Responses to AHA
While a significant response to the AHA
Motion to endorse slaughter has been primarily from its
own members, it has not gone unnoticed by the equestrian
community at large. The following are just a
sampling of the negative press the AHA has generated from
their ill-advised decision.
..."The forces to build a
coalition to promote the slaughter industry in this
country are building and they are approaching various
organizations under the auspices of concern for the
unwanted, starving horses in this country. This week the
Arabian Horse Association has "gone on record
supporting horse slaughter with the passage of a
resolution." This endorsement coincided with the
rather propitious appointment of AHA president Lance
Walters being appointed to the board of the AHC, leading
one to surmise there are interests other than what is best
for unwanted horses being advanced here."
By Nancy Cole
The Equestrian News
from the
article 'Like Lambs to the
Slaughter -
Pro Slaughter Groups Lure Unsuspecting Equestrians to
their Cause'
Equine welfare group condemns arab horse
resolution
June
11, 2009
The
Equine Welfare Alliance has condemned a passing of a
resolution by the board of the United States Arabian Horse
Association (AHA) in support of slaughter. The
alliance said the resolution attempted to mitigate the
decision and "ease the ultimate betrayal of their
breed" by voicing support for equine rescue and
responsible horse ownership.
"EWA questions how the AHA can promote slaughter and
responsible ownership since they contradict each
other," said alliance representatives John Holland
and Vicki Tobin.
The alliance said reports suggested the move was prompted
by the elevation of AHA president Lance Walters to the
American Horse Council board.
Walters stated: "Since Arabian horses are involved in
racing, showing, competition, and recreation, our owners
and events are greatly affected by federal actions."
Walters
did not describe how horse slaughter comes into play with
racing, showing, competition and recreation events, Tobin
and Holland said.
"The AHA foal count was only 6500 in 2008 - a
commendable example of responsible breeding, and AHA
bloggers have recently been discussing how well Arabian
prices are holding up in the sagging economy."
Given that, the alliance wondered at the motivation behind
the resolution, which was first reported in Arabian Horse
World.
Scores of AHA members have told the alliance they planned
to discontinue membership in their breed association
because the stance.
"Both the Arabian Association president and his board
are far out of the mainstream of American's opinion where
more than 70 per cent consistently say in polls that they
are opposed to horse slaughter," Holland and Tobin
said.
The alliance called for the AHA membership list in order
to commission polling by an outside agency to determine
whether Arabian owners really support slaughter.
Holland, himself a proud owner of Arabians, said of the
action, "It is high time the members of these
organizations let their management know just who they work
for!"
Welfare group comment on arabian slaughter
position
June
17, 2009
by
John Holland
I
found the justifications of their pro-slaughter resolution
put forward by the Arabian Horse Association officials in
the Jurga Report, and cited in Horsetalk.co.nz, to be most enlightening. They
give a graphic indication of the true nature of the
"extensive research" mentioned in the original
AHA pro-slaughter resolution.
Glen
Petty is quoted as saying: "Compelling reasons for
passage of the motion were conditions at Mexican slaughter
facilities and at a growing numbers of farms in the
US." I would agree about the conditions in Mexico,
but most other slaughter proponents do not. These
proponents site the AAEP (American Association of Equine
Practitioners) which claims to have inspected the Mexican slaughter plants
recently and found them to be humane. This was also reported in the Jurga Report.
So which is it?
But
the second part of this statement is clearly an attempt to
associate the effects of the economic downturn with the
closing of the US slaughter plants. The linkage could only
be true if the number of horses being slaughtered had
significantly decreased.
However,
exports simply replaced domestic slaughter and the number
of American horses slaughtered in 2008 (over 134,000) was
the second highest of any year since 1995. It is therefore
impossible to assign any effect to a decline in slaughter
that never happened.
The study we did last year
established that there had been no observable increase in
abuse and neglect through the beginning of 2008, but it
did find a linkage between unemployment and neglect.
Prophetically it warned in the conclusions that a downturn
in the economy could cause an increase in neglect
nationwide.
This
would all be questionable enough, but Petty continued:
"It was felt humane slaughter and government
regulation was a better alternative to the growing
inhumane conditions that have occurred as unintended
consequences caused by the passage of HB503."
This
is the most illuminating statement of all. First, the bill
number was not HB503, but H.R.503, and more tellingly, it
passed only the House of Representatives in the 109th
Congress and did not become law. A bill with the same
number is pending in the current congress. So again, Petty
is using the effects of something that did not happen as a
justification for their resolution.
If
there was any lingering doubt about the nature of the
"extensive research" upon which the AHA's
resolution was based, Mr Petty has certainly removed it
with his explanation.
John
Holland is a freelance writer and the author of three
books. He frequently writes on the subject of horse
slaughter from his small farm in the mountains of
Virginia, where he lives with his wife, Sheilah, and their
12 equines. Holland is a charter member of the Equine
Welfare Alliance and serves as senior analyst
for Americans Against Horse Slaughter, an organization
composed entirely of volunteers.
Taking a cue from the AQHA, the Arabian Horse Association now
shares the dubious distinction of joining this illustrious
list of US horse-slaughter supporters:
National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National
Milk Producers Federation
National
Pork Producers Council
National
Chicken Council
U.S.
Export Meat Federation
American
Meat Institute
American
Trucking Associations
Fur
Commission USA
What
possible interest could any of these organizations have in
horse slaughter? Are they concerned about the suffering of
the abandoned, neglected, and starving horses that
slaughter proponents tell us have resulted from the
closure of U.S. slaughter facilities? No, the political
connection between horse slaughter and the meat industry
is very clear: their endorsement has nothing to do with
animal welfare and everything to do with protecting their
own financial interests.
K Gregory/J
Unzelman, 2009
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