IL Senate moves to save horses

[Professor]

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-horse17may17,1,7130898.story?coll=chi-politics-topheadlines

Senate moves to save horses
DeKalb slaughter factory, the last in nation, faces ax

By Ray Long (rlong@tribune.com) and John Biemer (jbiemer@tribune.com), Tribune staff reporters. Ray Long reported from Springfield. John Biemer reported from Chicago. Staff reporter Monique Garcia contributed to this report
Published May 17, 2007

SPRINGFIELD -- With the Illinois Senate's approval Wednesday of a measure that would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption, the state is poised to force closure of the nation's last such plant -- in DeKalb.

The measure previously had passed the House, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich's aide said he will sign the bill. The Senate vote was 39-16.

The measure drew strong backing from movie star Bo Derek and animal rights groups in an effort that spanned several years in Springfield, with opponents arguing that it would eliminate an option for owners to dispose of horses that are no longer wanted or useful.

As soon as the bill is signed, the DeKalb slaughterhouse "will have to shut down," said Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), the sponsor.

"These are companion animals, not livestock," Cullerton said. "Many animal lovers look upon horses like cats and dogs rather than pigs and cows."

"We're absolutely thrilled," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, who said the group's focus is now on legislation being considered in Congress to ban the practice nationwide, as well as the exportation of horses to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. "The walls are closing in on the foreign-owned horse slaughter industry."

Blagojevich promised Derek a quick signing of the bill while she was in Springfield to testify on behalf of the legislation earlier this year, Cullerton said.

Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke also supported the ban, pointing out that there is no domestic market of horse meat for human consumption and therefore no need to continue the practice in Illinois. Most horse meat is exported to Europe, where some still consider it a delicacy.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 100,800 horses were slaughtered in the United States for human consumption in 2006, but the last two slaughterhouses besides DeKalb, both in Texas, shut down under a court order earlier this year.

Sen. Brad Burzynski (R-Clare), whose district includes the plant, argued against the ban, saying it will create burdens for owners who have horses that are old or no longer good for riding and working.

"Before, people could actually sell their animals, get some money. Now it's actually going to cost people to get them euthanized and disposed of," Burzynski said.

Burzynski also argued that the more than 40 slaughterhouse employees would lose jobs, but Cullerton said the plants in Texas resumed slaughtering other animals within weeks.

Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline) also opposed the measure on the grounds it could open the door to ban the slaughter of other farm animals.

James Tucker, manager of the DeKalb plant, owned by the Belgian company Cavel International, said the bill's passage "goes against all reason."

A federal appeals judge had just allowed the plant to reopen two weeks ago after it was shut down for a month as the result of a Humane Society lawsuit.

"We're looking at alternatives," Tucker said. "We don't have a lot of options."

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[Professor]

Buck, are a lot of people in DeKalb employeed there? Is it a big part of the town?

[Buck Laser]

Buck, are a lot of people in DeKalb employeed there? Is it a big part of the town?


No, not many people actually work there. I've been there, though. I installed a computer network there in about 1988, and I had to string some cable through the slaughter area. I saw the carcasses, but without their skin and heads, they looked no different from cattle. It creeped me out, but would have done so if it had just been a cattle slaughter house.

Possibly because I know people who work there, I haven't wanted to see the facility closed. Yes, the idea of eating horses is repellent to me, but who am I to question European culture? Furthermore, many of the horses that go there would be "put down" for humane reasons anyway. I was constantly seeing stories in the northern IL media about horses found neglected and starving.

My personal opinion is that this has become a cause celebre for all the wrong reasons. The animal shelters will never be able to cease their euthanasia of unwanted pets, and there will never be a shortage of unwanted pet horses in IL. I know it sound hard hearted. I grew up on a ranch in South Texas, and was riding by the time I was 3 or 4, so I'm not exactly unfamiliar with them. I think people just don't want to know that horses are slaughtered.

I may catch hell for this final statement, but my favorite shoes are made of horse hide: cordovan leather, which holds its shape and shine better than any other, is made of horse hide exclusively. I've had to explain even to shoe salesman that cordovan is not just a color, but a material. The last time I checked, a pair of cordovan shoes cost something like $400--definitely out of my price range.

[Drocket]

I'd pretty much have to agree with Buck: the distinctions between what animals are ok to slaughter and eat and which aren't are so arbitrary, it's pretty ridiculous. Why is it ok to eat cows but not horses? Why chickens but not cats? What makes dogs so much better than pigs? There's no real difference between them - you may as well flip a coin to decide what's OK to eat and what's not (although you could make a pretty good scientific case for dolphins - their brains are remarkably advanced.)

I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but they're at least consistent in their worldview. Pretending that completely arbitrary decisions are in some way vital moral imperatives, though, is pretty stupid.

[Alonzo]

I'm completely undecided about this issue, and versions of this issue that have arose in recent years. Honestly, if stopping the slaughter of horses meant sacrificing 5 thousand jobs it doesn't matter to me, it would be worth it. But I wonder what the conditions the horses would otherwise be kept in.

Keeping a dog locked up in a small cage for the rest of its life is a worse fate than a quick death by euthanasia. This issue may be similar. And as much as I hate kill shelters, I've seen what happens to shelters overloaded with unwanted pets. The toronto humane society runs a shelter close to a no kill shelter, but not quite. Many sections, particularly their small animal section (degus, rats, rabbits etc.) was overflowing with animals, and a lack of decent cages meant many were housed in cages too small (a pet I adopted was housed in a cage that was about 4 times smaller than the minimum, and about 20 times smaller than what I housed him in). Their staff handled the animals regularly, but many shelters don't do that (the mspca in boston doesn't). When the two are combined the situation can become absolutely horrible.

Sometimes the wrong solution is better than the fix. I wonder if that's not the case here.

It's kind of like deinstitutionalization. It was a good solution to a very bad situation. That is until they decided to not fund the programs they set up to help the people transition, and found that very few communities would allow halfway houses other than drug and crime infested ones.

I'd pretty much have to agree with Buck: the distinctions between what animals are ok to slaughter and eat and which aren't are so arbitrary, it's pretty ridiculous. Why is it ok to eat cows but not horses? Why chickens but not cats? What makes dogs so much better than pigs? There's no real difference between them - you may as well flip a coin to decide what's OK to eat and what's not (although you could make a pretty good scientific case for dolphins - their brains are remarkably advanced.)


I disagree to some extent. There is a difference in intelligence, and I stopped eating various animals in order of intelligence. But there's not enough of a difference to think eating one is morally acceptable in my mind. Even before I stopped eating meat I never really thought it was a good thing. At best I thought it was morally neutral, though I viewed it negatively throughout my teen years, despite the fact that I continued to eat meat.

[Buck Laser]

Just for the record, I think the total employment at the DeKalb site is well under a hundred, possibly under fifty. Regardless of that, [b]somebody has to euthanize unwanted horses.

[Alonzo]

Regardless of that, [b]somebody has to euthanize unwanted horses.

I think most bills, at least the ones I've previously seen, prohibited that.

Many horse sanctuaries actually opposed them. They supported them in principle, but they simply weren't equipped with the facilities to house so many unwanted horses.

The horses shouldn't be euthanized. And I fear that allowing them to be euthanized for human consumption helps maintain a market for horse meat.

What they really should do is ban the selling of horses for horse meat. That way no one can profit from it, and there isn't an incentive to do that over finding a horse sanctuary. They should also enforce very strict rules for how a horse is to be euthanized regardless of where or what it's done for.

[lily]

Possibly because I know people who work there, I haven't wanted to see the facility closed. Yes, the idea of eating horses is repellent to me, but who am I to question European culture? Furthermore, many of the horses that go there would be "put down" for humane reasons anyway. I was constantly seeing stories in the northern IL media about horses found neglected and starving.

Ok, my parents were the only ones who left the farm to come to the city, so visiting all my aunts and uncles I'm no stranger to slaughter.,,but what possible nutrional or taste value could a horse be if it's put down for starvation or for "humane" reasons?

[lily]

The toronto humane society runs a shelter close to a no kill shelter, but not quite.

We have a pretty good one here, Zo although sadly it is not a no kill shelter. There was many a time with the kids growing up, saying "I'm bored" and off we'd go for a day at the shelter. They'd play all day with the kittens and puppies and we'd go around and see the horses, deer, wolves and even once a wolverine. Have our picnic and then I'd have to listen to them cry when they couldn't bring home the puppy the grew attached to. Cheap day out, they learned something and we all had a good time, animals included.

[Alonzo]

That's good. I know a few people who won't even go into a no kill shelter, something which makes little sense to me. These are people thats would be considered animal lovers, but they refuse to go into those shelters because they don't want to see animals that may be euthanized. So their solution is to leave them all there. Always struck me as a bit selfish, since they're going to adopt an animal yet refuse to adopt those most in need.

But Toronto was sorely in need of renovation. The one in Boston was recently enlarged, and the one in Rochester (where I adopted another pet) was also significantly enlarged in recent years. But toronto had cages piled on top of cages in the small animal section. The rat I adopted there was in a 5 gallon hamster cage, as they didn't have any larger cages available. He was about 8 or 9 inches in length (not counting tail), in a cage that I'd guess was about 10 x 15 inches, and the cage had tubes and a wheel that he wasn't even close to fitting into, so it just took up more of the little space he had. On top of that the staff was for some reason afraid of him. He had never bitten or threatened anyone, yet the women said everyone was afraid to pick him up. This was a woman who worked there and was sitting with 3 rats on her shoulder as she said this.

[lily]

Well Zo it wasn't as altruistic as it may have sounded. I was dirt poor when raising my kids it took a vivid imagination to think up things to do for free..........also you know I had to skip over they story about your pet.;)