Beacon Villages
Under Cosdon Beacon Dartmoor Devon UK
| Beacon Villages Journal | Candlelight Vigil  |
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We do not eat horse meat in the UK but they do in Europe. In this country, horse meat can be used to feed other animals. In some cases this makes sense. If you own a horse that becomes so old or ill that it has to be put down, it is quicker and kinder to do this with a bullet or humane killer (as near to their home as possible) than by injection. It then makes sense not to waste the meat. This is not the issue! In the UK, horses and ponies are either bred specifically for the meat trade or disposed of in this way, if they do not sell for working/riding animals. They are bought cheaply at auction or horse fairs and transported live, often with rough handling and in great fear, hundreds of miles to Europe - because it makes money for the dealers! This trade, live transport and slaughter is what the vigil is about! |
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| The idea is not new. The same slaughter exists in America. There, The Fund for Horses ( http://www.fund4horses.org) in Houston, Texas has been running a vigil for some time now. Below are a few quotes from signatories to their vigil. | ||
"...the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony and man--all belong to the same family... The White Man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers." (Chief Seattle) ... " |
"Everyone who loves animals of any description needs to help put an end to this senseless slaughter. Stand up and be counte!." | "Man has not yet realized his fate is directly related to his abuse and neglect of this planet and the animals. They have as much right as we do to share the land." |
| "These innocent creatures do not deserve what man has done to them. I will remember the thousands of horses who have died and keep fighting for a better future for the rest." | "Horses are food for the spirit, they should not be used as food for the dinner table." | |
| "Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder? Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror. He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He gallops into the clash of arms. He mocks at fear, and is not frightened: nor does he turn back from the sword. Job 39:19-22. | "Horse slaughter continues to exist because of the greed and insensitivity of men and women who refuse to recognize that the horse is an unique and special animal, created to serve man, not feed him. Organizations that support the slaughter of horses do so out of an irrational fear of animal rights groups and a desire to be seen as the sole authority on the welfare of animals. Those of us who have invested our hearts and souls into the care of our horses know that horse slaughter is wrong." | "Yet another senseless act of inhumanity. Such slaughter of any defenseless creature is an injustice to life itself. Too many senseless deaths are created and carried out only in the name of greed! Leave one of the most precious animal creations to live their lives in peace and harmony, not at the hands of murderers and butchers. " |
| "Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy or beauty without vanity? Here, where grace is laced with muscle, and strength by gentleness confined. He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity. There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent; there is nothing so quick, nothing more patient. England's past has been borne on his back. All our history is his industry. We are his heirs, he our inheritance. Ladies and Gentlemen - the Horse!" | Join the Candlelight Vigil against Horse Slaughter here  |
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