Morning:
13°c
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
The ponies abandoned by British children and sent to France as horse meat
Last updated at 23:37pm on 19.09.07The slaughterman precariously balances a rifle against the small grey pony's head.
Seconds later a shot rings out, the pony flails on the ground and is then winched onto a production line.
This is the reality of the slaughter and butchering of thousands of unwanted riding ponies and racehorses at a British abattoir.
The picture here is one of several taken by undercover investigators for Animal Aid.
Scroll down for more
Production-line death: A pony that almost certainly belonged to a child meets its fate at Potter's abattoir: Picture by Animal Aid
They hope the images will prompt an official inquiry - or at least touch the consciences of owners who simply abandon pets when their children have grown out of them.
The remains of this pony, like much of the meat that passes through Potter's abattoir in Taunton, Somerset, each year will be sent to France as there is no taste for horse meat in Britain.
Animal Aid says its dossier raises serious questions about the running of the abattoir. Officials suggest the way the slaughterman is holding the rifle means it could slip if the pony tossed her head.
The bullet would then inflict pain, rather than killing outright.
Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler said: "This seems a typical example of the abandonment of a pet whose useful days are over. It occurs when a child loses interest in riding or wants a bigger pony or horse."
The group says one horse was apparently injured elsewhere and then kept alive long enough to reach the abattoir - prolonging its suffering.
An animal which is humanely put down in a field or stable cannot go into the meat process because it has to be bled immediately after slaughter to make it suitable for the table.
The alternative is to sell it for between £20 and £200 to an abattoir.
Around 3,000 ponies and horses are put through Potter's each year. The company says that around 100 are from horse racing and the remainder privately owned.
Its latest annual report says it is engaged in the "elective euthanasia of equines and export of horse meat".
Stephen Potter, who operates the abattoir, said: "I don't think anyone who keeps a pony will get rid of it just for the sake of it.
"We will all be old at some point and may spend our later years in great discomfort and horses are the same.
"The horses are handled in a stress-free manner by professional people and despatched with the minimum of fuss, none of us could ask for anything better than that."
The food and farming department, Defra, says the Taunton operation, together with another in Cheshire, kills 6,000-10,000 horses a year for consumption abroad.
Animal Aid believes the slaughter of these horses and ponies will shock the public.
Mr Tyler said: "Those shown being killed in the footage came from owners who either dealt directly with the abattoir or who didn't know or care that their animals would end up in this establishment.
"What all the former owners have in common is the transient use of their animal. They feel that their responsibility is relinquished once the horse or pony is of no further use to them.
"The fundamental problem at the heart of the horse slaughter scandal-that we have uncovered is that these horses are bred to excess.
"When an animal is no longer useful, he or she is often simply disposed of. This is the fate of thousands of healthy horses and ponies every year."
Animal Aid is presenting the footage to the Meat Hygiene Service in the hope that it will carry out an investigation.
Reader views (29)
Fat little ponies like this are often 'rescued' by well-meaning but ill-informed people, the pony then suffers a very slow painful living death from laminitis. This pony was very lucky.
- Michael Ransley, lostwithiel cornwall
Many horse owners like myself keep our horses for life and have made provision for them if anything happens to ourselves.
What concerns me is the way the horse is being put down with an upturned shot gun. This is not the correct way to do it so please can we have an explanation from Stephen Potter as regards this practice within his slaughterhouse.
- Peter Natt, Hertfordshire
This issue ignores the fact that "the meat man" attends local auctions and can come away with a lorry load of perfectly healthy ponies that are "economical" for him to buy just to slaughter. I have seen many, many, pedigree young native ponies go this way. There is irresponsible over breeding, but most pedigree breeders are doing it to preserve a good solid basis of sound ponies for the future generations. Such a waste!
- Pat, Wirral
Hmmmm, so killing an animal with a rifle operated upside down and one handed is good practice, is it? I don't think so. If that pony were to move, there's no way way the slaughterman would have control of that gun--he certainly wouldn't make a clean kill and he's probably endangering himself and the others around him too.
- Finn, North Wales
This is terrible. The poor little pony. I only agree with horses being put to sleep when they are too ill or to old to carry on. I have to say though that some of the homes out there they are probably better off not living. I just wishe we could protect them all.
- Natalie Pix, Harlow, England.
It is a sad fact that horses and ponies go to slaughter and I would rather they were killed in this country than exported live for meat abroad, but as a responsible horse owner I owe it my friend to be there at the end for all his loyalty and fun he has given me. He will end his days grazing in his field and at the final moment I will hold him, then he will be cremated, no one will ever have him.
- Caroline, Worcester, England
Instead of sending old/ill ponies to an abbatoir, it would be much kinder to have them humanely put to sleep at home. Much less stress for them, no travelling, and with people they know and in familiar surroundings. People that send them to abbatoirs are taking the easy option for themselves.
- Jane, Somerton England
Makes me sick to the stomach how these ponies and horses can give so much pleasure to people and then be so badly let down. The more I get to learn about people the more I dislike them.
- Chris Nightingale, Watford, Herts
I am sure that if this pony had given it's owner many hours of fun it wouldn't have ended up at Potters, it would have been passed on to another child. Has anyone considered that this pony may be too dangerous for a child to ride and that's why he has ended up there?
- Laura, Taunton
I too have a retired racehorse, fortunatley for him his trainer had a concience and sent him for rehabilitation when his racing days were cut short by a cracked heel, too may ex racehorses are just treated as money makers. Soon as they stop, they are disposed of in anyway they can, usually for meat or to some dodgy horse dealer with no regard for its future welfare. This barbaric slaughtering has to stop. Mr Potter should be ashamed of himself and his company.
- Rob, Holmpton, East Yorks
As a vegetarian, the only thing that really puzzles me about this is why the meat has to be sent to France for consumption. Why don't British meat-eaters eat horse meat? You happily consume loads of other animals... what's the difference?
- Luciano, Bristol
It is a far better option for horses to slaughter them in the UK and ship horsemeat out, than transport live horses for eventual slaughter abroad.
The abbatoir appears to be up to the high UK standards. Tyler is being over-sentimental and emotional about horses; why is humane slaughter such a problem to him? He may well have a point with the overproduction of racehorses, a known issue, but using emotive pictures of a pony being shot doesn't actually do anything to prove his argument. It's not the actual slaughtering of them that's a problem - but the over-production. He has merely muddled the issue - and frankly lost his argument.
- Jill Scott, Lincolnshire, UK
What is wrong with people - I feel sick.
- Chris, London
Another example of the animal cruelty that goes on behind closed doors. Whether in abattoirs, laboratories or live exports.
- Vivienne Thompson, Folkestone, Kent, UK
While this is a very sad fact of life and not all horse owners are responsible like myself ask yourself this question:Is it not better the horse travels abroad dead than rammed into a lorry with other frightened horses, travelling for hours with no food and water,injured by other horses kicking, biting or trampling them? Only to face the same death at the end of its journey. Imagine how many horses would be left suffering from neglect if the slaughterman didn't exist. This may sound hard and callous but it is better the horse travels on the hook rather than on the hoof.
- Caring Horse Owner, Norfolk
We must remember that death in itself is not a welfare issue, rather it is how the animal lives its final moments up to its death that must remain as humane as possible. This goes for all animals regardless of whether they are considered pets or otherwise. As a horse owner myself I cannot see myself moving my horses on to such an establishment, in fact all mine have passports that state they are not to enter the food chain however, I would prefer an animal be slaughtered humanly than it live it's life out unwanted, in danger, or in pain.
- Evelyn, Cambridgeshire
Could anybody answer the question why we don't eat horse meat in this country that way they would be under the same regulations as cattle etc. Which would surely be better for the animals. I have horses myself and would have no problem eating horse meat.
- Allison Jacques, Llangefni, Anglesey
'This pony almost certainly belonged to a child' - why state this? Seems a pointless comment as well as not necessarily being true. Did the AA person know the owners? Or did they just think that this made a more emotive statement than any of the other possible explanations for this pony's presence at Potters, such as, it is a victim of overbreeding, it may have had something dangerously wrong with it, it may have belonged to someone who could no longer care for it but didn't want to sell it on to an uncertain future. I could go on.
Also I would like to point out that at least the horseflesh that goes through Potters is exported 'on the hook'. If Potters wasn't there, horses would be exported live - crammed into trucks, frightened and suffering. Is that what Animal Aid would prefer? Personally I think we need more abattoirs in this country, rather than fewer, so that no meat animal is sent out of the country alive to suffer who-knows-what fate.
I am thankful that I have never yet had to send a horse to Potters. However, with the tight regulations of disposal of livestock (and that's what horses count as according to Defra) the choices are extremely limited. Cremations cost hundreds of pounds, hunts don't always take carcasses, burial is not allowed. It doesn't leave a lot of choice really.
- Sue Howells, Barnstaple UK
I did work experience at Potters last year as part of my learning to become a vet. I found the place very reassuring in that they did not shoot a single horse that was healthy. The process was very humane to the horses and they were all very calm when they went into the abattoir. The shooter was very good with the horses and obviously cared a lot for their welfare. I do believe a lot of ponies are discarded by children after they have grown out of them but that should be addressed separately to the issue around the abattoir.
- Claire Tamblyn, Worcester
I still have my very first pony, he is now 35 and he will be with us until his dying day. Our local "pet crematorium" run by David Funnell is second to none and he has put down other elderly ponies for me when their time has come. I do not approve per se of healthy horses being put down and sold for meat - HOWEVER - if I could not afford to care for my horses any longer and could not guarantee them a responsible home, I would rather put them down than have them passed on from home to home where they may suffer due to unknowing or uncaring owners. I was sold a horse a few years ago that had been described as suitable for a novice rider - it turned out to be dangerous to handle and unrideable since it had not been broken to ride until it was 10 years old - it had been kept as a companion by an elderly lady who could no longer manage him. The poor thing went through 10 dealers and as many private homes in 6 months - he was so unsettled and frightened he would have been better off dead than abused like that. There are too many badly bred and badly handled horses on the market - I think you should have to obtain a licence before you are able to breed what is often an unwanted foal from your unsuitable mare.
- Rebecca Callow, Maidstone, Kent
I have kept horses for more than twenty years and have competed at a variety of disciplines to a reasonably high level.
I have seen many horses been retrained for these disciplines successfully from the Racing industry, I have also seen the other side of the coin and seen horses end up in inexperienced hands which are often abused, misused or neglected.
I currently have Thoroughbred which I brought from the Ascot Blood market sales in April, I have retrained her and she is for sale now, she is gorgeous and I will only sell her to a good home. Unfortunately that cannot be said for all people who buy these horses from sales.
However I would sooner have a horse put down than not know exactly where the horse will end up and in whose hands. I am afraid I agree with Potter and this is coming from a total and very experienced horse lover. The sooner that these so called animal lovers realise that once an animal is dead it is gone and that is far better than it ending up in the unscrupulous hands of inexperienced people or dodgy dealers.
- Tara Staveley, Coventry
Thank goodness they are being slaughtered in this country and not exported to Europe to be slaughtered in horrific circumstances. All we need to do is stop over breeding. Also there are a lot of unscrupulous people that could not care less about the welfare of horses and ponies and just want their cash regardless of where they end up!!
- Sally - Boroughbridge, Harrogate
I'd rather see these horses and ponies shot and eaten than left in a field, neglected/starved etc.
- Katherine Forrest, UK
I am a horse-lover and therefore deplore anything which brings pain or stress to a horse or pony.
The thought that someone who has had the pleasure and use of an animal can square it with their conscience to send it off to an abattoir when too old or infirm to continue, rather than have the deed done at home, is totally incomprehensible to me.
However if the handling and dispatch is quick and humane, I do not have a problem with the slaughter and transport of meat abroad.
Is there however, a guarantee that proper checks are carried out by Potters to ensure that the animal is owned by the person collecting the money?
There are approximately 60-70 horses stolen in this country every year, only a small proportion of which are ever found.
Can we have an assurance that passports, microchips, and freezemarks are all checked out?
- Rowena James, Biggleswade Beds UK
It may shock Animal Aid, but ending animals' lives according to human needs is a universally practised phenomenon. There aren't old folks' homes for turkeys, cows, chickens, spiders, rats etc. Animal Aid are seeking to shock and outrage, but in pursuing this 'Don't Shoot the Cute Ones' line, are as guilty of infantilising attitudes to animals as Walt Disney.
- Gareth, London, UK
My horse is a ex-race horse who I paid slaughter money for, because that's where he was going to go. The only thing wrong with him is a slightly bow tendant that meant he wasn't worth the money to keep for the sindicate which owned him. Thank goodness for the 'stable lad' who has, to date managed to rehome many of those horses to good home.
I took a huge risk taking on a horse I'd never met. A risk that has more than paid off. He gives me great joy. Just to think he was for the slaughter makes me shiver.
- D, Northern Ireland
This is awful! this poor animal probably loved his/her owner and gave them hours of fun! it is sick how they could do this. It should be stopped.
- Emma, Wakefield, England
It's meat product. Exactly the same happens to other animals.
- Paul, London
It breaks my heart how Brits - supposedly a nation of animal lovers - can part with their horses and ponies who have given so much over the years without a second thought, apparently not caring what stress and fear these poor animals have to face.
- Marianne, SW France
