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.