Do they still kill ponies for pony hide (s) for furniture? I thought this would be illegal by now!?

Question

I'm getting disgusted here...doing some articles and research on this furniture that uses "pony hide"....I thought it was fake stuff..but after reading I'm thinking it's real? Is it still legal in the US to kill ponies to make "pony hide" leather for furniture? So sad...I guess they kill calfs for veal which is sick - so they probably think no different than killing ponies...even though they're this highly intelligent and useful animal...poor ponies..please tell me it isn't so...

Answer 1

Horse and pony slaughter is illegal in the USA, not so in Canada, Mexico, and most of the rest of the world. The US is one of the only nations on Earth with a cultural taboo against the consumption of horsemeat by people, though we are not afraid to feed it to other animals, such as dogs, for example. In Europe and the Pacific Rim, horsemeat is considered to be a delicacy- indeed, there are consumers there who will pay top dollar for meat from foals and young horses, just as we do here for veal and sirloin steak from cattle. Horses are livestock, as Black Bunny indicated- they are not pets, though some of us have made the mistake of trying to make them so. Yes, it is quite possible that what you have read is still true, but  I would tend to doubt it.

Slaughter is a necessary evil of modern life and society- and the whole horse industry is currently paying a terrible price because the plants have been shut down in the US. The bottom has dropped out of the market for almost every type or breed of horse, and because of the drought last year, there is little or no hay to be had in many parts of the country- and what does exist is extremely expensive and of poor quality. This means that a lot of people can't afford to feed their animals, and there is no way to sell them, because the market is such a mess. This has also meant that horse owners have had to either euthanize their animals ( an expensive process by itself) or have abandoned them in small feedlots to starve or die of disease or injuries. There have also been cases in which people have simply turned horses loose to fend for themselves, and hoped that the animals would survive on their own. Tragically, most don't- they get hit by cars and trucks on the nation's highways, they get shot when they cross private land, or they get picked up by meat buyers and put on trucks bound for Canada and the slaughter plants there. The BLM out West is reporting that for the first time in history, the number of horses which have been abandoned on the rangelands actually exceeds the number of horses which were born wild- and this has put a tremendous strain on both the land and the BLM's resources, as the agency struggles to deal with all these unwanted horses. Many of these animals get shot or euthanized too, because there is nothing else that can be done with them. There simply aren't enough homes available to send them to, and the rescue organizations are overwhelmed and underfunded. Then there is the problem of what to do with all the overbred, inbred, lame, sick, often insane ex racehorses which come off our nation's tracks every year. While a few of these animals end up in the hands of rescue or retirement organizations, the great majority of them are still put on trucks bound for Canada, simply because there is nothing else that can be done with them. Most of these horses do not make good riding horses- and many of them come off the track with injuries or behavior issues which make them threats to other horses, themselves, and to people. Since it's impractical to euthanize that many animals because of the disposal costs, sending them to Canada or Mexico is the main way they get disposed of or dealt with.  It's sad, I know, but that's reality right now.

Answer 2

It's illegal.

Answer 3

I would say the hides probably come from the processors (foreign) who are processing the meat for food, not killing ponies just to make furniture.

Aesthetics aside, that would not be a very practical marketing set up.

Answer 4

You're disgusted??

Check out some videos on the net about exactly HOW they slaughter and skin overseas and in other countries.  And are still imported to the US for OUR consumption.  

Closing the slaughter houses in the US has only increased the markets overseas for our consumption.  Also Canada and Mexico.  At least here they could have regulated the humane treatment of horses going to slaughter.  Not now...

Now the misery of the horses and ponies is increased because there is no where for them here.  And they still get sold and delivered to slaughter...The misery for them is worse, and not only from the slaughter stand point.  People can't feed and can't sell...so the horses and ponies starve in someone's back field.  

Or they are released with the mistaken belief that they can survive.  MOST of them can't.  We have taken that ability away from them by feeding, stalling, watering and trying to turn them into pets.

Horses are livestock.  Same as lamb, veal, chicken, pork, emu, ostrich, rabbit, duck and others.

I bet the do gooders would be shocked at the daily items they use...that are from livestock slaughter...

just a couple of examples...

facial creme

paint brushes

wrinkle reducers

hormone therapy

glue

dogfood

saddles

reins

boots

belts

jackets

and the list goes on...

I'm disgusted with the mentality of people who cry and whine about animal rights...yet give no thought to the consequences of the actions they do.  Think cane toads or africanized honey bees for a start....

Answer 5

I wasn't aware of this UN-Godly act! If you are sure of the facts you can report it to the S P C A They most likely would look into this matter! Good Luck & God Bless!

Answer 6

yeah, they also kill cows for leather.  kill chickens for chicken. cut off shark fins for the fun of it.  humans aren't very nice to their enviornment.

Answer 7

i'm sure some still do it. if i'm not mistaken, they only  banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption. they  can still get pelts from canada and mexico though. look for "ponyskin" on ebay. it's still out there, unfortunately.

a lot of PMU babies go for that kind of stuff.

Answer 8

In some countries they use all sorts of animal skins for all types of human uses... Its quite disturbing I try to buy products that are animal friendly/ecosystem friendly... Its pretty hard though.

I watched a story on the news about slaughter and how they keep the skins of animal whole for the use of humans and it is horrendous what they do... they kill them by draining the blood out of them and hang them upside down... and sometimes even skin them alive... Humans are down right evil I'm at times ashamed to call myself a human. All we can do is rescue and find more ethical humane ways of doing things.

They also do this for

Snake, lamb, Cow, Sheep,deer,otter, Mink, Seals, Rabbit, fox, cat the list goes on and on... its sad.

Answer 9

the slaughter of horses and ponies for human consumption has been stopped in the US but the slaughter for zoos and usefull goods is still being done as well as cattle hides,ostrich,snake,sheep,goat and all the other livestock raised for salable goods.a lot of the hides come in from other countries like India,Mexico,South America and Europe.some English saddles still use horse hide for parts of the saddle for its durability as well as some of the high end leather goods,shoes,purses,jackets and other products.horses and ponies are still livestock and will continue to be used for salable goods.

edit:livestock from all over the world are used for goods and meat from camels to kangaroos.in india where cattle and buffalo are used everyday for transportation they are the largest producer of beef from cattle and buffalo in the east and possibly the world,however it is illegal to slaughter cattle and buffalo in india except for two countys.