Closing the plants has also not had an impact on the over breeding. Legislation has been pending for years and instead of preparing for the end of slaughter, they continue to breed and dump. And they will continue to do so until they no longer can. As long as they have a dumping ground for their excess, the status quo will continue. Organizations like the AQHA whine about unwanted horses and then bring over 130,000 foals into the population every year. Wouldn’t be so bad but they also have the leading breed going to slaughter. They spend millions trying to continue slaughter instead of helping their members keep their horses. Why not take that money to establish hay funds, euthanasia funds and educating owners on responsible ownership…

And by the way, I do want to thank those who raise or grow our food here in the United States. I wish we would stop importing so much and let our own farmers supply our food. It takes a special kind of human to do that job as it seems so thankless. A lot of people think their food only comes from the grocery store and don’t know or care how it gets there. But horses are not a food source for Americans and horses do not deserve the pain and suffering of a slaughter house or the trip to it. Horse slaughter is cruel and inhumane and there is NO excuse for it! Not even greed!

What you fail to clarify is that “you” want to get paid to dispose of a horse of yours, rather than pay for humane disposal. At some auctions, horse slaughter buy prices are actually rising (depends on condition and location). Don’t know why you have 20 horses you don’t want. The auctions still exsist for KBs…better yet, do a Craig’s List thing and say horse for $100 or even free…the KBs will beat a path to your door. Base price for a healthy, trained and well bred horse is not related to the kill price…but it is related to the economy and what people are willing to pay for what is basically a luxury item.

Forgot to ask…you talk to the sheriff or DA? BTW..we seem to have a boat load of foals on the way because BLM didn’t castrate upon transfer/lease of ownership, didn’t do background check on Meduna and the horse rescues involved did have some issues with handling and disposition. No one against horse slaughter is thrilled about this situation.

Who precisely turned you away, since you were there?

Jason Meduna doesn’t make ranchers look bad. He doesn’t make horsemen look bad. He’s NEITHER of those things and anybody with two IQ points to rub together knows it. This incident will not be used to make ranching or horse trainers or rescues look bad. It only makes this individual look bad and shows the need for the BLM to do better follow-up if they are going to hand out horses like candy for $10 a pop.

Animal hoarding is a weird thing and can be a full on mental illness. Meduna probably thought that no matter what state those horses were in, he was still the best–maybe the ONLY–person in the world able to take care of them. Only knowing the guy through his website and online words, it appears to me he is narcissistic enough to firmly believe that.

I have the utmost respect for farmers and ranchers. You do hard, honest work to put food on our tables. My main regret in life so far is not having spent enough time with older generations of my family before they passed. There’s no one more knowledgeable, more practical, more useful and resourceful than an old farmer. To know just 1/10 of what they knew…

You are totally right to suspect that the HSUS would use this incident to paint an entire group of hardworking people as being bad. My main point was that by defending bad apples like Meduna only makes the HSUS’s job easier. There has to be a bigger effort on the part of farming/ranching organizations to educate the public in an honest way on how meat makes it on their plate. You could so easily take the wind right out of the sails of HSUS and PETA on the farming/ranching issues.

And with regards to promoting vegetarianism, you’ve got the secret weapon the other side has no counter for: bacon.

Thanks for the debate. I have to get going and find a 2 x 4 with which to beat a dog who won’t leave the chickens alone.

Take care and be well!

You folks are looking at the situation from Mr. Meduna’s position, which IN THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION, is correct.
His apparent position is/was:
1)I wanted to save these beautiful creatures, I can’t now, but I’m not going to admit failure??????????????????????????????????????
2)see plan #1

I can’t imagine what was going through his mind. I’ve been trying to put myself in his frame of mind to see what his objective was, and I just come up with insanity and animal abuse.
My point of argument was as if we were dealing with a sane, rational human being, which in this case does not apply.
I can’t even come up with a half ways sane thought process, from his side of view. I haven’t seen the interviews of him, so it’s hard to judge. But from what I know of the case, he needs mental evaluation.
Whomever stated above that HSUS knew about this case “a month or so”, isn’t up on their facts either, according to HSUS employees, they had 12 hours notice.
I stand by all my statements about HSUS. They’re bad news, and they promote vegetarianism.
What my original post has to do with HSUS is I DON’T LIKE THEM MEDDLING IN MY BACKYARD, MAKING THEMSELVES LOOK LIKE THEY CARE ABOUT THE AMERICAN FARMER/RANCHER, when in fact they want us out of business. They’re liars.
D.Masters, yes rendering of horses exists, but at negative value, there is no incentive to take unwanted horses by general public there, for a humane end, rather they just turn the horses loose to roam road ditches, countryside, or drop off at the auction barn.
I bet this last year, if you add the abandoned horse numbers, and add the huge increase to those “rescued”, into the stats of slaughtered horses, you would see a large increase over your 2% of total numbers.
I don’t care how much notice HSUS and the other rescuers had of this situation, I personally haven’t heard any public outcry for feed to be donated to these particular horses. It’s being donated now because of our locals concern for the animals. I HAVEN’T HEARD OF HSUS OFFERING TO PAY FOR THE FEED.
There you have it. I’d be happy to continue this blog if you guys want to. You won some points and I did also.
It’s time to get to work here in Nebraska. It’s getting late and I haven’t even had breakfast yet!!
I’m getting so hungry I could eat a —— NEVERMIND.

Your facts and assumptions are baseless and tiring. I weary of corresponding with someone who knows nothing and insists on proving it over and over.

By the way, you pompous #$%, I’ll put my educational background and economic/business experience up against yours any day. Bring it on!

And just an FYI, KBs/SHs never buy ALL the unwanted horses in the US. They buy only what the need to fill an order and meet consumer demand. 3 Strikes has nothing to do with horse slaughter. There were people and organizations that do and do not believe in horse slaughter that came to help these horses because of serious abuse via neglect. That sir, has nothing to do with HSUS OR horse slaughter

Reyna, why don’t you define what a “factory farm” is for those of us who are less enlightened than our city cousins. I’ve never seen one myself. I’m sure they’re out there because I hear about them all the time.

D Masters, you completely missed the point Craig made about horse slaughter. The difference is that if the meat was for human consumption the horses would have a floor on their value, if you have to pay to have them slaughtered then they have a negative value. (math101.com)

We out here in fly over country get incredibly weary of being told how to live our lives by the folks who have destroyed their environment, paved over everything in sight, and wrecked the economy. If you want to preserve, then buy the land and the poor animals and preserve them, otherwise butt out.

As for USUS not being anti farming and anti meat go here.

Honestly, so much of what you posted is just frankly incomplete/half-truths, distortion, spin and well, opinion. You know how I know? Slaughter of US Horses still exists. Check the USDA numbers. Enough said.

And I told you, US Horses are STILL being slaughtered in the US. I said you have to pay for it and it can’t be consumed by humans. What reeally is your agenda here? Reyna makes some excellent points, not that I completely agree, but I did say clean up yourselves first and then tackle human consumption horse slaughter.

And again, thank you. I must have expressed myself in some way that got your hackles up (threatened you/your position)…ergo, they must have been reasonable and thought provoking and hack at your proslaughter stance. Thank you.

Yes, I clearly understood the distracting “prolife/abortion” reference in the post. Didn’t think it worthy of response and basically an attempt to change the debate here. It’s horse slaughter for human consumption (really) with a poster child like 3 Strikes Ranch and being infuriated that HSUS is in NE doing something, anything as some here are using as a rally cry. Fairly weak and disconnected logic if you take the time to understand 3 Strikes and the US horse slaughter situation.

I still don’t understand why you’re going on and on about the HSUS. Have you read their mission statement? No, they aren’t involved in local animal shelters, but they NEVER CLAIM TO BE. They educate, they lobby and fund some sanctuaries to the tune of several million dollars a year and disaster relief. You seem to think you’re exposing some big scam, but most thinking people knew all this already. I wouldn’t give them a dime because like most big charities, their operating expenses are far too high, no matter what their mission statement.

And again, there’s no slaughterhouse connection. The guy wasn’t going to sell to slaughter ever! He was the shirtless cowboy, saving those little ponies his own sexy self. Fact of the matter is, there were slaughter plants open when he started this operation and he wasn’t selling then either.

Now, you’d better hurry because I heard Wal*Mart is having a huge sale on anti-HSUS tinfoil hats. They won’t last long!

This dead horse has been beaten.

Why Is The HSUS moving the horses?

Well, first there is an investigation and on that note, if you know much at
all, the safest thing for the equine is to get them far from Jason.

ON that note, why dont you call them and ask.

That would work wonders to leave them there and do an investigation on Jason’s property, dont you think?

At any time he could kick everyone off the property.

But we know that you just seem to like to create issues
for the HSUS.

They did not ask for this situation.Jason had time to ask for help, as he says
GEE THINGS STARTED CHANGING BACK IN NOVEMBER.

Jason created the problem, now others have to do the work.

I would venture to bet that most of the comments on this blog from people that think that hsus and peta are not a threat are probably flaming liberals and also believe that the current administration will somehow fix all the problems that one may have. Wake up! I get so sick and tired of hearing how we need to save these horses. what about a horse that is over 20 years old has bad teeth and you idiots are out there trying to save it? how much money will be wasted for these horses to get back into shape and maybe be adopted? unbelievable.! How can this be a good investment. I will be on someone to tell me in a year how much money and time and headache these 200 horses cost the tax payers of morrill co. and the state of ne. Buthcher, kill, slaughter, I don’t care what you have to call it to make your self sleep at night!

mcgrewfarmer, can you please show us a list of these animal welfare/rights organizations that have taken a position on human abortion? Remember now, you said “most,” that means more than half have not only taken a stand, but are PRO-abortion.

And is it that you will only have conversations with people who already agree with you? I don’t understand how agreeing on abortion or infanticide at all relates to animal abuse.Certainly no one here is arguing that killing children is OK, but abusing animals is not.

Back to the subject at hand – HSUS would have NO power if the ag community showed some transparency instead of cowering in paranoia about the animal rights boogymen. Every single one of you know upstanding ranchers, good horse trainers, honest dairymen and farmers who bust their butts to make ends meet. You probably also know one or two who don’t respect their animals, don’t keep a clean barn, steal water or dump where they ain’t supposed to.

Heck I grew up next to several small dairy and egg operations. There was a family down the road who kept a small herd in a nice dairy barn, clean as a whistle. But across the street, hidden by trees kept the REST of their herd along with a few starving horses in some of the filthiest conditions you can imagine. PETA/HSUS would have had a field day with that place. Don’t want PETA/HSUS in your backyard? Stop pretending that all farmers/ranchers/dairymen are irreproachable just by virtue of their profession. As an industry, do not tolerate abusive tactics on the farm, during transportation or during the slaughter process and stop making excuses for those who do.

Right now, all the outside sees is stories about illegal immigrants being paid next to nothing to work in dangerous slaughterhouses that are unnecessarily abusive to the animals, who of course, were factory farmed in horrible conditions. And meat is bad for you, so don’t eat it anyway. THIS is what more and more people believe, because you and I both know, they’ve never even seen a farm, let alone a real live cow/horse/pig and all they have to go on is their Sunday night 60 Minutes report.

Be open and honest about how that tasty $40 steak makes it to a city slicker’s plate and what all you do to get it there and HSUS/PETA will wither and die. Or don’t. Whatever.

Glad to see that someone else understands that this case has nothing to do with slaughter plants.

And as for all you questioning why HSUS might have waited four weeks before going in on this rescue mission, don’t you think they’d best have their ducks in a row before embarking on something of this scale? Perhaps take the time to help assemble the rescue team? (They flew good horse rescue people in from across the country to help, by the way.) And to make sure there would be places to put the animals and resources to take care of them once they were seized? Or maybe even to make sure that there really was a crisis going on and not just say, some weird poisoning event as the joker running the ranch claims? Or hey – maybe they were notified and worked together with local law enforcement and they arrived when they were ASKED TO?

Good lord, no. It can’t be any of those logical things. It’s gotta be just the next step in their plot to outlaw bacon in every state in the union.

mcgrewfarmer: until we respect all human life, from conception to natural death, we’re going to see an unbalanced viewpoint like some of what we’ve seen posted. I pray every day that this will change in America and the rest of the world.