People Are Eating Our Horses!!

All of you non-horsey people are giving me the ol' "WTF?!" look right now, because you didn't know this was happening. Here's what you missed: currently, our horses here in the US are often shipped out to Canada and Mexico where they are slaughtered and eaten by humans all around the world. Besides the "ew" factor that most of us have when we think of chowing down on Mr. Ed, there are some real ethical and humane issues that need to be addressed.

Please watch this video.

Okay, so not only are our horses being eaten by people, they are starved, tortured and tormented on their trip to execution. Additionally, their deaths are painful and horrific. Would you allow this to happen to dogs? Cats? Then why is it okay for horses? These are creatures that have served humans all throughout history - they help us work, play, travel and compete internationally in equestrian sports. They are part of the Olympic games. They helped form the modern world, settle the Americas and they were instrumental in defining the most American of occupations: the American Cowboy.

As a summary, let me break down for you why Americans need to step up and protect these horses from being shipped away and eaten by people: horses helped form the United States that you enjoy today. They carried soldiers, cowboys, frontiersmen, travellers and the first mailmen (Pony Express!). Horses, like dogs, help humans in their work, their sport, their leisure time and even in therapy.

HORSES DESERVE A PEACEFUL END. They do not deserve to make the terrifying trip to Mexico or Canada while starving and shoved in trailers like random pieces of scrap metal only to be hacked unhumanely into bits to end up on some foreign dinner plate.

Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to three years for possessing, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering, or receiving any horse, horse flesh, or carcass with the intent that it be used for human consumption. Reduces the prison term to one year if the offense involves less than five horses or less than 2,000 pounds of horse flesh or carcass and the offender has no prior conviction for this offense.

From the Animal Welfare Institute, "Despite the claims of horse slaughter supporters, horse slaughter is neither humane, nor a necessary evil. The horses — of which more than 92 percent are deemed to be healthy, adoptable and “in good condition” by the US Department of Agriculture — suffer terribly from start to finish."

Please call 202.224.3121 and tell your Representative to support H.R. 6598: Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008.

Know More: McCain vs Obama on Global Poverty

I am a proud member of One.org (a non-partisan group dedicated to ending global poverty) and thought that I would share something that is provided on their website. The information that follows will help you compare the candidates on the issue of global poverty and its major symptoms.

Whichever candidate you vote for, please help us to demand that they stick to their campaign promises to end malaria, seriously reduce the number of AIDS cases in Africa, help to provide better maternal medicine in poverty-stricken nations, and increase access to clean food and water. Only 1.2% of the federal budget is spent on international affairs, and only half of that money is used to fight HIV/AIDS and poverty around the world.

HERE IS THE CANDIDATE COMPARISON

Let's take a moment and talk about how bad things over in Africa really are...

• over 8,500 people die every day in Africa from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis - three preventable and treatable diseases.
  
• 72 million children are currently out of school
  
• over one billion people across the world lack access to clean water and 2.6 billion do not have access to basic sanitation
  
• every year, over 9 million children and half a million mothers die, most of them from treatable and preventable causes.
  
• 900 million people (three times the population of the USA) live in rural area in Africa - the areas hit hardest by extreme poverty

Now let's talk about why we should care...

Okay, folks: saving lives and improving the quality of life is the right thing to do. I don't care where you sit (right, left, on the fence, or over the river and through the woods), it is unethical to allow suffering if you have the means to end it.

If you need some selfish reasons, Colin Powell provided some in his book No Country Left Behind:

• Extreme poverty and a lack of economic opportunities fuels desperation and instability (WP comment: that means more war and a shit-load of violence)
  
• Education and economic empowerment are key elements of any global strategy to eliminate terrorism (WP: Provide education and economic development, and seriously reduce the risk that some desperate folks are going to fuck up life for the rest of us - why do you think that 'ghettos' in urban America are so riddled with crime? It's poverty that causes desperation! And lack of education can often lead to poverty - name the last Harvard graduate to rob a liquor store.)
  
• Providing these opportunities strengthens America’s image in the world (WP: So that when you take that vacation overseas, you won't have to claim to be Canadian.)

So, please: I implore you to remember the issue of global poverty when you go to the polls. I'm not endorsing either candidate in this post, although I'm sure you can guess who will win my vote, but I am asking you to be prepared and to demand action from your government leaders.

Fact-checking can be done through ONE.org.