Horse issues
My associates and I own 40 plus head of horses and we raise and train colts and are selling horses to make a living.
I love the horses through and through. However, it doesn’t mean that they all turn out and the ones that don’t need a place to go.
I fully agree that we need to start making people more responsible owners, however shutting down the slaughter houses is a very poor way of making people more responsible.
It is evident from what is happening in the United States that if the plants are shut down, the problems will become worse. If all these unwanted horses are turned loose, like we all know some of them will be, we will be taking away the habitat and food resources of animals that haven’t been domesticated and fully depend on the wild to live their lives.
Read Also
Late season rainfall creates concern about Prairie crop quality
Praying for rain is being replaced with the hope that rain can stop for harvest. Rainfall in July and early August has been much greater than normal.
In what way is that fair to those animals to have their lives taken from them? If these unwanted horse are not turned loose but left out in pasture to die, is it not more cruel to them and painful to die that way then it is at the slaughter house where vets are on hand to ensure quick, painless death?
Also, can someone please explain to me what the difference between slaughtering cows, pigs, chickens, etc. is to that of horses? There are people who keep each of the other animals as pets as well. …
We really do need to start making horse owners more responsible and we need to start breeding better horses so that there aren’t so many unwanted ones around. The horse industry is having issues mainly because of places like the rescue farms that bring in and raise animals that were not wanted to begin with, and re-enter them into the industry to become unwanted again.
We need the slaughter plants open so that we don’t ruin many other aspects of the wild. Also so that there aren’t more horses starved to death and treated in-humanely. Closing the plants down will cause a crisis. We need to realize this before we make the problem worse.
– Taylor Rose,
Red Deer, Alta.
Dion’s plan
If (Liberal leader Stephane) Dion were elected in the next federal election, heaven forbid, his carbon tax plan would destroy the Canadian economy and in all likelihood destroy Confederation as well because the western provinces would be extremely foolish to accept Dion’s plan.
It is the oil industry in Alberta and Saskatchewan that is driving Canada’s continued growth and prosperity. We are keeping the rest of Canada out of a recession.
Dion says that Saskatchewan and Alberta will be better off in 10 years or so because they will be forced to diversify into the green economy.
I’ve got news for you, Mr. Dion, we are better off right now and tax money is flowing into Ottawa’s coffers because of the fact that big oil companies are investing billions of dollars into new oil projects.
And who do you think will suffer when you tax big oil? Who do you think invests their hard-earned money in the oil companies?
It’s Joe Public, mom and pop down the street through mutual funds, income trusts and stocks in their retirement portfolios.
Dion says we must change our ways and use green alternatives. What green alternatives? There are no reliable alternatives out there and none coming anytime soon.
Dion would have us go back to the horse and buggy and freeze in the dark because coal and wood produce more carbon than oil.
Canada produces approximately two percent of the global greenhouse gases.
If we could eliminate all of our carbon discharges tomorrow, what difference would it make? On a global scale, no difference at all because China and India are pumping out more tons of carbon every day.
Yes, we can all do our part to try and lower our carbon footprint but a carbon tax is the wrong way to go.
– Conrad Schaumberger,
Goodsoil, Sask.
Organic testing
I am writing in response to the June 26 article “Organic inspector kept out of IOIA,” by Sean Pratt.
Testing already happens in organic inspection. I know because I am actually a practising organic inspector.
Every time I go out to do an inspection, I have a box filled with tools, jars and bags for taking soil, tissue, or product samples.
I have been trained on situation specific sampling protocol. These are not new practices to fix a problem with the organic inspection process. They have been there for years.
Mr. (Mischa) Popoff claims in the article he is being punished for speaking out against the current organic inspection system. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
In my opinion, he is being denied membership to an organization that has a code of ethics which he broke.
He claimed IOIA (International Organic Inspectors Association) membership when he hadn’t been a member for years, used a meaningless title that doesn’t exist but sounds authoritative, ignored requests to stop spam e-mailing people, and made misleading … claims about the current organic certification system to anyone who would listen to him.
He used the name of a respected professional organization to bolster his appearance and lend much needed credibility.
This much he said himself, and it seems based on his actions and words he is sorely lacking in credibility.
– Stuart McMillan,
Winnipeg, Man.
OT on barley
Western Canadian farmers want the freedom to choose how to market their own barley and Liberal Wayne Easter’s excuse for blocking that freedom is that he wants more time to discuss the issue.
This government knows western Canadian farmers want action on barley marketing freedom and that is why we fast-tracked legislation by asking the House of Commons for unanimous consent to send it directly to the agriculture committee. The Liberals, Bloc and NDP refused to even let the committee look at the legislation.
According to Western Producer’s June 12 story, Mr. Easter says the Liberals obstructed because they want more debate.
That is ridiculous.
Mr. Easter and the Liberals refused to work overtime by blocking an extension of Parliamentary hours. It (was) the first time in more than 20 years MPs (would) not be coming in late to deal with critical legislation before Parliament (rose) for the summer.
If Mr. Easter wants to know why there is a lack of debate in Parliament, he should track down his House leader, Ralph Goodale, and ask him why Liberals are too lazy to work a little overtime.
The shameful fact is that even if Mr. Easter and the Liberals were willing to show up to Parliament, they probably would not get much done. Only a handful of Liberals bothered voting on an important piece of immigration legislation …
Western Canadian farmers know all about working overtime and they know when it is time to stop talking and get something done. Even the recent Canadian Wheat Board study produced by Liberal insider David Herle proves nearly 70 percent of Western Canadian farmers are demanding barley marketing freedom. This government is working hard to deliver the change farmers are demanding.
– Gerry Ritz, MP,
Minister of Agriculture
and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board,
Ottawa, Ont.
Thousand cuts
Since the Conservatives came to office, their plan for the Canadian Wheat Board has been plain and simple. They want it gone.
But killing the wheat board has been a slow process. The Conservatives are the only national party that wants the board dismantled, but making that happen requires an act of Parliament. It’s three parties against one, and in a minority parliament the House of Commons math is against them.
Instead, the Harper government has tried to kill the wheat board by the death of a thousand cuts. They’ve tried, illegally, to alter the board’s mandate through regulation changes (an attempt overruled by two federal courts), issued gag orders against board executives (again overturned by the courts), and even tried to rig farmer plebiscites on barley marketing.
Then, the latest cut, this one aimed at the CWB’s pocketbook.
The international credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded the CWB’s credit rating to a double A. This was the second downgrade in less than two years.
In January 2007, S and P dropped the CWB’s credit rating from a triple A rating to double A-plus. Both times, the agency cited the efforts of the Conservative government to undermine the CWB as the primary reason for the reduction.
In fact, says Standard and Poor’s own report, “we don’t expect that the level of federal government support for CWB’s public policy role will recover in the near term.”
What western grain farmers are faced with is a political party with an agenda of destroying the CWB regardless of the consequences.
The CWB’s credit standing is very much at risk. There’s real concern that the Harper government could remove the guarantee on CWB borrowings. All of this has a direct impact on grain farmers, but none of this seems of any concern to the Harper government….
– Wayne Easter, MP

Agriculture Critic,
Official Opposition,
Ottawa, Ont.
More horse issues
The negative response to your article on horse slaughter makes me doubt the intelligence of the average horse owner.
As a private breeder of Quarter horses for 25 years, my husband and I have raised around 300 foals. One thing this has taught us is that horses have personalities just like humans.
Some are lazy, some are eager to learn, some are very bright and some are not so bright and while some are sweethearts in disposition, some are not. This you cannot change.
Some horses are just not going to be productive members of society, some even to the extent of being dangerous.
Horse slaughter allows for the owner to dispose of such an animal and recoup a small amount of their investment. Should such an animal be dropped off at the local auction and a naive soul purchase this dangerous animal and become injured, how is this good?
If that animal is sold for meat only, it protects the public at large. And I am using the term “animal” for a reason.
Horses are big, powerful animals that choose not to harm us. Never forget that.
They are not cute, cuddly bunnies. A renegade horse is a dangerous thing and some people do not have the option to get a neighbour over to dispose of them. They go to the auction barn where bleeding hearts “rescue” them.
And don’t tell me you can reform a bad horse. Have they been able to reform Clifford Olson or any other serial killer or sex offender? Horses are no different. Get a grip.
– Susan Usipiuk,
Wynyard, Sask.
