Horses Are Again On Menu - These People Helped Make It Happen
Posted: Sunday, February 12, 2012
by The Old Gray Mare
www.DressYourHorse.com
With everything that I am learning about the “dirty little secret” of horse slaughter in the USA, I searched out those in Congress who had been most active and had bloody hands – going against existing legislation, working hard to reverse the efforts already accomplished by horse people and the public, and disregarding the known wishes of at least 70% of the general public.
Since I feel it is of the utmost importance to expose these people, loudly and visibly, I have prepared this short expose to share with my readers the images, names and dealings of those responsible for reintroducing slaughter into the United States. Not only will these people remove approximately $5 million or more from our pockets in additional taxes, but they have taken a voice that is mostly counterproductive to their constituents.
Long ago I learned that my own representatives blatantly ignored the wishes of constituents. I can well remember the major Connecticut issue that sent me into action.
Let me quote myself, “…my own representatives blatantly ignored the wishes of constituents.” We only need to remember the goings on with the Health Care fiasco and the graft, coercion, bribes and closed door sessions to force it through. Above board? You can decide that one for yourself. Unfortunately, dirty dealings happen at all governmental levels.
It really is no different with the horse slaughter issue. Certain groups, lobbies, individuals and investors here and abroad have set their sights on our horses. It’s money on hooves, money to be “harvested,” and money to be made over and above the existing meat industry. For their financial interests, our horses are once again condemned! If not money, what really is their motivation?
Here are those involved who desire to kill our horses:
Sue Wallis, R-Wyoming - State RepresentativeWallis has endeavored to get US slaughter of horses back in business with her work on the State Appropriations Committee. She also serves on House Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Committees. Of serious consequence is her presidency of United Horsemen. This group is not at all what it seems to be since all are proponents of horse slaughter NOT the effort to retrain or relocate horses. It has a financial interest in reopening slaughterhouses to kill horses such as the Farm Lobby and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. She unabashedly promotes horsemeat for her clients and operates Web sites to get it done. There can never be any doubt as to exactly what Wallis’ interests are.
Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin – US Senator above left
He is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He chairs the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. He has had , Kohl has had authority or power for USDA, FDA budgets, and others – many connected to farmers. It is Kohl, together with Blunt and Kingston, who went behind closed doors to remove the defunding language from the Approriations Bill. Kohl is part of the Kohl family department store emphire with an estimated net worth of over $280 million. He owns the Milwaukee Bucks NBA Team.
Roy Blunt, R-Missouri - U.S. Senator above middle
He has been a major player in the language reversal of the Appropriations Bill. Together with Kohl and Kingston, they schemed to remove of the defunding language. Blunt is a member of the Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration.
Jack Kingston, D-Georgia, U.S. Representative above right
Together with Blunt and Kohl, Kingston removed language defunding horse slaughter inspections from the Appropriations Bill. He has been known to use his position on the House Appropriations Committee and on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration to effect favorable agribusiness changes. Kingston is a member of the Congressional Beef Caucus.
Charlie Stenholm, D-Texas - Ex Representative, currently LobbyistThese days, Stenholm lobbies for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. In addition, he serves clients with major financial stakes to bring horse slaughter back to the United States. Worse, he battled against closing the last three horse slaughterhouses in our country in ‘04 as he lobbied for Olsson Frank Weeda. When he was still in Congress, prior to his lobbying stints, he promoted intense efforts to get the Agriculture Industry under meat packers’ control. At that time, Stenhold wrote farm policy, appropriated billions, and accepted $39,298 in subsidies for the family farm.
Max Baucus, D-Montana - U.S. SenatorHe has expended many years of effort to open horse slaughter plants. Due to his efforts, a biased GAO report was completed, delaying the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act vote. It was Baucus who advocated to Senate Appropriations heads Inouye and Cochran and House Appropriations heads Rogers and Dicks to eliminate the US Department of Agriculture horse slaughter inspection defunding language from the Appropriations Bill. Ultimately, this critical language was covertly removed by three lawmakers in one of those closed-door sessions. This Bill passed into law when President Obama signed it on November 18.
Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia - U.S. RepresentativeGoodlatte stalled and held back the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act in the 107th Congress. He was the bottleneck that tied it up in committee even though it had 230 cosponsors in the House. He is a Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture and a Member of the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry. These shenanigans were repeated with the help of Stenholm when a second bill was introduced. They successfully blocked this bill until the session ran out.
Larry Craig, R-Idaho - Former U.S. SenatorCraig was a member of the Ethics Committee, the Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration. He also served on the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Craig maneuvered the pro-slaughter lobby during the 108th Congress. He managed to withhold unanimous consent for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. He blocked the bill.
According to Forbes, “Craig was disgraced by his arrest for soliciting sex in the men's bathroom at the Minneapolis Airport in 2008.”
Conrad Burns, R-Montana - Lobbyist and Former U.S. SenatorI quote from Forbes, “During the 109th Congress, Burns slipped language—at the request of Harry Reid—into the 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Bill Conference Committee Report, which overruled key sections of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. The language remained in force through three successive bills, sending untold thousands of wild horses and burros to their deaths.”
Burns was named as one of 20 most corrupt Congressional members by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. He has been lobbying for the American Quarter Horse Association. The statistic of 70,000 Quarter Horses being sent to Canadian slaughter or Mexican slaughter is mind-boggling. That is a disgraceful 70% of all breeds.
The issue of horse slaughter should not to be taken lightly. It affects all of us. If several of these people have their way, grocery stores will be selling horsemeat in addition to sending it to Europe. For the life of me, I cannot understand the benefit of having foreign companies run horse slaughter facilities, and send the monies and the meat back to their foreign countries. As we already know, the previous plants were manned by foreign workers as well.
Beware my fellow people of America! While horse slaughter may not directly affect you today, it will soon enough because our tax dollars will be used.
Seriously now, do you really think that horses, with their close bond to humans, are meat animals? Will our own large dog breeds be next?
The fact is, some animals are not and have not been intended as meat animals.
The Old Gray Mare writes for www.DressYourHorse.com and her Blog sites.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Seems equally a problem for both parties...hmmm. We shall continue to fight on for those who cannot fight for themselves...thanks.The point I am trying to make in this article is the duplicity and sneakiness involved. These lawmakers do it all the time. In this case, it's blatantly obvious. When I say "covert" and "quietly" and "behind closed doors" I mean it. It's deceptive at that. That's how many laws get on the books because they get tacked on in some general bill in vague and evasive language. I hate deceit. This was not supposed to be in there but it is. I tried with this article to expose the leaders so that people can truly see how far they go to get their way. And it's all about how loud money speaks. Why does Wallis feel so strongly about horse meat in the supermarkets. Why should it be considered. Are we having a meat crisis? Anyway, no animal deserves the deaths they mete out to horses You're such a good WS fan! I really appreciate this tough read!
Abattoirs should be illegal as should eating horses; the cruelty and mass slaughter of animals to place on our plates defines us as a primitive race.
Einstein said that for mankind to survive we must all become vegetarians, and rather than suggesting overpopulation as causation, I think he was suggesting our spiritual evolution was at stake.
When we respect the lives and consciousness of Earth's animals, from the chicken to the whale, as beings, not merely as food, then perhaps we can command self respect from alien entities who judge us and treat us similarly as we view veal.
A wondrous activism article that should be sent to newspapers, journals and government officials to elevate their consciousness .
Proud of you!
PaulYou just reminded me again why I'm so fond of you!
Your comment is generous and well taken!
I often think of the behind the scenes stuff when we're at special functions and how many animals gave their lives for our dinners. It boggles my mind when I multiply that by the unbelievable human masses. Of course I'm against all this overpopulation anyway - some humans reproduce beyond two kids and I often wonder why in this day and age of overpopulation. Sorry Paul. I digress.
I have been watching many alien subject shows on tv. My goodness, there has been a lot of them. Interesting and echoes of our own Paul!
This whole issue is sickening. I am glad that this writer has written about it and exposed these people.Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope you spread the word.
This is informative and you openly display the people who have turned on horses. I will take note and remember in November, promise. Also, I am planning on going to the Million Dollar Horse Day June 11 in Washington DC. Our whole barn is planning to go. We consider this turncoat business inexcusable. Give it to us, then take it away. It's been like that since Wild Horse Annie. I hope other people take note of this article.I'm glad to hear you will join the march in June. All horse people and folks interested in stopping needless horse slaughter and suffering need to group behind the cause. The government people that are pushing this are for big money from carcasses of horses and they keep up the pressure by bringing it up and up and up. They are also attacking the wild horses again. We cannot have enough eyes.
Hi Heidi.
Took me a long time to get around to reading this article ... mainly because of the topic. But it's good that you wrote it and are helping to raise awareness of the issue.
In many ways, I am a reluctant meat eater. There are days when I can't have anything to do with hamburger because I can see the cow in my minds eye. I will absolutely have nothing to do with veal. In many ways, my problem with eating animal flesh of any kind is mainly in how they are raised and slaughtered. But there are some animals (quite a few actually now that I've given it some thought) that I would never consider eating no matter how nicely they were cared for or how compassionately they were slaughtered.
I don't have a problem with eating chicken eggs. I buy only those eggs that are from cage free chickens and so I support that kind of care.
Honestly, I don't know how a person could even consider eating horse meat. But then there are people in other countries who eat Guinea pigs. And when I met my husband, his family often ate roast rabbit! He stopped doing that for me.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Hugs,
DianneI almost missed your detailed and heartfelt comment, Dianne. So sorry. I've been away again from writing for some time. Am just taking a break from both the website and writing.
There's been so much about animal abuse in general and horse slaughter that it simply hurts my heart. I have always had difficulty understanding how people could ever be as cruel as they are. The cruelties that humans extend to other humans and other creatures are simply more than I can get my head around and sometimes I simply have to separate myself from it and stay focused on my own family and friends and pets. I've done that and feel somewhat invigorated again. Plus its spring. Thoughts have turned to birds singing and regrowth and renewal.
I echo all your words above. Plus I very much value your writings and ideals. I will simply have to get back to business. Forgive my absence. I'll make it up to my friends and fans.
Thanks for being there.
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