STOP THE SLAUGHTER
T. BOONE PICKENS calls on Congress to shut down killing factories and end the export of horsemeat
Dallas Morning News, 12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Texas has a dirty little secret that should shame all of us who live here.
FILE 2005/AP
Although the slaughter of horses for human consumption is illegal in Texas, foreign-owned companies that process horsemeat here are using federal loopholes to continue killing horses. As a result, Texas provided a large portion of the 39.5 million pounds of horsemeat shipped to France, Belgium and Japan in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are three horse slaughter plants in the U.S. – all foreign-owned – and two are in North Texas (Dallas Crown in Kaufman and Beltex in Fort Worth). Every day, horse carcasses are shipped out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, bound for Paris.
This is a black eye on our state and nation, and it demands action.
According to the USDA, these three foreign-owned plants slaughtered nearly 100,000 American horses last year. Owners across the country take their horses to legitimate sale barns and never suspect that, within days, these horses may end up on plates in high-end restaurants in Europe and Japan. The meat processors brag they can take a horse "from stable to table in four days."
And, despite the fact that none of the horsemeat is sold or consumed in the U.S., the slaughterhouses receive USDA oversight that costs millions of taxpayer dollars. To add insult to injury, these slaughterhouses use accounting loopholes to pay few or no taxes – shipping 100 percent of the horsemeat and profits to France and Belgium.
You would be shocked at the beautiful horses sent to these slaughterhouses. According to the USDA, nearly all of the Thoroughbreds, Arabians, quarter horses and wild mustangs arriving at these plants are healthy young horses in "good to excellent condition." Because of the quick kill and export, these plants have become convenient dumping grounds for stolen horses. In fact, after California instituted a ban on horse slaughter in 1998, horse thefts there dropped 34 percent.
Congressional hearings are scheduled to begin this week on the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR503), a strongly bipartisan bill to end the slaughter of horses in the U.S. for human consumption. The bill has the support of 200 co-sponsors and is championed by more than 100 organizations, including such industry groups as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Churchill Downs.
Every poll taken on this subject shows that Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to horse slaughter: In a recent Texas poll, more than 70 percent opposed it.
The horse has a special place in American culture and history. It helped settle this country and provided inspiration for the "horsepower" inside the vehicles that make this nation go. It's no surprise that, when reports surfaced that 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand ended up in a Japan slaughterhouse three years ago, they galvanized a movement to close the U.S. plants.
Let's hope it won't take the slaughter of another Derby winner to put the spotlight on this important issue and shut down these killing factories once and for all.
I strongly oppose horse slaughter. It is un-American. Contact your congressional members and let them know these horses deserve better.
T. Boone Pickens has been a world leader in the oil and gas industry for 50 years. He now runs BP Capital LLC, a Dallas-based energy trading partnership. Lifelong animal lovers, T. Boone and Madeleine Pickens earned national attention by funding the airlift rescue of stranded cats and dogs after Hurricane Katrina. His e-mail address is boone@boonepickens.com.
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-pickens_25edi.ART.State.Edition1.6f31.html
T. BOONE PICKENS calls on Congress to shut down killing factories and end the export of horsemeat
Dallas Morning News, 12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Texas has a dirty little secret that should shame all of us who live here.
FILE 2005/AP
Although the slaughter of horses for human consumption is illegal in Texas, foreign-owned companies that process horsemeat here are using federal loopholes to continue killing horses. As a result, Texas provided a large portion of the 39.5 million pounds of horsemeat shipped to France, Belgium and Japan in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are three horse slaughter plants in the U.S. – all foreign-owned – and two are in North Texas (Dallas Crown in Kaufman and Beltex in Fort Worth). Every day, horse carcasses are shipped out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, bound for Paris.
This is a black eye on our state and nation, and it demands action.
According to the USDA, these three foreign-owned plants slaughtered nearly 100,000 American horses last year. Owners across the country take their horses to legitimate sale barns and never suspect that, within days, these horses may end up on plates in high-end restaurants in Europe and Japan. The meat processors brag they can take a horse "from stable to table in four days."
And, despite the fact that none of the horsemeat is sold or consumed in the U.S., the slaughterhouses receive USDA oversight that costs millions of taxpayer dollars. To add insult to injury, these slaughterhouses use accounting loopholes to pay few or no taxes – shipping 100 percent of the horsemeat and profits to France and Belgium.
You would be shocked at the beautiful horses sent to these slaughterhouses. According to the USDA, nearly all of the Thoroughbreds, Arabians, quarter horses and wild mustangs arriving at these plants are healthy young horses in "good to excellent condition." Because of the quick kill and export, these plants have become convenient dumping grounds for stolen horses. In fact, after California instituted a ban on horse slaughter in 1998, horse thefts there dropped 34 percent.
Congressional hearings are scheduled to begin this week on the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR503), a strongly bipartisan bill to end the slaughter of horses in the U.S. for human consumption. The bill has the support of 200 co-sponsors and is championed by more than 100 organizations, including such industry groups as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Churchill Downs.
Every poll taken on this subject shows that Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to horse slaughter: In a recent Texas poll, more than 70 percent opposed it.
The horse has a special place in American culture and history. It helped settle this country and provided inspiration for the "horsepower" inside the vehicles that make this nation go. It's no surprise that, when reports surfaced that 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand ended up in a Japan slaughterhouse three years ago, they galvanized a movement to close the U.S. plants.
Let's hope it won't take the slaughter of another Derby winner to put the spotlight on this important issue and shut down these killing factories once and for all.
I strongly oppose horse slaughter. It is un-American. Contact your congressional members and let them know these horses deserve better.
T. Boone Pickens has been a world leader in the oil and gas industry for 50 years. He now runs BP Capital LLC, a Dallas-based energy trading partnership. Lifelong animal lovers, T. Boone and Madeleine Pickens earned national attention by funding the airlift rescue of stranded cats and dogs after Hurricane Katrina. His e-mail address is boone@boonepickens.com.
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-pickens_25edi.ART.State.Edition1.6f31.html
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