Edited Press Release
“We have a responsibility to every horse born, and for some time now there has been a crisis of overbreeding that is having a terrible impact on the welfare of horses,” said Keith Dane, director of equine protection of The HSUS. “Horse slaughter has been used as an outlet for irresponsible breeders to continue to overbreed horses and to treat them as disposable commodities. The Humane Society of the United States is working to end this unnecessary slaughter of horses, and we commend the responsible breeders who have chosen to be part of the solution.”
“As a breeder of Arabian horses for 30 years, I believe that responsible breeding means not only breeding for the finest conformation and behavior, but also ensuring that our foals lead happy, productive lives,” said council member Melissa Forberg. “This commitment to the welfare of our foals must be lifelong and unwavering.”
As a first step, the council is encouraging horse breeders to sign a pledge to be a responsible breeder. In doing so, they agree to take back any horse they have bred should the horse become homeless or at-risk of being abused or sent to slaughter. More than 800 breeders have already joined the responsible breeder’s list. Horse breeders can join the initiative at humanesociety.org or email vpringle@humanesociety.org. Horse owners can also use this list to search for their horse’s breeder in the event that they need assistance in continuing to humanely care for their horse.
it should be up to the owners to take care of their animals
Love this! I have been praying for so long that people realize that one of the top leading causes to an over population to SO many horses is because of unnecessary or “extra” breeding. Praise the Lord! And good job everyone out there who signs, supports, or agrees with it!!!
That’s great.
Hopefully, the horse breeders will all take “heart” and stop overbreeding, just to get “those one or two” who will make it to the top. Also, horse trainers, should read this, because so many of them charge way too much, so that most customers, can only afford one month of training, which is never enough. Then the green broke horse goes out, and never is more than green broke, 3-4 years later, and then resold. I see so many 7-10 yr old green broke horses, that have been professional trained.
I think it is long overdue. Thanks to everyone involved in this wonderful cause.