Patrick J Battuello

Archive for the ‘Horses’ Category

No Country for Horses

In Horse Slaughter, Horses on July 15, 2011 at 11:59 am

When the last legal (Florida’s Killing Fields) horse slaughtering facility in the U.S. was closed in 2007, the 100,000 horses that had been annually shackled and slashed on American soil had to be moved elsewhere. Mexico and Canada became logical destinations. In February 2010, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC) released hours of videotape revealing abuse and cruelty at the Viandes Richelieu and Bouvry (North America’s largest horsemeat exporter) equine slaughterhouses.

Three distinguished veterinarians were asked to review the footage and offer analysis:

Dr. Mary Richardson notes the horses’ distress from unfamiliar loud music and wet, slippery (blood) floors. Shots, fired at improper distances (feet instead of inches), were off-target, thus requiring multiple rounds. The shooters showed no sense of urgency when reloading and did not always ensure unconsciousness before the hang and bleed (sometimes, the upside down horse would be shot again). No scientific methods for checking consciousness (corneal reflex, voluntary movements) were observed.

Dr. Mel Richardson reminds that horses are the ultimate flight-prey animal; they run at the first sign of danger. “Loud music echoing off the walls, horses whinnying in fear, people yelling and using whips and electric prods and the smell of blood and death all equate to equine hell. Bouvry and Richelieu are causing extreme pain and suffering to the horses in their facilities.”

Dr. Debi Zimmerman says that fear-producing stimuli abounds at both plants; Bouvry and Richelieu are creating “unacceptable levels of suffering, both emotionally and physically.” She adds: “At Richelieu, horses were routinely subjected to excessive whippings on their bodies, excessive use of electric prods (both stick and hand-held), and some struck repeatedly across their faces.” Horses were penned next to the stun box for hours and overcrowded in the kill-line (causing a panic that required still more harsh measures to regain control). One shooter “allowed a horse that became cast in the stun box, to flail about for almost three minutes while he carried on a casual conversation with a co-worker. …The shooter whipped an older and obviously lame horse (#93) 19 times.” Sometimes, against regulations, horses stood side-by-side while being felled.

Some Bouvry horses were likely conscious while being exsanguinated (shackled by one leg, neck slashed from both sides using a sawing motion). And some of these had their feet chopped off within 45 seconds of the slash; a full bleed-out takes several minutes. Imagine that.

Because these two abattoirs are the last to use .22-caliber rifles for stunning (which is, ironically, more humane than an unwieldy captive bolt taking aim at head-shy animals), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) instructed their inspectors to remain in a separate room while guns were being shot; i.e., no one was watching the kill floor to guarantee humane slaughter. This negligence was corrected only after the undercover video went public, almost three years after the CFIA directive went into effect.

Another Canadian plant (Natural Valley)…

This HSUS video (released before the last three U.S. slaughterhouses closed) shows an even worse state of affairs in Mexico. There, a small puntilla knife intending to sever the spinal cord (to immobilize, not desensitize) is plunged into the horse. Illegal in the U.S. and E.U., the still-conscious animal is then shackled to bleed-out.

And…

As Canadian horse-slaughter expert Twyla Francois puts it: “[They are] so frightened. You can see them in the [auction] ring, that they search the ring looking for a friendly face. We have been comfort for them, and then we take them to slaughter. We see this at the slaughterhouses too, where they’re still seeking out affection from even the slaughterhouse workers themselves.”

“And one thing we saw that really broke my heart was, you would see the workers walking by the pens and the horses would rush the pens, looking for comfort from these men who were going to kill them. It just seems like such a betrayal. …nothing can prepare them for the journey they have ahead of them after they’ve been given up.”

To be clear, this is no commentary on the men paid to pull the trigger. To them, it’s only a job. Rather, the unspeakable sadness in Ms. Francois’ words comes from the knowledge of what went before. Many of these horses were once pets or pampered athletes (at least while they earned). They had names. They were treated kindly, even, at times, loved. Their trust was repaid with the auction block, tightly packed haulers, and Richelieu and Bouvry. Do her words not strike a chord? And the truth is, this vile business often represents the consequences of a sunny afternoon in Saratoga.

Florida’s Killing Fields

In Horse Slaughter, Horses, Law on June 15, 2011 at 10:57 am

In an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, a mere 15 minutes from South Beach, horses and other animals are being illegally kept and slaughtered (under the cruelest conditions) with the tacit approval of every relevant agency in South Florida: Miami-Dade Environmental Resource Management, Miami-Dade Building and Neighborhood Compliance, Miami-Dade Animal Services, Miami-Dade Police, and the USDA. Now, though, one man has embarked on a crusade to expose and shutter these brutal killing fields.

With no history of activism, Richard “Kudo” Couto began by rescuing Freedom’s Flight (relative of Secretariat) while working for the South Florida SPCA. He quickly formed the Animal Recovery Mission: (CNN, 12/28/09) “Prior to his rescue, I didn’t know that illegal slaughter farms existed in the country — let alone under my nose in my own county.” Couto’s videos and photos are testimonies to mankind’s capacity for evil and the apathy that allows it.

Couto estimates that there are 70-100 illegal slaughterhouses in the C-9 basin. The area is marked by dirt roads and thick vegetation (with tarps hung to obstruct vision). Unrepentant and defiant, the owners post signs (in English and Spanish) advertising their wares. Couto: “I go in acting like a customer. I ask them, ‘How much for the pig?’ And they’ll say 120 dollars. ‘How much for the kill?’ ‘20 bucks. We’ll slaughter it for you for 20 bucks.’ It’s that easy.” Cattle, chickens, goats, and pigs can be had, but it was the horse trade (some stolen, some slaughtered where they slept, and some bought as the racing industry’s discounted refuse) that brought the media.

Horse meat is popular with Cuban-Americans (Miami-Dade is over 50% Latino), and governmental negligence is perhaps a function of political considerations. The meat can sell for up to $40/pound: (horsetalk, 12/30/09) “In Miami, a dead horse is much more valuable than a live horse.” Couto says: “They are virtually tortured. It’s barbaric. It’s a really nasty, nasty thing going on. The people who are running these farms are extremely violent people … the worst of the worst. I’ve had my life threatened numerous times.”

“Every time we go in there, we have to go in there with the police — and even the police don’t want to go in there.” So says Charles Danger, director of Miami-Dade Building and Neighborhood Compliance, when interviewed by CNN. A Miami-Dade police detective says that while horse slaughter may be illegal and worthy of their attention, the unlicensed butchering of other animals (some while still conscious) is beyond their reach: “We’re not participating in these investigations because we found the most effective way to combat this is with code compliance and animal services.” Except that code compliance does not investigate animal cruelty, and animal services shuns livestock matters. So, the buck shifts and the blood flows.

To those who illegally traffic in animals and animal parts (and the complicit consumers who drive the market), the animals are mere commodities whose suffering is entirely irrelevant. And with no one minding the store, barbarity reigns, and has so for over 30 years. Kudo intends to shame the negligent agencies (and if there is legal ambiguity, the lawmakers too) into action. The animals cry out from his photos, “Enough.”

The Final Lap: Greyhound Racing’s Last Days

In Greyhound Racing, Horseracing, Horses on June 6, 2011 at 10:38 am

In November 2008, Massachusetts became the latest state to ban live greyhound racing, passing The Greyhound Protection Act by statewide referendum (56% to 44%), with all tracks to be shuttered by New Years 2010. This is the latest blow to a dying industry (live racing exists in but a handful of states, with Florida, by far, the leading offender).

In seeking the ban, activists stressed the following:

Cruel Treatment: The dogs are kept confined in stacked metal cages (32″x42″x34″) for 20 hours or more each day, with shredded newspaper their only bedding (the average Greyhound stands 23″-30″ tall at the shoulder).

Devastating Injuries: There were more than 800 reported injuries since 2002 (673 were classified as serious, career-ending, critical non-fatal, fatal). Not surprisingly, 80% involved broken legs.

Public Opinion: From 2002-2007, Wonderland’s handle dropped 65%, Raynham’s 37%.

The industry countered by warning of great job loss (doubtful, for the labor department counted barely 700 jobs at all state racetracks, horse and auto included).

Greyhounds were imported to America in the late 19th Century to help farmers control jackrabbit populations. Coursing (chasing and killing live animals) events soon followed, and the first racetrack opened in 1919. The sport was very popular right after World War II but has seen a steady decline since. To be fair, there are other mitigating factors, not the least of which is a greater competition for the gambling dollar (casinos and racinos). But clearly, the public has shown an increasing distaste for the concept (the muzzling, the cruel deception of the race itself) and the sad condition of the obsolete and discarded tools (an awareness helped in no small part by the emergence of various adoption agencies).

Why, though, do we acknowledge the inherent cruelty of Greyhound racing but have yet to extend that recognition to The Sport of Kings? Why is one industry being read last rites, while another seemingly thrives? Perhaps, as man’s best friend, the dog enjoys a status not accorded to the thoroughbred. Perhaps the latter’s regal tradition makes it a far more elusive target. Or, perhaps it is simply a matter of practicality: Adopting a horse requires more money and more land. But in the end, a horse is a dog. Both can (and do) suffer for entertainment and municipal revenue. For one, at least, liberation may finally be at hand.

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