Starving horses used in Dutch snacks

[Puffin13]

Starving horses used in Dutch snacks
08/04/2010

Dutch animal welfare organisation Wakker Dier is calling on Dutch snack producers to stop importing horsemeat from Latin America. During an undercover investigation in Latin American the group discovered that horses destined for consumption in the Netherlands are often badly maltreated.

Wakker Dier asked a British investigative agency to examine the Latin American horsemeat industry after receiving alarming reports. The investigators, passing themselves off as potential buyers, discovered that many Latin American horses bound for consumption in Europe are often emaciated, underfed, and maltreated during transport.

“As soon as the horses are unable to function as work animals they hardly receive any food anymore, ”Wakker Dier spokesperson Sjoerd van der Wouw told Dutch newspaper Spits. A video made by the investigative agency shows emaciated and wounded horses in overcrowded trailers. Some of these horses, forced to endure long journeys in tropical heat with a scarce supply of water and food, are so fatigued that they are unable to stand.

Many popular Dutch deep fried snacks are made of remnant meat. “Because the animals are so emaciated, the quality of the meat is often so poor that it can only be used in snacks,” Mr van der Wouw explains. The Netherlands imports around 11 million kilograms of horsemeat a year, most of it imported from Latin America.

Beckers, one of the largest snack producing companies in the Netherlands, say they have always received reports from import companies guaranteeing compliance with EU animal welfare standards. “We should thoroughly investigate whether Wakker Dier has stumbled upon a number of incidents, or whether this is a problem of a more structural nature,” their spokesperson said.

Source

[titus wong]

I always wondered what was in those frikandels...

[matty223]

so thats the meat in Bitterballen , LOL

[indk]

“As soon as the horses are unable to function as work animals they hardly receive any food anymore..."

So after they're worked to the point of physical immobility they are starved, carved & sold for money? Damn, human slavery was more humane than that & that's saying something!

[Marco]

Any remnant meat is going to be pretty grim, horse is no worse for you than anything else.

Good horse meat is delicious, much more flavorful than steak. Horse is quite common on the menu in Belgium and France.

[Uncle Ron]

Another example of people who have a distorted sense of morality.
Also an excellent example of how not to treat livestock.
Peace.

[geoffk]

I had a horse burger in Belgium w/chip butties (french fries on top). It was...shall we say...not the most delicious.

[Max Flower]

Febo de Lekkerste...!

[bridget]

man's greed. It really does fucking suck.

[Max Flower]

More lack of human decency than greed, sad fact is some people eat horse, even worse fact, sick fuckers abuse them in the process. I think all animal abusers should be eternally baked in the filthy heat of Satan's anus.

[Marco]

More lack of human decency than greed, sad fact is some people eat horse, even worse fact, sick fuckers abuse them in the process. I think all animal abusers should be eternally baked in the filthy heat of Satan's anus.

I agree about the abuse, and am a strong animal rights believer. I am also a carnivore and see absolutely no problem in eating horse meat that is not coming from abused animals. Why is it ok to eat lamb, beef, pork, etc but not horse. Horse meat is a cultural thing and in many countries it is a traditional food.

[hardboiled]

man's greed. It really does fucking suck.

You said it all

[WONKABOY]

That's why Febo taste different this year !