the Informer

The struggle for jobs is a tough one, but when we begin to devalue things like animal rights just for one simply meager waged job, it’s a sad world.

Recently, President Barack Obama passed a bill that once again legalized horse slaughter in the United States. The bill, under an umbrella of other “job creating” activities, also broke a five-year ban on horse slaughter.

As an avid horse lover, the mere idea of eating horsemeat repulses me. Even in the office, just the mentioning of “Sea Biscuits,” “Zebra Cake,” and “Unicorn-on-the-cob,” angered me a bit. Horses have been in our society for a very long time and during that time, they have served us well as not only pets, but also workers. Is this how we pay them back? Brutally slaughter them just for their meat?

We do not raise our dogs and cats as stock animals to eat their meat. It just doesn’t happen. So why does this seem reasonable when it comes to horses? Just because they are large animals and their meat may be “tender and sweet,” this does not give any real reason to eat these beautiful animals.

In 2008, Obama claimed that he would not remove the ban on horse slaughter. Obviously, this was untrue.

Current issues regarding the horse industry include a large amount of unwanted horses. However, when most people think this is an impossible situation to amend, I have discovered ways.

In Nov. 2010, I stumbled upon a Facebook page from another horse lover called Camelot Horse Weekly. Located in Cranbury, New Jersey, Camelot is an auction house including the sales of horses, donkeys and mules. They also sell other animals.

Now the reason I bring up Camelot is for the work social networking has done. Camelot holds weekly sales on Wednesdays and many times, horses end up in the #10 lot. This lot is where the horses that are bound for dealers that are many times “kill buyers” end up. Through the use of Facebook, horse advocates and rescues and people just passionate to help the majestic animals, have gathered to save the #10 horses.

They have not lost a horse.

These horses go from Camelot into secure homes, mostly rescues. These rescues then do what they do best and that is to help the horses.

Slaughter is not the answer. It’s not the answer for the unwanted horse population or the answer for jobs. This whole job excuse is probably the one I’m most disgusted at.

Horse slaughterhouses are not pleasant in any way. Not only are they morally disturbing, but people do not want to live around them. Come on, who wants their house next to a place where you can hear horses scream? Or have a little barbershop getting passed on by beat up trailers pushed to the brim with horses bound for slaughter, reeking of manure? Slaughterhouses kill the economy around them in the same way casinos do.

Casinos and slaughterhouses have this economy killing in common. The jobs they create are low wage, no benefits jobs. Nothing good comes out of them. At many times, they can be easily compared to a job as a farm worker. Jobs that Americans simply do not want.

I really hope that the government considers reversing this decision, but if they don’t and horsemeat ends up in our grocery stores, I will most certainly not be going anywhere near it.