Abandoned horses in Eastern Kentucky

Two weeks ago I blogged about the closing of a horse slaughter house in DeKalb, Illinois operated by Cavel International.

That post was inspired by a March Associated Press article written by Jeffrey McMurray, which detailed the problem of unwanted horses--something that was less of a problem when "kill buyers" would purchase tens of thousands of horses each year to provide meat for human consumption. All of that meat was shipped overseas, parts of Europe view horse meat as a delicacy. Horse lovers worked hard over the years to close down American horse meat processing plants, and last month they achieved their victory.

As I noted last month, as a meat eater, I don't see an ethical problem in eating horse meat, after all, I had ham on Easter, and the day before that I added ground sirloin to my pasta.

Quite a few horse lovers came to Marathon Pundit to "set me straight" about my insensitivity and correct my misconceptions.

Still, despite their protests, there is a growing problem of unwanted horses. There is no vast network of horse shelters awaiting the equines that would otherwise be headed to the slaughterhouse.

Prices of less-desirable horses have plummeted at auction sites...the "kill" option is gone.

And the herds of now-feral horses are growing in the reclaimed strip-mine areas of Eastern Kentucky.

From AP last week, with Jeffrey McMurray again reporting.

Earlier this month, an Associated Press story reported that to some local observers, the closing of slaughterhouses under public and political pressure appears to be leading some horse owners in Eastern Kentucky to turn their animals loose. The Humane Society of the U.S., which has fought the slaughter of horses for human consumption, vehemently disputed that.

Over the past couple of decades, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of horses have roamed free on tens of thousands of acres that were once strip mines in Kentucky. Exactly who owns the horses is unclear. Some are thought to be abandoned; others may have been allowed to run loose by their owners and graze on other people's property.

The horse lovers will view McMurray's article as just a piece of propaganda from the horse-slaughter industry--and they don't believe the herds of feral horses exist.

Yes, bloggers love to point out when mainstream media reporters are wrong, or worse, embellishing news. However, they are right most of the time--perhaps with a liberal bent--and besides, what would be AP's motive to make this stuff up about the wild horses?

Unlike cats and dogs, it costs hundreds of dollars to "put down" a horse, and the cost of doing away with the carcass is also quite expensive.

This takes me back to my orginal point. The intentions of the horse lovers may be noble, but their actions have noticeable consequences.

Oh, I may just drive to Kentucky to have a look myself and follow up on McMurray's reporting.

Photograph courtesy of AP.

Related posts:

Horses repreive from slaughterhouse only temporary: UPDATED

Hey, another horse slaughter post

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