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The Horse Meat Trade Holocaust
by John Darmanin
John is the Chairperson for the Vegetarian Society of Malta.
Poland, a wintry morning with flakes of snow fluttering down from a pewter-grey sky and hundreds of horses tied to vehicles line up for the annual horse fair. Among the hustle and bustle of traders the agitation of the horses fills the air with fear, stress among the animals. Whining, ground tamping and snorting all showed the uneasiness of the horses.
Almost 100,000 horses are dispatched by road every year from Poland, some to Belgium and France but 90% to Italy. The voyage, covering more than 2000km down to Bari in Italy, in huge trucks is daunting for these horses. They will not eat or drink with hardly any ventilation. Horses from different herds are packed together in the dark containers. Authorities are interested only in keeping the flow of meat supply. Animal welfare is neglected..
VIVA has been following these horses and has photographed and videotaped footage of these obscene journeys in order to start a campaign against the barbaric trade. For the miserable horses it is a long 90 hour journey across Europe. Some horses do not even make it, some collapse through sheer exhaustion, on their own faeces and are trodden upon by the others. Those that survive frequently collapse on the unloading ramps from joint stiffness. Unable to stand up and walk they are pulled, kicked or electro-prodded mercilessly. The animal's spirit is in total devastation. Helpless, fear and panic stricken they are dragged to the slaughter houses.
There are EURO laws protecting animals during transport, but general disinterest and incapability with only four inspectors to police ten thousand miles of roads. Democracy means nothing when it comes to animals.
Horse meat trade is widespread world wide. In the USA thousands of male foals, unwanted surplus by-products of the HRT drug manufacture, which is made from urine of pregnant mares, are auctioned mostly for their meat. In Dartmoor England, ponies are bred to be sold for meat some times for as cheap as 50p an animal. The decline in demand for the meat of Dartmoor ponies has created a surplus of unwanted ponies. These wild ponies are allowed to breed and when the numbers become large enough they are rounded up and sold by auction to the meat and pet food industry. It is high time the authorities step in to stop this cruel trade.
All this leaves me in awe at how far man goes to exploit our weaker innocent and defenseless creatures for profit. (From VIVA LIFE mag. Aut/Win 2001)
Unseen they suffer, unheard they cry.
In agony they linger, in silence they die.
Is it nothing to you , all ye who pass by?
Anonymous
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