Letter: Don’t confuse livestock with family pets

Thursday, Aug. 3, 2006 | 7:59 a.m.

Helping to lead a movement in Congress to ban the slaughter of horses is Sen. John Ensign's way to get more than the right-wing Republicans to vote for him, but the movement is not well thought out..

When there are uninsured Americans and poverty abounding, how do you plan to feed the excessive number of horses that would not go to slaughterhouses for human consumption?

Are you going to ask the government to feed them? The government can't even adequately help our poorest in this country.

Will it be OK to feed your dog horse meat while prohibiting humans from eating it?

Where will these horses roam when human housing isn't affordable? We already have a terrible welfare system for unwanted horses. This proposed legislation will compound it.

Cuts in government spending for everything from highways to education could occur to save horses from slaughter. And of course the next step will be to ban the killing of cattle, sheep and ducks for human consumption. The tomatoes and broccoli will have attorneys to keep them from being picked and processed, and then you can eat your plastic credit cards as there will be no agriculture.

Tom Collins, North Las Vegas

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