Wednesday 13 February 2013

A simple truth - too many horses


Horse meat is used as a substitute for beef because it is cheaper than beef to source. In the UK alone last year 10,000 horses were slaughtered for human consumption.

The plain and simple  fact of the matter is we breed too many horses and ponies.

Lee Hackett, senior executive of welfare at the British Horse Society said in January: “Most of the[. slaughtered horses] will be symptoms of the massive equine population problem in this country. We have simply got too many horses and ponies.”

And too many horses means low prices and poor welfare for animals, I'm sure we've all seen stories of horses been mistreated or abandoned by careless owners.

I think it important we distinguish between say beef cattle specifically breed for human consumption, to the trade in slaughtered horses as the direct consequence of too much breeding.

Time me thinks we regulated the breeding of horses, with an aim to reduce numbers and improve the condition and welfare of horses and ponies in the UK.

See Thousands of British horses slaughtered for European diners.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Horse meat is only cheaper if it is of poor quality. Otherwise it is way more expensive than beef.

This is the crux of the matter. Horse meat, horse meat of extremely poor quality has ended up in our food.

Why?

An Eye On... said...

Horse meat sausages are cheaper than pork and beef ones in Germany.