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by Cynthia_Smoot from Fox 13, Tampa Bay

Last Post 1 day, 9 hours Ago


Barbaro's Legacy
Apr 24, 2008 | 10:59 AM
Category: News
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Next Tuesday, April 29th, would have been Barbaro's 4th birthday.  The great racehorse that captured the world's attention was euthanized in January 2007 after a long, painful and expensive fight to save his life.  When Barbaro shattered his right hind leg at the Preakness that previous May, it was a catastrophic injury--one that usually means the horse being put down on the spot.  Barbaro's owners decided to give him a fighting chance... and with the help of modern veterinary medicine and a devoted team of professionals, he almost made it.  In the end, laminitis brought him down--a terribly painful and crippling disease that I learned about the hard way when my own horse came down with it and almost died.  But out of Barbaro's tragedy comes new hope for all horses.  They call themselves "Fans of Barbaro" and they're a grassroots organization  brought together by their admiration for the fallen racehorse.  The big issue for this group is ending the slaughter of American horses for human consumption in Europe and Japan.  Even though Americans overwhelmingly are opposed to horse slaughter, both bills that ban it once and for all are currently stalled in Congress.  On the House side, the chairmen of two committees refuse  to move the the bill to the floor for a vote (where it would be approved by a wide margin).   To override that requires 218 co-sponsors. As of today there are 200.  On the Senate side, Larry Craig (R) of Idaho (remember him?)  has a "hold" on S 311, which also has enough votes to pass if it it would come to a vote. In the meantime, U.S. horses are being shipped to Canada and Mexico to be slaughtered by the thousands.   This Saturday "Fans of Barbaro" all over the country will get together to celebrate Barbaro's short life, and more importantly, to advance his legacy of what we all hope will be a better life and more humane death for America's horses.

To find out more about the Bay area Barbaro event and Fans of Barbaro:

http://www.beautysequinerescue.org/

http://www.alexbrownracing.com/

Article on Mexican slaughter done by Texas newspaper.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/mexico/stories
/MYSA093007.01A.horseslaughter.3496288.html>

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Member Comments Total Comments: 13
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mmustangg read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 12:17 PM

They will eat anything in France!
After we burn all our corn as bio-fuel, horse wont look so bad to us either!
You'll hear more Americans saying "Pass me another hoof please".
Vittorio read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 3:20 PM

Let's remember that most of us eat animals. Considering what's happening planet wide and especially in our country; please excuse me for not caring about this issue.
mmustangg read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 3:38 PM

You cared enough to reply!*LOL*
My_Louie read my blog
Apr 24, 2008 | 5:20 PM

Well for me this is something I find very disturbing, the slaughter of horses for any reason.
So I'm not going to coment on above blogs only to say... I hope you don't use up all the corn driving your suv's and gas hog pu's. That might cut into a horses dinner.

Hope all goes well on Barbaro's 4th birthday, wish I could have attended.
Jumpy983 read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 7:08 PM

Honestly I hope some grassroots movement from India doesn't come over and try to stop us from slaughtering cows. i love me some steak!
FloydFreak read my blog view my photos
Apr 24, 2008 | 7:58 PM

I'm not a "horse person" but my in-laws are. However, I saw a documentary about Barbaro on HBO (I think) some time back. It was a very touching story.

Horses are wonderful animals and I equate slaughtering them for food to doing the same to dogs. I find it repugnant. But should there be a LAW against it? I think not - regardless of where such slaughter takes place.

I'm with Jumpy - give me a Fresh Market filet mignon - NOW!

P.S.: For those of you that have never had steak from there, if you have a Fresh Market near you (there's one on 19 at Enterprise/Countryside in Clearwater and we have one in Gainesville), you simply MUST try their steaks. Expensive but awesome.
My_Louie read my blog
Apr 25, 2008 | 6:08 AM

Perhaps if you all saw pictures of slaughter yards and how outragiously CRUEL they are you would have a change of heart. But then I'm sure millions saw the poor old cow in California get picked up and pushed by the fork lift because it had a broken leg and couldn't stand. All this suffering so you can have a steak. ENJOY!
mmustangg read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 3:46 PM

Floyd,

I was a butcher for 18 years. I'll cut my own steaks and save a buck or two in the process! *lol*

BTW, I was never saying it's ok to eat horses. I was just saying if food cost get out of hand from burning corn in SUVs, we'll be really supprised what people will be willing to eat! Ask the north Korean tree bark eaters! Bark stew anyone? Mmm mmm mmmmmmmmmm!

And no, not all beef packing plants are as cruel as that one in CA. Most are not and never get any attention. Like in politics, it's the bad that gets showcased in the media.
My_Louie read my blog
Apr 25, 2008 | 4:30 PM

Sorry the humaine ones put a sledge hammer to their heads. We can face the truth about what we do as a society or we can continue to just look the other way.
My_Louie read my blog
Apr 25, 2008 | 4:44 PM

http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/HORSE_SLA
UGHTER_14_JL.JPG
mmustangg read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 4:57 PM

Sorry to tell you this but beef packing plants dont have time to swing a sledge hammer! It's a pnumatic device that kills them instantly. They do not suffer if the person doing it knows what they are doing. I dont want to get into a vegitarian Vs meat eater debate but almost all beef packing plants slaughter in humane and ethical ways. Just because PETA finds an out of the way small packer that doesn't, it does not reflect on the rest of the meat industry.

By the way, veggies have feelings too! Poor carrot was just sitting there until it was ripped out of the ground, had it's roots hacked off and it's greens severed just so someone can enjoy a carrot cake. Not to mention the dirty packing plants where they are boiled while still alive and chopped up and frozen!

As you can see, you can make anything sound bad if you spin it right. biologically, we have flat teeth for grinding veggies and pointy ones for ripping meat. That's why you dont see cows hunting or gators grazing. Man sits in the middle, not as a herbivore or a carnivore but as an omnivore. An eater of both meat and vegetable. That's why we have survived so long as a species.

Floyd.....Medium rare? I just lit the coals. You coming?
My_Louie read my blog
Apr 25, 2008 | 5:30 PM

Lets just hope they don't burn up all the corn, I don't want my horse to start looking good to anyone.
And I will leave it at that.
Jumpy983 read my blog view my photos
Apr 25, 2008 | 6:39 PM

Oh please, there's no HUMANE way to kill anything. At the end of the day they're still dead. Just don't torture the poor things for you're one enjoyment. And use as much of what you kill as you possibly can.

I love me some steak and I love me some Bambi!
mMMm Good.
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Cynthia_Smoot

I know it's going to be a good day when I drive across the Howard Frankland Bridge and spot dolphins cavorting in the bay!

Member Since: 7/13/2006


 

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