Saturday, July 9, 2011

Arabian Moves 3 - Kiss My A--, PETA

5 X 6 Oil on Masonite Panel $75
Includes shipping and insurance
OK - time to get on my soapbox.
First remember that I LOVE HORSES. And BECAUSE I love horses, I reluctantly support the the humane slaughter of horses as a necessity for their survival and well being. I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but follow me on this...
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has successfully shut down the US businesses that processed horses for overseas consumption. As a result, hundreds of thousands of horses are facing slow, painful starvation.
We are in the middle of a terrible drougth in Texas. I have friends who have owned horses all their lives who can longer afford to feed them (and in some cases cannot even FIND feed at ANY cost). Neither can they afford to "humanely" put them down and have them disposed of. It's a choice between feeding their families or feeding the horses.
I always said if I had an old, beloved horse I would do the humane thing and haul them to the "killer" myself to put them down. We no longer have that option. Fortunately I know where to place a bullet, and we have a large enough piece of land to simply leave the body for the coyotes (yes, I would LOVE to bury my horses, but do you know what a backhoe rents for?) Besides, feeding coyotes and buzzards is the natural way.
My main point is:  thanks to PETA, horses are not facing a quick death at the processor, but instead a long, drawn out, painful starvation death. My friend who has raised high dollar, spectacular horses all her life cannot give them away. Yes, she can take them to the sale barn and for $130 each they'll be loaded into cattle trucks and hauled 1200 miles into Mexico without food or water in this heat. Now THAT sounds humane...
PETA would have been serving animals better if they had concentrated on the quality of the trucking companies and the humane execution of the horses instead of eliminating the procedure all together.
I love horses - always have, but they are still animals. ALL animals deserve to be treated humanely and respectfully, both in life and death. But now, thanks to PETA, who THINK they have the welfare of horses in mind, we are going to see more and more horses first starve and then ultimately destroyed anyway.
Hey, PETA person - will YOU care for the unwanted, the wild and untameable, the permanently injured and suffering and the starving for those who no longer can?
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
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6 comments:

Margaret said...

Well written and I agree with you. This is an example of an extreme position that helps nobody. You are a gifted writer and painter!

David Larson Evans said...

Love the painting but quite sad about the treatment of such wonderful animals , where is the humanity

Debbie said...

Thank you for your comment, David. My initial knee-jerk reaction years ago when I first realized that horses were slaughtered for human consumption was "NO WAY"! I was aghast! But it's a necessary evil in this world - if we eat, something dies. If you drive a car, people die. If you go to a baseball game, there is a risk that someone will get hurt (or die, unfortunately). Death is part of life and we can minimize its trauma, but not eliminate it. You can become a vegetarian, but agriculture is listed as SECOND behind mining as the highest risk occupation. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-146/detail/imagedetail.asp@imgid304.htm
Sorry - I'll climb off the soapbox. :"> blushing
Thanks AGAIN! :) happy sigh

Happy Little Trees Studio said...

We have horses and I totally agree with you. We are having the same problem in KY AND it seems like at least once a month you hear on the news about horses that have been rounded up that I think were just let loose on peoples farms. I hate the idea of slaughter houses too, but now we have a bit of a crisis. I wonder if the people who made some of these decisions were just "do-gooders" as I call them, or if they really researched and thought about what could happen. You KNOW they are mistreated as they are taken out of the country and it breaks my heart. Thanks for your honesty in the post.

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Oh Debbie. What a voice of reason you are on such an awful scenario.
:( I get it, though.

Kirk Witmer said...

Debbie....
The next time you feel a need to climb onto this soapbox topic, please send me an email and let me know where we're going to speak, so I can bring my soapbox too.
Bless your heart. I'm right there with you. :)