Poland Government, STOP funding all the breeding and export of horses for the meat trade!
- by: Lyra Alves
- recipient: Polish Government
Horses are highly intelligent animals. Just like dogs, they are capable of very complex emotions, forming strong bonds with other horses and with their human companions. Horses love to learn new things and to play with friends. Horses are also able to suffer when they are neglected and when their mental and physical needs are not fulfilled. They cherish their lives in pretty much the same way as we cherish ours. Horses are sentient beings, not products and certainly not food.
Meanwhile, in Poland, 30 000 horses are killed every year in slaughterhouses around the country. Another 30 000 horses are exported to foreign slaughterhouses – especially to Belgium, France and Italy. That makes Poland one of the biggest exporter of horses to slaughter in Europe.
As if those numbers were not appalling enough, the Polish government has recently signed a contract with Japan to expand its export of horse meat. But they are talking about live horses export. That means that these animals would be transported alive from Poland to Japan, spending 2 - 3 weeks long in horrible conditions, to be killed and consumed as meat. These decisions will make the situation of the horses much worse.
The Polish government also plans to offer extra subsidies to horse breeders, expanding even further their horse meat trade to other Asian countries. This is the most important moment to decide about the fate of our horses. If other countries sign trade contracts, breaking them would mean a multi-million dollars penalty, which the Polish state won’t be willing to pay. That’s why we can’t let them sign any new contracts.
Now is the time to protest against the outrageous plans of the Polish government. It’s time to change the policies on how horses are treated.
We found a constitutional lawyer who will prepare the new act on horses. But to save as many horses as possible, we will also need financial support. For that purpose, we have started this fundraising:
https://www.gofundme.com/zzuct2ks
For anyone living in Poland, please feel free to join our demonstration on the 21st of May in Warsaw:
https://www.facebook.com/tarahorserescue/photos/a.141076656285974.1073741828.140707982989508/168145470245759/?type=3&theater
We kindly ask everyone who cares about animals for your help. It is more than ever important that we join forces to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.
For more information on the work of Tara Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, please visit our Facebook page and consider making a donation to support our work with the horses in Poland.
https://www.facebook.com/tarahorserescue/?fref=ts
Thank you very much!
To the Polish Government,
The entire world is quickly evolving towards a more compassionate place where people are learning to respect and treat animals as sentient creatures who want to live happy and healthy lives for as long as they can.
We kindly ask the authorities responsible for the horse meat trade: Please stop exploiting horses. Stop all the funding to horse breeders. Stop all horse export for meat. Horses are not products, but sentient creatures. The whole world is watching you. Make the right choice. Be on the right side of history.
As a growing number of people - especially in affluent parts of the world - start growing conscious of the ethical and health aspects behind their food choices, more and more people are reducing or stopping their meat consumption. So this would be a good moment to consider supporting other very lucrative practices that could mean an increased income for farmers. Think for instance of a steadily growing market for plant based foods. The farmers that are now raising horses for meat could therefore convert their animal farms into farms that grow fruits, nut trees or chestnut trees. Some farmers with less amounts of land could for instance start mushroom farming, forage and dry wild plants powders to sell it as superfoods, harvest and dry sea weed for export. These are just few ideas that could mean that the farmers would not need to be out of their jobs. Besides, growing plant foods is much easier and it would require less (or no) subsidies compared to raising animals for food.
Thank you very much for your attention.
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