Post by Sunny Acres Ranch on Aug 26, 2009 17:57:45 GMT -8
I was recently interviewed for the Yakima Business Journal regarding how the ban on slaughter has affected horses locally. One of the key points that didn't get made that I wished would have was that horses are STILL being shipped to slaughter every week. The ban on slaughter is not going to make a BIG difference to horses here in the USA until Congress passes the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act - H.R. 503 and S. 727. Please continue to contact your Representatives and Senators and ask them to co-sponsor and support these bills.
Here is a link to the article:
www.yvbj.com/articles/horse-slaughter-ban-has-positive-and-negative-consequences.html
By ELENA OLMSTEAD
Watching a herd of wild horses run together across Yakima County’s range lands is a sight to behold. But over the past two years there appear to be more domesticated horses joining their ranks.
Frank Hendrix, a professor at Washington State University’s Yakima extension office, said it’s not uncommon to see horses with bridles still attached running among the wild horses.
He credits this to a two-year-old ban on horse slaughtering in the United States.
Hendrix said now when it gets to a point that owners can no longer afford to keep their horses they don’t have many options. No longer being able to send a horse to slaughter means more and more horses are simply being let go.
“We’re seeing more abandoned (horses) and (horses that are) not properly cared for,” Hendrix said.
He said he’s seeing more starving horses and more horses simply being released onto the range. Hendrix said releasing a domesticated horse into the wild isn’t as good an idea as it may sound. He said the odds of those horses surviving the winter are not good. They just don’t have the skills needed to find proper food and shelter.
Hendrix attributes the increase in abandoned horses to high hay costs last winter mixed with the sagging economy. He said in the winter of 2008 hay costs were as high as $290 a ton and with a typical horse eating three tons of hay a winter, expenses can start adding up quickly.
Hendrix estimates that it typically costs about $30 a month to feed a horse.
Shelly Richardson, who runs Sunny Acres Ranch, a horse rescue operation in Grandview, blames the economy and not the ban on slaughtering for the number of horses she’s finding that have been abandoned or malnourished.
She said last year’s high hay prices meant people who never had any intention of letting their horses go were having to find ways to get rid of them because they couldn’t afford to keep the animals.
But overall Richardson sees the ban on slaughtering horses as a good thing. She said she can already see the effect the ban is having on the horse industry and she likes what she sees.
She said there are a lot of breeders who are getting out of the business, which she thinks is a move in the right direction.
“There were so many people out there breeding inferior stock and there is just not a market out there for that anymore,” Richardson said.
She said more and more she finds that the easiest rescue horses to place are those that are well trained and ride-able.
“A young, unbroken mare I have real trouble placing,” she said.
People just don’t have the money to invest in feeding and housing a horse that isn’t useable.
Richardson said she’s also finding that more and more of the horses she’s rescuing are skinny or, if they’re of good weight, they haven’t has their hoof and dental care kept up. And, she said a few of the horses she’s found have had no training.
Richardson said last year she also found that locating homes for her rescue horses was fairly difficult. She said she placed only four horses in all of 2008. She said this year she’s already found homes for 10 horses.
So Richardson said she thinks the ban on horses slaughtering is going to be a good thing for the horse industry, leading to what she feels will be more responsible breeding.
“I think we’re moving the right direction, it just takes time,” Richardson said.
Hendrix said even if the ban on horse slaughtering has led to some challenges, there isn’t much that can be done about it at this point.
He said a bill would have to be signed into law reversing the ban, which could take a long time. He said even if the ban is lifted the only two horse slaughterhouses in the country have long-since closed down.
“Who’s going to start those facilities,” Hendrix said.
Here is a link to the article:
www.yvbj.com/articles/horse-slaughter-ban-has-positive-and-negative-consequences.html
By ELENA OLMSTEAD
Watching a herd of wild horses run together across Yakima County’s range lands is a sight to behold. But over the past two years there appear to be more domesticated horses joining their ranks.
Frank Hendrix, a professor at Washington State University’s Yakima extension office, said it’s not uncommon to see horses with bridles still attached running among the wild horses.
He credits this to a two-year-old ban on horse slaughtering in the United States.
Hendrix said now when it gets to a point that owners can no longer afford to keep their horses they don’t have many options. No longer being able to send a horse to slaughter means more and more horses are simply being let go.
“We’re seeing more abandoned (horses) and (horses that are) not properly cared for,” Hendrix said.
He said he’s seeing more starving horses and more horses simply being released onto the range. Hendrix said releasing a domesticated horse into the wild isn’t as good an idea as it may sound. He said the odds of those horses surviving the winter are not good. They just don’t have the skills needed to find proper food and shelter.
Hendrix attributes the increase in abandoned horses to high hay costs last winter mixed with the sagging economy. He said in the winter of 2008 hay costs were as high as $290 a ton and with a typical horse eating three tons of hay a winter, expenses can start adding up quickly.
Hendrix estimates that it typically costs about $30 a month to feed a horse.
Shelly Richardson, who runs Sunny Acres Ranch, a horse rescue operation in Grandview, blames the economy and not the ban on slaughtering for the number of horses she’s finding that have been abandoned or malnourished.
She said last year’s high hay prices meant people who never had any intention of letting their horses go were having to find ways to get rid of them because they couldn’t afford to keep the animals.
But overall Richardson sees the ban on slaughtering horses as a good thing. She said she can already see the effect the ban is having on the horse industry and she likes what she sees.
She said there are a lot of breeders who are getting out of the business, which she thinks is a move in the right direction.
“There were so many people out there breeding inferior stock and there is just not a market out there for that anymore,” Richardson said.
She said more and more she finds that the easiest rescue horses to place are those that are well trained and ride-able.
“A young, unbroken mare I have real trouble placing,” she said.
People just don’t have the money to invest in feeding and housing a horse that isn’t useable.
Richardson said she’s also finding that more and more of the horses she’s rescuing are skinny or, if they’re of good weight, they haven’t has their hoof and dental care kept up. And, she said a few of the horses she’s found have had no training.
Richardson said last year she also found that locating homes for her rescue horses was fairly difficult. She said she placed only four horses in all of 2008. She said this year she’s already found homes for 10 horses.
So Richardson said she thinks the ban on horses slaughtering is going to be a good thing for the horse industry, leading to what she feels will be more responsible breeding.
“I think we’re moving the right direction, it just takes time,” Richardson said.
Hendrix said even if the ban on horse slaughtering has led to some challenges, there isn’t much that can be done about it at this point.
He said a bill would have to be signed into law reversing the ban, which could take a long time. He said even if the ban is lifted the only two horse slaughterhouses in the country have long-since closed down.
“Who’s going to start those facilities,” Hendrix said.