STOP the Sale of Horse Meat for Human Consumption in W.A & Australia
WARNING ~ Graphic slaughter photos from inside Australian slaughter houses below.
On the 1st of July a Western Australian butcher was granted a license to sell horse meat in Australia. We are fighting to have this decision over turned. Why?? For two reasons:
Firstly, the way in which horses are killed is inhuman and violates the Animal Welfare Act. Horses are killed for human consumption in the same way cattle are, however, the horses skull is structured differently with the brain situated further back in the head. So when a Captive bolt hits a horse is it not killed immediately. The horse is then strung up and bled while its heart is still pumping. This process has been proven to cause extreme pain to the animal and in the USA it violated the Humane Slaughter Act and horse slaughter was banned over there. The process is no different here in Australia and for horses to be killed this way violates everything that we stand for in Australia. Secondly, horses are not farmed for meat and they will be sourcing the stock from Knackery's, however, 90% of horses sent to knackery's are sent there due to illness or injury in which case there past owner would have medicated or treated the animal before using the last resort of sending the horse to become pet food. Therefore, the horses system will be full of drugs and medication (Bute the anti inflammatory never leaves a horses system and is very commonly used in the horse world) they are also full of infection or diseases. People have to remember that knackery's not only kill horses they kill sick and injured cattle and sheep that are not suitable for human consumption. A lady in QLD is currently doing a study to find out why our cats and dogs have an increased rate of cancers and if you saw what types of animals were being slaughtered to make up their pet food you would understand, yet this WA butcher wants to use this meat to sell to humans.... We are flighting this head on and have informed the WA government of the violations that this license approval has created.
On the 10th of October we held our first rally. 50 people and 15 horses rallied together at Wellington Square in East Perth to show our dedication in having this license revoked. We had great media coverage and made a great impact in what we are trying to achieve.
Currently we are organising another demonstration in Perth and will release details once they have been confirmed. Back in July we started up an online petition which has close to 5000 signatures, however these online petitions are not reputable or considered by the government when trying to amend laws or legislation so we have created a website with a printable petition that can be printed out, signed and sent back to us. If you are able to print off this petition, take it to your place of work, pony clubs or other areas to have it signed and then sent back to us to present to the government please download immediately.
As most of you already know, we will not give up this fight until the license to sell horse meat for human consumption is revoked. There are too many inconsistencies within the Western Australian Government in regards to how quickly this was passed and approved and there are too many inconsistencies with how and where these horses are being slaughtered, the process involved and whether or not it’s being monitored by the DPI and the process humane.
The horse slaughter industry in Australia is very quiet and relatively unregulated. The RSPCA have a policy in regards to humane killing which states “An animal must be either killed instantly or instantaneously rendered insensible to pain until death supervenes” however, we have a USA study that was conducted which proves that the captive bolt is an inhumane process for killing horses due to the structure of their skull. The captive bolt does not kill instantly or instantaneously and cause the horse extreme pain before death. I have been informed by the Western Australia Government that they will not take into consideration the USA study because it was not conducted on Australian soil even though the process is exactly the same. The RSPCA have another policy which states “Handling of animals prior to killing must also be humane and as stress-free as possible” however, these animals are subject to sometimes long interstate transporting to one of the two licensed abattoirs in Australia who kill horses for human consumption without rest, food or water, not to mention the state of the horses in sale yards, the transportation issues and treatment in knackery’s of horses killed for pet food (but this is a different issue). In Western Australia there is no licensed abattoir for slaughtering horses for human consumption and no details have been confirmed on where these animals are being killed, however I have been informed that they are being killed in a knackery licensed to slaughter for pet food but I have been unable to confirm this.
At present we are not trying to have horse slaughter banned completely, there are many more issues that need to be addressed before that could ever happen, such as over breeding etc. We are trying to clean up an unregulated industry that has no concern for the welfare of these animals, and in most cased violates the Animal Welfare Act (or its equivalent), but our first step is to have this license to sell horse meat for human consumption in Australia revoked. We need to be the voice for the horses that have no voice.
Petition Details:
Our aim is for 10,000 signatures and once collated we plan to hold a rally to present to a W.A Labor Politician to formally present this to the W.A Legislative assembly. We will be asking them to review and revoke the license immediately based on the complete absence of any Australian Industry Standards for the welfare, slaughter and sale of Horse Meat for human consumption.
We oppose the sale of horse meat due to the lack of due process in the granting of this license, no considerations were made to ensure the welfare and health of these horses and the process of slaughter and supplying horse meat for human consumption. Minister Redman and Mr Gareffa also refuse to provide details of the horses selected and supplied for slaughter, which provides the public with no assurance that the meat is fit or SAFE for human consumption.
We also oppose the sale of Horse Meat based on the cultural beliefs and traditions within Australia, where we do not consume our companion animals.
Please download our petition, have it signed by as many people as you can and post it back to us at the postal address supplied on the petition ~ we need all of the support and help we can get.
http://nohorsemeat.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/petition-to-stop-the-sale-of-horse-meat-for-human-consumption/
Quote from a horse plant worker, "You move so fast you don’t have time to wait till a horse bleeds out, you skin him as he bleeds. Sometimes a horse’s nose is down in the blood, blowing bubbles, and he suffocates."
Future Campaigns
• Bringing in stricter breeding regulation to reduce the amount of backyard breeding and over supply of Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds.
