Gawker
In Great Britain earlier this week, the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals stumbled upon a veritable horse death camp—"dead horses everywhere," according to one rescuer, with 32 bodies "as well as emaciated survivors, many covered in excrement, mud, scrapes and cuts at Spindles farm, at Hyde Heath, near Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Three more had to be shot because of their condition." It gets worse!
Back here in the US, bans on horse slaughter in the last states still practicing that gruesome deed were upheld by multiple court decisions. Which means now we just auction them to Canada and Mexico, where they may be killed in even more painful and cruel ways (the ones that aren't sold are just shot by their owners).
Oh, and "Vienna's renowned Spanish Riding School—famed for its white Lipizzaner stallions and their elegant strutting and sprightly dancing—is on the verge of bankruptcy, officials warned Friday."
It's really a bad day to be an 11-year-old girl.
Famed Vienna Stables Nearly Bankrupt [NYT]
Horses Spared in U.S. Face Death Across the Border [NYT]
Man charged as 111 surviving animals moved [Guardian]
Comments
The Ponies! Won't someone please think of the Ponies!
Dammit, I was really looking forward to my mortadella sandwich. Thanks Pareene.
Between this and the foie gras thing, it's also a really bad day to be a Chicagoan.
Bugger me-Amersham is near my hometown. The Cotswolds must be in a tizzy!
ok that pantomime horse picture!
Mike Huckabee must be hungry...[www.sogoodblog.com]
Oh sure, it's easy to think it's horrible here in the East. Just think of the poor children of Utah, terrorized by roaming bands of feral ponies.
Let me tell you- the feral ones have claws and sharp teeth.
And they have a strong cake-addiction, driving them to break up 11 year old girls' tea parties.
The horror.
It's even worse than having 4 mothers to answer to.
They do shoot horses. They do.
We're beating a dead horse here, people.
A horse is a horse
of course, of course
and no one can talk to horse, of course.
That is, of course,
unless the horse
is the famous Mister DEAD.
Oh noes! I hope Sara Jessica Parker is OK!
Zzzzzing...
Horses dying everywhere.
Related news: Glue stocks surge!
The real question is, what happened to all those jockeys?
@Screen Name: The could not reach the phone for comment.
@nutmeg: They
Eat, drink and beat the old grey mare-y.
My copy of Misty of Chincoteague just shed a tear.
Black Blue-ty
I'm always puzzled by how many people are horrified by the thought of horses being slaughtered for meat, but have no problem with the same practice for cows, pigs and sheep.
I guess because the horses are prettier? Or because they let us sit on their backs?
The picture is a lovely distraction from the gruesomeness of the story.
If I were in charge of the world, animal abusers would have a very special private building at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, where torture techniques that were rejected as "inhumane" would be liberally and gleefully used.
@MisterHippity: Ever tried to hook a sulkey up to a hog?
@nutmeg: If they're making your mortadella from horse, you should probably stop shopping at "Akhbar's Olde Discount Italian Trattoria, Antiques and Sportswear"
It's also kind of hilariously hypocritical to decry the slaughter of horsies because they're cute, while not complaining much about the slaughter of anything else. But then, it's the NYT. And it's all vanity. At least it's not another article about "man-dates" or something.
@Pope John Peeps II: Peeps, I think you're hilarious. But someone else disagrees.
@Pope John Peeps II: Or in Canada. Have you been to Amuse Bouche in Toronto? I had some really tasty horse carapaccio there. Or the "Track & Quack" (which I have also heard called the "Flew & Glue") in Kensington Market.
@nutmeg:
Barbar-ic
@nutmeg: Is that the one next to my favorite Chinese takout place, The Missing Kitty?
Pareene, this should be forwarded to the Gawker Tech Transfer team, who must then contract medical researchers to develop it into a diagnostic test for the NewToJezebel gene. Because in reading it I have regretfully discovered that I just might be a carrier.
@fiveinchtaint: Pfft. hahaha. I hadn't noticed that. I find it hilarious that poor Dan Cooper is a fucking sexist pig bastard rapist because he happened to mention that his co-worker was pretty, that he had to make a conscious effort to separate her valuable work from her attractiveness, and that he had the effrontery to admit that he really wanted to stay with his wife. GOD IN HEAVEN. WHAT A SHIT.
I can live with the jezebel stigmata. It's all bizzare weirdness surrounding some occasionally sharply-written articles. Although the writers pander too much to their audience.
JEZ RULES:
1) Men are sexist because they hate women. Period.
2) Hating men is not sexist. (see every edition of "crap email from a dude")
3) Question rules 1 or 2, and you are yourself a sexist. Period.
4) Question any Jez article, or any commenter, on any intellectual basis, or on their obvious biases, and you are a sexist. Period.
"They're not dead... just in stable condition."
@fileunder: Bar-Bar-Q
@bettycrocker: Actually, it's Goodbye Kitty - a thinly veiled rip-off of the Sanrio franchise.
@nutmeg: Aaaah carpaccio. No, I've never had horse. Only beef and veal. Really nice. Mortadella is only pig though. Carpaccio is a dish usually made with veal or beef. Or fish. But that's just sashimi.
Horses are the new whales.
@Pope John Peeps II: Best served cold.
@Pope John Peeps II: That is good stuff. I wasn't intending to tattle, I was just hoping to see you do some minor slapping around. But probably best to just let it lie.
Aw noes! *retreats to Fugly Horse of the Day, a chronicle of white trash horse breeding disasters*
[fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com]
@Pope John Peeps II: You just know there's gotta be a good "period" joke here somewhere, but I'm too lazy to come up with it.
@fiveinchtaint: Oh I'm not touching that other thread with a ten foot pole strapped to a ten foot pole strapped to another person. My internet rule is to ignore almost everything directed at me, and in situations where I can give a reasonable answer give only one and that's it.
Bruised and covered in excrement? So you've BEEN to an OTB parlor.
@Pope John Peeps II: Agree with your take on the Jezzie-belles. Very depressing to visit that site.
@PaperBoy: I know! Don't let them take me!!!
@Pope John Peeps II: @nutmeg: Not to distract from all the horse meat and Dan Rather brouhaha, but if the Lippizaner stable is going out of business, what will happen to the RCMP Musical Ride? Should Harper bail them out to preserve this national treasure? Or should we just substitute palomino horses and hope no one notices?
Sweet Barbaro's mother I hope this doesn't affect the polo season.
@PimpMyCouch: I think the Lippizaner stable that produces the horses will probably stay in business. There's still a market for those amazing animals. It's the show and the riding school that is in trouble. I like the RCMP musical ride. It's so dorky that I admire it.
@Pope John Peeps II: It's ok. I scratched a police horse's forehead the other day. She was pretty and her name was Dorothy.
See? I like horses and I can still eat them. I agree with your original point about the hypocrisy. Eating at a fast food restaurant entails being part of a procses involving terrible farming pratices. But that's old news.
@PimpMyCouch: I think the RCMP has bigger worries at the moment. Like getting shot because you have no backup or tasering and accidentally killing confused Polish men.
@Pope John Peeps II: I've never seen it. I know! And I call myself a Canadian!
@nutmeg: Oh, right. Yeah. But if they don't seem too concerned about it (other than giving several contradictory press conferences), then maybe there could be a horse lobby!
@PimpMyCouch: Only the horse's asses are allowed any airtime in this country, remember?
@nutmeg: That's no way to talk about our Prime Minister! Zing! Thank you, I'll be here all night!
@PimpMyCouch: Shhhh! He'll hear you!!
@PimpMyCouch: Or Rex Murphy. Fucking toolbag.
"Did you ever NOTICE that gummi BEARS are of all the SAME gender? This promotes an UNHEALTHY lifestyle. What do you say callers?"
"Yes Rex. My name is Mathilda Davenport, I'm a 72 year old former trout fisher from Nova Scotia and I just wanted to say *mumblemumble mubmjghkla* Jesus Christ *mumble feooolnskh* tolerance gone too far"
"You're absolutely RIGHT Mathilda, and I'm going to PANDER to you with my ridiculous SPEECH IMPEDIMENT because we hold the same POLITICAL VIEW."
@Pope John Peeps II: Haaahaha! Go Team Canada! Are we all in Toronto?