Monday, Oct 24

I couldn't help but notice another article about the slaughtering of animals on the front page of the NYT today. Just last week the Times featured an article about an exotic farm owner who released his animals (tigers, lions, bears, leopards, monkeys, etc) before committing suicide. More than 48 of his animals were killed by police following "shoot-to-kill" orders. Although I understand the animals could've been dangerous, I wish they had been tranquilized or something because the thought of those animals dying kills me. In this article, the victims are horses. I didn't even realize horses could be (and are) consumed by people. What are "tare de cheval" and "basashi sashimi" and if there is a ban on the slaughtering of horses, how come they are still being consumed in other countries? One of the latent dysfunctions of this ban on horse slaughter is that just as many horses are being "destined for dinner plates", just not in the U.S. The article features a breeder who takes in starving horses and he even said that the ban hasn't improved the lives of horses. I understand the need for newspapers to report all the news that is out there - we need to be aware of what is going on in the world around us - but please, no more stories about animal slaughter (or at least I hope not).