I live in the UK, but grew up in the US and Germany (and went to a multilingual European school) so hope you'll accept my credentials as a fellow European! I've got a link to the german website I mentioned (google Haflinger fohlen retten if the link at the bottom doesn't work). It's all in German - I have translated the page about why they do it, but won't post the whole thing here as it is long and I don't have their permission to do so. Basically, the overproduction means you can pick out the best horses and keep them for breeding and performance; the other foals act as good tourist attractions looking cute over the summer and are then sent to auction, where many (I can't substantiate this with actual numbers without doing more research) are then sold for slaughter. I'm a vegetarian so can take a somewhat 'higher ground' about slaughter - I do agree to a certain extent that if you eat cows, sheep and pigs, how are horses any different? In certain European countries veal (calf meat) and foal meat are considered delicacies and therefore actually fetch a higher price - Denmark is not one of these countries as far as I'm aware Lene, which is why, like many people in the UK where horse meat is not generally eaten by humans, you may not have been aware of this industry. The live horse transport of these foals and other horses across the EU is also something that many charities including World Horse Welfare (formerly the Internation League for the Protection of Horses) campaign on.
Here's the link to the specific charity I stumbled across when doing a google search for something else
http://www.haflingerfohlen-retten.de/home.html
Kate, UK
--- In haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com, Cari Kilborn <carik@...> wrote:
>
> I agree with all you said Kimberly!
> ~Cari
>
> Kimberly wrote:
> >
> > There is something really important mentioned in this post by Sandy.
> > It isn't the fact that slaghter houses exist but what happens when
> > people fight to get them eliminated. Horses then have to face even
> > more inhumane treatment for days on end because other slaughter horses
> > do exist and the focus should not be on eliminating them, but on
> > forcing them to have humane treatment every step of the way - from the
> > time they buy or have the horses, during transit, and right up until
> > the very end - including the way in which they are slaghtered.
> >
> > Yes, it is hard to think of horses as being raised or used for
> > slaghter but when it comes down to it, their meat is just as good as
> > cow or pig or any other type of beef animal. There is no crime in
> > raising them just for that purpose or having them go to slaughter -
> > especially if, in certain siutations, it is a better option. However -
> > just like in any animal siutation - the focus of slaughter should be
> > in making certain it is humane - absolutely every step of the way.
> >
> > The only other thing I would like to comment on is that I realize that
> > there are topics that will excite people or make people span the
> > spectrum of opinions - but please - there are enough places that we
> > can go to and get frustrated and angry and slam people or their
> > opinions. It's okay to disagree but can we keep this group friendly
> > instead of accusatory. I enjoy having a place to go where we love our
> > Haffies and where I can learn about the breed and actually feel like a
> > community learning about others adventures!
> >
> > Kimberly
> >
> > --- In haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com
> > <mailto:haflingerfriends%40yahoogroups.com>, Str8nascar@ wrote:
> > >
> > > I belong to a group who claims responsibility for closing down the
> > > slaughter houses in the U.S., and now that the economy is so poor
> > and the
> > > abundance of homeless horses is so great, the sale barns are full
> > and the kill
> > > buyers go to the sale barns, buy the horses and they now either go
> > to Mexico or
> > > Canada, prior to this they are kept in local overcrowded holding
> > pens and
> > > then they travel for days in crowded conditions, no food, no water
> > during
> > > the transport. I am not saying these are all Haflinger's but they
> > are all
> > > breeds. Horse meat is a delicacy in Europe and they pay high prices
> > for it!
> > > Take a look on youtube for "horse slaughter," I assure you your stomach
> > > wont be able to watch, it is incredibly inhumane!
> > >
> > > Recently the Governor of Montana has talked about opening a
> > slaughter house
> > > there, fortunately, it was met with so much resistance, that it hasn't
> > > been mentioned again. Now, they are talking about opening Carvel in
> > Illinois
> > > again. It is disgusting the treatment these horses receive and many of
> > > them die before even making it across the boarders to go to
> > slaughter. I
> > > assure you, the fear in their eyes is horrific!
> > >
> > > I would be happy to go back through the posts from the rescue group,
> > but I
> > > can assure you, it's pictures you really do not want to see.
> > >
> > > Sandy (who will now go back to lurking)
> > >
> > > All I pay my psychiatrist is the cost of feed and hay, and he'll
> > listen to
> > > me all day. -- Unknown
> > >
> > >
> > > In a message dated 2/17/2010 5:58:29 P.M. Mountain Standard Time,
> > > leneandersen@ writes:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In _haflingerfriends@haflingerfrihaf_
> > > (mailto:haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com
> > <mailto:haflingerfriends%40yahoogroups.com>) , briarcroft@, bri
> > > >
> > > >> Look at the ads with cuts of horse meat in the European Haflinger
> > > magazines. <<
> > >
> > > Could you please provide some proof for your allegations. Or at least
> > > names of the magazines in question. In which European countries do
> > they eat soo
> > > much horse meat that it has become a whole secondary industry? Or
> > are the
> > > meat used instead to feed zoo animals/ dogs and mink? In which case the
> > > meat price would be very low and I would think a "culled" Haflinger
> > would
> > > bring in a higher price as a pleasure horse.
> > >
> > > I think I will investigate the current price of Haflingers in Denmark.
> > > Good chance that they are alot higher here in US.
> > >
> > > Thanks Lene
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> >
> >
>
------------------------------------
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