U.S. horse slaughtering okay'd by Obama, Congress

You will never stop back-yard breeders. Never. You might shut down the top breeding farms that breed good selection of horses, but never the person that has a horse with genetic problems to another genetic problem horse. What crap are you reading?

Unfortunately, culling breeding incentives will never happen. It isn't the reputable breeders you have to worry about. Good horse still bring good $$. It's the 'backyard' breeder who impregnates anything with a uterus simply for the sake of doing so. It is virtually impossible to eliminate this, ignorance breeds ignorance. What DOES need to happen is policing of already existing laws for humane treatment. Laws ARE in effect that are supposed to keep horse slaughter as humane as possible, problem is, WHO is policing it??? Secondly, throw money at it; WHO is paying for this?? Certainly not MY tax dollars, NO thanks!!

If you think that none of the pioneers ate thier horses out on the cold prairie trail across this great country you are sourly mistaken. Although horses were valued as mounts they were also valued as food. I find most people who are against the slaughter of livestock have never in thier life owned any livestock. They think hamburger just comes from the store.

Really??? How is imposing a foal impact fee on the "major" horse breeders fair or realistic? You want to punish those who attempt to breed quality horses and sell them as performers? Exactly which large breder do you know of that uses slaughter to get rid of horses that won't be champions??? That's a bunch of crap! They might sell them for less money or sell them for pleasure riding instead of competetion. if they have a good quality horse, they are not going to sell it for $300 regardless.
How is it fair to charge some breeders a foal impact fee and not others? The backyard breeders are most of the problem and you will never regulate them. There is no way to regulate what someone does in their own backyard. I know of people who have 20-30 horses that they can't afford to feed and care for properly. These horses are allowed to breed at random. This is very wrong! These horses will never have a decent life! So why do you want to try to punish those who breed responsibly?
Wake up! Just because horse slaughter was not legal in the US did not mean that it stopped. It will NEVER stop. At least if it is done in the US, it can be regulated and humane. If you think that a trip to Mexico is a better option then you are nuts! Slaughter can be humane when it is regulated in the US. Unless you are a vegan then you can't oppose the use of animals for food. They are stock animals like cows and pigs. Do you drink milk or eat cheese or hamburgers? I want these animals to be treated as humanely as possible, but I still like cheeseburgers. If there is no animal slaughter, then what will happen to all the unwanted cows? Cows chickens, and pigs would be extinct (except for in a zoo) if we didn't eat them!

Dear Miss. Sellers,
My name is Sunnie Wynn I am 16 years old from South Georgia. My family raises and trains horses for a living & horses have always been my passion! We show all of our horses and are ranked top in the nation and world. If you truly care and love horses then you should be for slaughter. I know it is a terrible thing to think about, but its done humanily do your research. Would you rather we have millions of horses starving and being turned out in the wild because people can't afford them, or would you rather they be put down humanily and used for something. America isnt in demand for horse meat the middle eastern countries are. Money will not stop slaughter because no one has that kind of money. Slaughter is for the best believe it or not. People think they are trying to save them by buying horses untilo they have no money to feed them & then the horses die and suffer a terrible death. Think about this, would you rather horses die an inhumane death (which is what will happen if you tyr and stop it, look around its already happened) or would rather them be served justice and humanily be put down?
-Sunnie Wynn

Not only that, but some "breeders" and "sellers" have taken advantage of the non-market to sell their own foals and other horses they can pick up off Craigslist for free or $100, and haul a stock-trailer load to Mexico (or Canada, whichever is closer), once a month or more. I know of at least 2 local breeders who do this on a regular basis to get a per-pound profit because they can't sell their crappy-bred horses any other way. These are breeders who were breeding crappy horses BEFORE the market crashed, and never stopped. 60-80 poorly-conformed, bad tempered babies a year that they couldn't sell then...surely can't sell now...So Mexico is their answer.

At least slaughterhouses INSIDE the US will create US jobs, will have USDA standards for handling, and will be a closer destination for those unwanted horses that would otherwise endure a 26 hour final ride. Not to mention, put a bottom back in the market -- there used to be signs at the auctions as 'warnings' to sellers, for example $800 was meat price - if you sold your horse for that price or less, you knew he was probably going to the slaughterhouse. That gave every marketable, sound, well-trained horse an immediate perceived value above that $800 mark - both inside and outside the auction house.

A few years back, my family sold a well-bred paint mare and her foal to a man for $600. This mare later became a competitor in the national mounted shooting competition. Imagine what this mare would have brought our family if horse slaughter was still available and the market hadn't taken a dump.

I hope this will bring horse sales back up to the price they should be!

Thanks Obama, bout time you did something good for our nation!