Ever shot a horse?

You know what’s delicious? This:

That’s basashi, or horse sushi. Raw horse meat. I had it a few times in Japan. Not something I’d order every day, but pretty good. Not all that different than your run of the mill fish sushi, really. But that’s not what this is about.

Obama signed a bill that, among a gajillion other resolutions, re-legalizes horse slaughterhouses. When this was discovered, the hysteria began, spreading across my Facebook feed faster than an #occupy meme. Change.org has a petition, if you’re interested. Apparently the fear is that the legalization of horse slaughterhouses means horse meat will soon be on the lunch menu at your local junior high. Or that we’re little better than savages. Not sure.

My favorite Facebook comment so far: “horses are beautiful and regal creatures.” Ergo, none should be slaughtered, I guess?

Look, horses are just creatures. Creatures that happen to have a lot of meat on their bones. Meat that requires being taken care of, or disposed. If there are no disposal outlets, this is what happens:

This is a wild mustang that starved to death on a ranch in western Nebraska. The owner of the ranch, Jason Meduna, grossly mismanaged a 300-horse herd; 74 animals died. He was convicted on 145 counts of animal cruelty and sentenced to 40-120 months in prison, as well as a 30-year ban on working with horses. Look at that horse. I think the 30 years should have been in jail.

Regardless, there are hundreds of thousands of unwanted horses in this country. These horses need to be slaughtered humanely. Prior to the overturn of the ban, horses had to be shipped to Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered, at great expense. Lots of folks were unwilling / unable to pay that expense. I’m guessing plenty pulled out the ole .243 instead.

Ever shot a horse? Me neither. I’ve shot other animals, though, and it’s never pretty, even when it’s thrilling. Then there’s the carcass to dispose of. Which is why slaughterhouses were invented.

Providing the proper care for a horse is expensive and time-consuming. I wonder how many of the folks who signed that Change.org petition gave any thought to who’s going to take care of all those horses they care so much about.

The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 100,000 horses are slaughtered a year (out of a population of 9.2 million). It costs around $7300 a year to properly feed and board a horse. That’s $730 million a year.

As of this writing, 2505 people had signed the Change.org petition. How many of them, I wonder, are willing to pay the actual cost of their clicked-upon love of horses? It’ll run each of them a cool $291,000 a year.

Any takers?

Look, I’m happy you love horses. I think they’re pretty nifty animals myself. Sometimes they’re beautiful, and, possibly, in the right light, regal. They can also be stubborn, stupid, lazy and downright cantankerous.

I know this to be true because I grew up with horses. Making me not so sentimental about the creatures. I remember when my beloved quarter-horse Missy died. (At the age of 23, ancient for a horse.) The man came by with the truck, tied a chain around her ankles, winched her into the bed with dozens of other carcasses. Hauled her off to the slaughterhouse. (The reek was staggering. Someday I’m going to write a story about that man.)

I don’t remember being broken up that Missy was to be ground into dog food and glue. Maybe I’m just a dumb farm kid. Or maybe this is simply the way of things for all large domesticated creatures in the USA.