Friday, October 30, 2009

Sen. Landrieu's Inconsistent Animal Management Policies

Landrieu pushes to control wild pigs in coastal La
Associated Press - October 29, 2009 5:34 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu is pushing a bill to keep in check the wild pig population in coastal Louisiana.

The senator says wild pig populations are "eating away" the coast.

The Democrat sponsored the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program Act on Wednesday. Landrieu says the rising population of non-native feral swine poses a threat to Louisiana because they are competing with native wildlife for resources, preying on domestic animals, eating the wetlands and spreading harmful bacteria. Link

The hypocrite of the day award needs to go to Sen. Mary Landrieu from Louisiana. As you might recall, the Senator is one of the main sponsors of a bill that will make it illegal to transport horses to be processed for human consumption, including government owned feral horses. Yet when the non-native feral swine in her state become overpopulated she is very quick to introduce legislation to eradicate them. Both the swine and the horses in question are over-populated, non-native and feral. One species she wants to protect and one she wants to eradicate. It’s proof positive that she is using the “cute and cuddly factor” to make her animal management decisions in Congress rather than using any type of sound scientific data.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There is no reason to re-open horse slaughter in this country. I have asked in several pro horse slaughter groups and it seems no one has a horse that is eligible to legally be slaughtered for food. If horse slaughter were to be opened in the country it would be encouraging kill buyers to provide false documentation on horses they buy.

Don't know how many of you have checked your labels, but horses that have EVER been dewormed or medicated for just about anything cannot be processed for food.

I'd rather not see horses going through slaughter with false documentation and selling to the EU as if the meat met their requirements. It would be quite a black eye on American meat production if we are caught supplying PBZ laced horse meat to EU citizens.

Anyone recall the outrage in this country when babies died because of a counterfeit ingredient from China in the baby formula? Anyone remember how long it took to get our beef exports flowing again after a cow or two imported from Canada came down with BSE? Anyone want to risk having the world believe we don't take our own food safety rules seriously?

Anyone involved in meat production should fight hard to make sure horse slaughter does not re-open in this country. As a beef producer I follow BQE practices with ALL my cattle. I can certify that my oldest cow meets all drug withdrawal requirements, has never received a product that would eliminate her from meat production and is eligible to be slaughtered for food.

Horse owners are not raising a food source. Their animals don't head for slaughter until they outlive their usefulness. That is often preceded by a period on drugs trying to turn the situation around. Don't let horse owners pretend they are producing a quality food source that belongs in American meat production.