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Drugged-up American horsemeat sold to Europe
Sinikka Crosland, executive director of the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition, feeds her horses in Westbank, British Columbia.
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In 2011, about 140,000 American horses were eaten abroad. But they weren’t slaughtered in the U.S. When America closed its last horse slaughter plants five years ago, American horse buyers turned their trucks north and south to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. From there, most of the meat goes to the European Union.
But American horses are given drugs that humans should not consume. Silky Shark was one of those horses. His former owner, Ken Terpenning of Lexington, Ky., has owned over two dozen racehorses, but Silky Shark made a big impression.
“Silky Shark was everything you’d want in a racehorse,” says Terpenning. “He was vibrant, fiery, a very happy horse. On the racetrack, he was a total professional. He earned over $100,000 in his career.”
When Terpenning fell on tough times, he sold Silky Shark to a man he trusted. But then the horse was resold again, and again, eventually winding up in a Canadian slaughterhouse.
It’s perfectly legal to flip horses in this manner. But Silky Shark was given Phenylbutazone, or “Bute.” Bute is the most common anti-inflammatory drug administered to horses; it’s also a carcinogen for humans.
Sinikka Crosland, executive director of the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition, says Canada isn’t protecting consumers from tainted meat.
“Horses are not raised as livestock,” Crosland says. “They’re given drugs when they need them. People aren’t holding back.”
With Belgium, France and Italy topping the list, the European Union is the primary market for American horses slaughtered in Canada. Dan Jorgensen, a member of the European Parliament, is getting fed up with the system as it is.
“I think it’s quite concerning,” MEP Jorgensen says, “that European consumers might actually be buying and eating horsemeat that we don’t have any reason to believe is healthy.”
MEP Jorgensen says the EU’s laws are strict, but enforcement just hasn’t happened, particularly outside of the EU. He wants to pressure Canadians to stop letting tainted meat from slipping through the system.
Until that happens, more than 1,000 American horses a week will be slaughtered in Canada.
Back in Lexington, Ky., Ken Terpenning is waiting for someone to regulate the system.
“I just wish it was done. I look at [Silky Shark’s] pictures on my wall every day and I just still can’t believe it.”
This story comes with support from PRX and the Open Society Foundations. For more on how and why Silky Shark slipped through the cracks, visit LatitudeNews.
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Karen123... In the harness racing world, once a horse stops racing, it is nearly impossible to keep track of a horse's whereabouts. This is part of the problem with the system. The horse was sold 3 times after he left Mr. Terpenning's care. When a horse ends up in the Amish community, they become MIA.
I just said if someone loves a horse so much, they are supposed to keep track of the horse's whereabouts - and I meant what I said. Mr Terpenning knew exactly who the horse was resold to via the Blooded Horse Sales. He said this in the HarnessLink article. Since he knew who bought the horse, he could have tracked the horse. I also did not ask for feedback.
Karen123... The horse left that owner and disappeared into the Amish community. They do not track anything electronically and keep their world closed off to ours. Again, no way to know where he went after the sale. It is unreasonable to say he could have tracked him beyond that point. I gave you feedback so you understood the whole picture with the way the system is broken, not for any other reason.
Mr Terpenning knew the exact name and location of the person who bought the horse via the Blooded Horse Sales in May 2009. He could have bought the horse back or arranged for a horse rescue to buy the horse back. It's not all Mr Terpenning's fault - it's our society that doesn't value animals - but a loving owning ensures his/her animals are well cared for.
karen1234... your idea that Mr. Terpenning should have bought him back or rescued Silky Shark is unrealistic. He says in his article that he had to sell the horse due to personal hardship. How can a person buy back a horse when they are on hard times themselves? Rescue him? From what? Mr. Terpenning did not know he was in trouble at the time he was sold in the sale in 2009.
He goes on to say that when he sold horses he, "always asked their new owners to at least call me to ask if I wanted them back or not. To date, I have only had one person do this out of over two dozen." He added, "Silky was the last of my original stable to be sold. Because I loved him so much and had a lot invested in him, he was the hardest to sell. I remember the day like it was yesterday because on my way to the track to sign over the papers to his new owner, I was rear ended by another vehicle just a mile from the Red Mile where he was stabled. In the end, I sold him (and cried my eyes out nearly immediately afterwards)."
The man (Mr. Terpenning) even signed up his horses for the USTA's Full Circle program in case a new owner had a similar issue as he did and could no longer take care of or no longer wanted the horse, but no one ever called him to tell him the horse needed help. Mr. Terpenning obviously loved his horses. He spent a lot of money on Silky Shark to get his breathing issues fixed not once but twice.
Why are we beating him up for coming forward with the information to help stop future slaughter of horses that should have NEVER been slaughtered for meat to begin with? What Mr. Terpenning did by coming forward was brave and should be commended, not made to feel more guilty than he probably already does. Can you imagine going from having the means to care for animals you love to suddenly losing the means? Unlike other pets, horses cost hundreds of dollars per month/thousands even. Here is the link to the proof provided by Mr. Terpenning to the CHDC that shows Silky Shark was given bute. He should have never been slaughtered! This is what the article is pointing out here...the slaughterhouse system is failing and deeply flawed. http://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/proof_o....
Silky Shark had multiple owners in his career as a race horse. Where are they? Why didn't they stop this? Why didn't you? It is easy to lay blame on people and point fingers, but the past cannot be changed...we can only hope to improve the future by learning from our past. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven" Luke 6:37
walker1618- I know Mr. Terpenning personally and I can tell you he has joined the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition since the blog that they came out with where he learned of Silky Shark's death. He is the first owner that I know of that has spoken out about the subject and has provided proof of the horse being on a drug that should have prevented his being slaughtered in the first place. He also wrote his own article speaking out on the subject, the story and how things came to be, plus how he feels... He has far from just sat around waiting for someone else to do something. You did nail one thing...Mr. Terpenning still cannot believe a horse he loved and spent thousands of dollars to care for ended up being slaughtered. He never thought it would or could happen. His eyes are wide open now, unfortunately too late for Silky, but hopefully not too late for others.
All race horses have received multiple drugs over a lifetime. As long as you are slaughtering race horses, these drugs are entering the food supply. At the end, the owner says how he keeps looking at the horse's picture on the wall and says "I still can't believe it happened" --I took that to mean that he can not believe the horse he loved ended up in slaughter.
Reply to 'Karen123' - Ken Terpenning is a rare owner who has actually come out to offer his personal story and heartache. He is not to be condemned but to be congratulated and commended for his braveness in outing himself and offering up solutions to the problems within the racing industry. Thousands of racehorses are discarded each day in Canada's slaughter plants. Your implication that Mr. Terpenning did not love Silky Shark is naive and offensive. Through a series of unforeseeable circumstances, Silky's death occurred. Your anger and comments should be directed to those thousands upon thousands of owners, trainers and industry people who fail to come forward and who enable the system to continue to operate and flourish not at the one person who did come forward and is actually trying to positively change the system.
Silky Shark did not "slip through the cracks"; he simply suffered the same fate that besets the thousands of race horses who are sent to slaughter every year.
In racing, you kiss a lot of frogs to get to the prince. Out of 35,000 thoroughbreds foaled each year, only 15,000 even make it to a maiden race and ultimately only about 10-15 will run in the Kentucky Derby. All along the climb to the top of the pyramid, the losers are culled by slaughter. And even winning the coveted Kentucky Derby trophy is no guarantee of a long life; Ferdinand, the 1986 Derby winner, also ended up in slaughter.
Until breeders and owners take responsibility for the horses they breed, the carnage will continue. Instead of sitting around and waiting for someone else to "do something", Terpenning needs to get with the many organizations who are working on the problem.
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