse Slaughter

Horse Slaughter

From Life to Death: Poem

Lauren Street

English II

Ms. McKoy

15 March 2013

From Life to Death

“Come on you stupid hag, you’re only five years old.”

The girl was trying to make me jump!

“Just get on with the show, my friends are getting cold.”

I haven’t been trained, I’ve never even jumped. Not even a little hump!

 

She jumped off my back and walked away

My reins were handed to a stable boy

He gave me a brush down while I ate some hay

“You don’t deserve this boy, I’m sorry it’s this way.”

 

The next day I was put in a big metal box

“Ha, you stupid horse. I’ll get a better one!”

I didn’t know where I was going and I felt as small as a fox.

I just wanted to please someone and be told I’m the one.

 

I was standing in the pen with a dozen other horses.

I didn’t know why we were here

I heard yelling and someone said “HE’S THE MAIN COURSE!”

All these men were staring and sipping their beer

 

“Going once, going twice, SOLD!!!!”

I had just been bought by a man in yellow

I just knew his heart was cold

“Come on, take your horse. You there! Young fellow!”

 

I was shoved in another metal box

Only this time it was already crowded

This time I had as much room as a fox

We were all tied up and bounded

 

They didn’t even give us time to get to our feet

They whipped us to go in the direction they wanted

I was just standing, getting whipped and beat

I had been here only an hour, but my thoughts were already haunted

 

They pinned my down and put a nail in my head

Next they stripped me of my skin

“Come on” I thought, I already wish I were dead

I even wish I were back in that pen

 

After I thought it was over, they hurt me more

No one deserves this, not even the worst

I was trembling all the way down to the core

I guess no one loves me; I should have known that at first

 

I was hung up by my hooves

This is it I guess, but I had no goodbyes to give

My journey is not going to improve

It just is not my time to live

 

I closed my eyes and started to drift

This is it

Why me? What did I do wrong?

All I ever wanted to do was give someone lucky all my love

Exploratory Essay

Lauren Street

English II- 2^nd Block

Ms. McKoy

24 September 2013

Are Rules for Horse Slaughter Taken Seriously?

                Growing up, horses were the first thing on my mind when I woke up and the last thing on my mind when I went to sleep. I started riding horses at the age of seven and I have been riding ever since. My mom signed my sister and I up for a magazine called Human Society; I was the happiest little girl when a magazine subscription came in that contained information about horses. However, three or four years ago I received a letter from the Humane Society about horse slaughter. As I started to read the letter, my eyes starting brimming with tears due to the gruesome facts I had read. The letter contained information about how violent and horrific horse slaughter really was. I was informed of not only the actuality of how bad horse slaughter is but I was also informed of the absence of action taken by the government. Horse slaughter either needs stricter laws or the government needs to enforce the rules already put into place. After I learned about horse slaughter, I decided to do some online research about horse slaughter and the results of my research made me sick to my stomach. I watched a video called “Horse Slaughter Rules Violated, Video Shows” and had to stop watching the video before it got half way through. I am appalled how people can get away with basically murdering a horse to death, more or less even slaughter a perfectly good horse. There should be rules about the health of a horse going to slaughter. Horses that are healthy, spirited and sound should not be slaughtered, especially cruelly. In my opinion, horses that are dying, dead, or just not going to live should be used for whatever the companies need them for. Even in that situation, they should not have their life end in such a violent way. These poor horses are already facing their death right in front of them, why not do it the humane way instead of making them suffer even more?

                In my research, I discovered an article called “Horse Slaughter Rules Violated, Video Shows”, which uncovered the realities of horse slaughter. In the article, Wendy Mosley and a crew snuck into horse slaughtering companies and placed hidden cameras to record the rule violation. In the videos the first company, Richelieu, shoots a horse three times before declaring the horse unconscious. One worker hits a horse with an electric prod seventeen times, even in the face, before continuing to kill him. Workers at another company, do not even check that the horse is unconscious before being strung up be his/hers back feet to have their throats slit. Once a horse has entered the kill box, they should wait no longer than fifteen seconds before they become unconscious. One horse had to wait nine minutes. Horses are being loaded off of the truck into tiny, cramped pens they share with countless other horses and wait for death to take them out of this misery. Then they are whipped, hit with electric prods and slip on the pavement which is against the law. It is mandatory that the plant has non-slip floor but most companies ignore that. The main reason and biggest factor why horses are killed is for their use of meat in Europe and Japan. The latest statistics show that the numbers of horses being slaughtered have doubled every two years since 2005, making it even more important, animal welfare experts say, that if more horses have to die in slaughterhouses, they're granted a death that's at least humane (CBC Television).

                I want to research and explore how I can help inform those around about the rule violation and/or what some rules should be as much as I can. Just because some people might not share the same love for horses but hate for horse slaughter as I do that does not mean they cannot help make the rules stricter or help actually enforce the laws already placed. As I said before, it is not fair to perfectly good horses that people who assume are no good anymore due to their inabilities to own a horse, does not mean they should be slaughter violently and more or less even slaughtered. In my project, I would like to get people to be open-minded and understand the unfairness to horses of how their lives are being ended. I hope to get people to be shocked and speechless that the slaughter of horses is so inhumane that they will want to help me help them. It is not right nor is it fair for the horses, especially when they are the ones that are dying. 

Horse Slaughter