Cheap horses in a recession

[Billy-Bob]

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_n...y/1552097.html

[RichardCranium]

I was going to make a comment about cheap horses and kali being offended. But having just seen her profile picture, I'm not so sure.

[Zippy]

That is so depressing - shipping the poor buggers to Mexico so they can be terrified all the way, knocked about and then shot (happens in Europe too). It's been going on for years of course but it seems the problem has got worse recently.

There should be a worldwide ban on the export of live animals for slaughter. We have abbatoirs, butchers and freezers after all.

[RichardCranium]

There should be a worldwide ban on the export of live animals for slaughter.

That' not going to happen quickly nor without a struggle. Animals shipped live from country A to country B can be sold as "Produce of B".

Hence much of the British meat you buy has been imported.

"retailers are perfectly entitled to call a meat product 'British' even the meat itself is sourced from abroad. As long as the end product has been processed and packed in the UK, it can be labelled British." Link.

"A report from a UK pork industry group said some 70% of British pork imports come from pigs raised under conditions below UK minimum standards." Link.

The supermarkets don't want live animal exports banned.

And think of the uproar the media makes when the French farmers try to stop lorries with live British sheep being imported. Perhaps WE should be helping the French farmers by not allowing those animals to be exported. Maybe WE should be blockading OUR ports.

[Zippy]

I know RC, I know. You are right - things won't change anytime soon.
I don't object to animals (even horses) being taken for slaughter but I just think it should all be over as quickly as possible.

[RichardCranium]

I know RC, I know. You are right - things won't change anytime soon.
I don't object to animals (even horses) being taken for slaughter but I just think it should all be over as quickly as possible.

Sorry, I shouldn't have sounded so negative.

Wherever practicable, for the past 20 years, all the meat I have bought has been reared under good animal husbandry and killed under humane conditions.

Since the Missus did some research about 15 years ago, wherever possible all the meat we have bought has been organic (or even biodynamic) and locally reared as well.

I believe the concept of transporting live animals for slaughter utterly ridiculous because it is unnecessary, cruel, wrong from an environmental perspective and harder on the truck drivers.

So although I cannot change the system on my own, I can refuse to conform to it.

[Zippy]

Hey, no worries about the negativity. I get upset about it and try to do my bit. I suppose people have to see the fear for themselves before they want to do something.

We are not going to fix this now, but it will be fixed.