No more horsemeat pie for Tigger????
What is the world coming to?
Local zoos caught in horse slaughter controversy
YouNewsTV™
By Tracy Vedder
TACOMA, Wash. -- Two local zoos are caught in a nationwide controversy. The issue is slaughtering horses for zoo food. Woodland Park and Point Defiance zoos might be forced to look outside the United States for horse meat.
Jaya is a meat-eater. She's one of Point Defiance's two Sumatran tigers - and she eats mostly beef.
But horse meat treats are an important part of her diet. And for some other cats here horse meat is just about all they eat.
"It's a very lean choice of meat," says Point Defiance's Deputy Director John Houck, "and for those cats, we want to watch their weight and have that as an option, that's why we chose that."
But Point Defiance, Woodland Park and zoos across the country may have to go to Canada or other countries for their horse meat. That's because two of only three horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. -- both in Texas -- have shut down. The third, in DeKalb Illinois, is fighting closure in court.
The Humane Society of the United States has been fighting to shut down horse slaughterhouses for years.
"They're people's pets," says state Humane Society Director Inga Gibson. "They're used for show and for races, people bond with these animals the same as dogs and cats and we owe them a lot more than to have a fate of cruel slaughter."
Like Point Defiance, Woodland Park may look overseas for horse meat for its meat-eaters, or even switch to beef. But Woodland Park flat out refused to talk to KOMO 4 about it's use of horse meat.
The zoo is still reeling over the death of their young elephant Hansa, and from criticism over their Masai Journey exhibit. A spokeswoman for Woodland Park says they just don't want to get drawn into another controversy.
Point Defiance acknowledges horse meat is a sensitive issue, but they want to do what they believe is best for their animals.
"We could certainly put them on a beef diet," Houck said, "but right now we feel that the optimum diet for them includes horse meat."
Congress may outlaw horse slaughter here. If that happens Point Defiance will find some other way to tempt their wild cats taste buds.
The Humane Society of the U.S. Wants zoos to stop using horse meat but their fight isn't with the zoos. Their larger concern is that the vast majority of horse meat is shipped overseas for human consumption in Europe and Asia. |
