As my blog followers may or may not know, the county (Miami-Dade) that I live in in Florida is unfortunately known for things other than it's sunny weather and beaches. We have a horse slaughter issue here. On Tuesday another horse by the name of Destiny was found just feet from her stall as she was stolen from her stall and slaughtered for her meat. Some of you following from other countries where eating horse meat is a delicacy won't see an issue with this story; however, this horse was not raised for it's meat. This was someone's pet, their beloved equestrian partner. This is not a new issue here where I live. It's been going on for years. There is a dynamic here that many don't understand. With the economic downturn, many people here in S Florida found feed prices skyrocketing. The question became whether or not they feed themselves or feed their animals. Many horses here just get dumped because the uneducated horse owner thinks that a horse can fend for themselves out in the wild just like their ancestors did. The problem they don't understand is that we have domesticated the horse for many a year now and those instincts are gone. So many are found starved. Some owners try to sell their horses on craigslist for "cheap". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the slaughterers are just buying up those animals for their meat as well. In addition, it is known on the black market who pays the best per pound, so if you can't feed your horse and need some extra cash, you find out who to call and your problem is solved. If this isn't bad enough and doesn't make your blood boil, then there are those who just out right steal the horse and lead it to slaughter - usually not too far from where the horse lived comfortably and where the owners believed it was safe. Diligence is the best answer. We protect our computers and our material belongings in our homes better than we protect our animals! As a horse community we all need to band together to put a stop to this. Help out your neighbor, if you see he may not have the proper security on his farm and not be able to afford it. Make sure your property is well lit, has proper security measures. It doesn't take a lot of money to do this, just a little imagination and determination. Most importantly if you see something that looks suspicious, call the police! It's better to be safe than sorry.
