Just as I was incredibly naive when I started down the equine slaughter rabbit hole, I was equally naive about the BLM Mustang mismanagement mess. I have lived for over 6 decades, and I understand that counting on the government to get everything right is very foolish thinking. But I’m not a conspiracy theorist either… …
Since the first of the year, I have been doing a deep dive into the incredibly inhumane and completely unnecessary slaughter horse “industry.” In my previous post about this topic, I explained that this “industry” is really not an industry. It isn’t a regulated process. It doesn’t have huge profits, market demand surge, and soaring …
Horse Slaughter Feedlots and Transport Atrocities Read More »
Two weeks ago, I wrote about a hot-off-the-presses report detailing the plummeting numbers of horses subjected to slaughter in Mexico and Canada. The main point of that post was to make the very strong argument that the number of horses experiencing this cruelty is negligible in the scheme of managing the entire domestic equine population. …
I grew up in Indiana and attended Purdue University for my veterinary degree. We learned about diseases that affected animals all across the country, including fungal diseases. Histoplasmosis was more of a concern in the Midwest than Valley Fever. In fact, a staff member at my first job was tested for histoplasmosis when she gave …
Planning to Visit the Southwest? Do You Know About Valley Fever? Read More »
It is past time to ban the slaughter of horses originating in the United States It was a little less than 2 months ago that I began writing my series on horse slaughter and the auction pipeline scams. I have met some amazing people and organizations and learned some discouraging facts about others. The vast …
A Simple Answer to All the Excuses for Supporting Horse Slaughter Read More »
I am starting this post in a coffee shop at the airport in Belize City in Central America. Alan and I spent a week hanging out at the beach, scuba diving (only once after 2 cancellations due to wind), and trying to survive the streets of San Pedro in a golf cart. While my mind …
Processing What I Have Learned About the Horse Auction/Slaughter Pipeline Read More »
This is the fourth installment of a series about the horse auction and horse slaughter pipelines. In this post, I will discuss recommendations made by the Animal Welfare Institute and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) for how to evaluate a horse rescue facility. Many well-meaning individuals enter into the horse rescue world with …
Horse Rescue Facilities… A Savior Complex or a Safe Harbor? (Part 4 in a series) Read More »
I began writing this series partly in response to photos that found their way into my Facebook feed. Like many of you, I would see images of skinny, lame, and debilitated horses taken by what I assumed to be legitimate rescue groups at auctions around the country. I was, admittedly, only peripherally aware of the …
The Kill Buyers Scam… Preying on Our Emotions (Part 3 in a Series) Read More »
Last week, I launched the first post in a series about the equine slaughter industry. This is not a series I planned to write. My eyes were blown open by a training module I completed as part of my veterinary continuing education requirements. In the week before Part One was posted, I crawled further and …
The History of Equine Slaughter in the United States (Part 2 in a series) Read More »
It is hard to be passionate about something about which you are not aware. “Out of sight, out of mind” is a very true adage, and we are all susceptible to that scenario. All of us, including me. Therefore, it was with complete naiveté that I started down a rabbit hole a week ago… I …
An Eye-Opening Encounter About Veterinary Involvement in Horse Slaughter Read More »
