September 2012 - Costa Calida Chronicle

EHCRC Appalled At Abattoir Figures
The Valencian Community has sacrifi ced the
largest amount of horses throughout Spain in
the fi rst four months of 2012 – 3427; 41.3%
more than the previous year.
The economical crisis in Spain causes almost
5000 equines a month, mainly horses, to be
taken to the abattoirs with abattoirs dealing
with approximately 165 animals a day. The
number of sacrifi ced equines increased
31.07% in the fi rst trimester of 2012 with
regard to the same period of 2011 - a total
of 19,793. In 2010 over 7,000 were sent to
abattoirs and in 2011 approximately 48,821
The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre has
hit out at the fi gures deeming them shocking
and despicable. “This shows the situation to
be on a similar scale of abandoned dogs and
cats. There is always so much publicity around
these animals that horses and donkeys are
largely forgotten, but this just highlights the
severity of the situation in our region. We have
long been working on reducing the number of
abandoned horses, rescuing and re-homing
them at the Centre, but we were saddened
to hear that the Valencian Community has
the worst fi gures in the country.” says cofounder
Sue Weeding. “We believe this is just
the tip of the iceberg as they represent just
the legally registered horses. There are fi ve
times as many illegal horses in Spain and they
don’t exist statistically, so they can’t go to
abattoirs and are left to roam around or are
hidden away, left to starve to death and then
abandoned secretly at night, like in the case of
Captain and Hope who we found locked away
in a garage.”
The Secretary General of the ‘Asociacion
Profesional de Salas de Despiece y Empresas
Carnicas,’ Manuel Gonzalez, has ensured
that there is no market for the sale, rent
or breaking-in (boarding in livery yards) of
equines. Some stockbreeders cannot afford
the high costs involved in feeding them; an
estimated average of about 300€ per month.
He says that there is little demand for this
type of meat in Spain, so it goes towards pet
food or is exported to France, Italy, Belgium or
Greece where this type of food is requested.
The president of the National Association of
Spanish Purebreds, Javier Conde, reminds us
that the breeder farms are the most affected,
as selling has become diffi cult.
“This is a common problem for most horse
owners,” says Sue Weeding. “Everyone is
struggling fi nancially and horses are expensive
to keep. We are continually getting calls from
people about horses they fi nd who have been
neglected and abandoned. This must stop.
These fi gures just highlight the fi ght we have
on our hands to ease the situation and just
makes us even more determined to continue
to educate the public, to stop this happening
in the future.”
Sue is aware that realistically there is only so
much they can do at Easy Horse Care as the
problem comes with re-homing the horses,
but she says action needs to be taken. “These
are young horses are just being bred and sold
for their meat a year or so later because there
is no-one to buy them, but still the mares are
being used to breed more. There needs to be
legislation to stop this.”
As a member of the Association of British
Riding Schools, (ABRS) Sue has contacted
the association and in October is to meet
Baroness Ann Mallalieu, chair of the All Party
Parliamentary Group for Horses. She will raise
awareness of the severe situation here in Spain
and ask for help and advice on the best way
to tackle the situation. “I would like to know
what the fi gures are for the transportation of
live animals for meat.” Sue added, “We have a
lot of international volunteers who are sending
this information to their home countries and
to the media, as the most important thing we
can do initially is to raise awareness.”
Left To Starve To Death
“We acted immediately,” explains Sue Weeding,
co-founder of Easy Horse Care, “and went
straight to the premises where we found
several horses that were left there starving.”
The livery yard was being rented by the owners
of the premises but the
business had failed.
Many people who had
kept their horses there
were removing them
as the centre was
closed, but two horses
belonged to the guy
running the business
and he had simply
locked them away and
left them, unable to
afford to feed them.
Another had been left
by the owner who
had lost interest and
hadn’t paid any stable
fees so again, was
left to go hungry. Sue
and her team tracked
down the owner of
the premises who was
equally shocked and
immediately assisted
them in getting the
horses out. Sadly,
when they returned
one of the horses
was lying dead in the
stable, but they did
get the other 2 out
who had otherwise
been destined for the
butcher, all for just a
few euros.
Equine vet Dorothea
has checked them
both over. The stallion
is called Nero and we
were told the mare is
called Macarena. The
mare will not be able to be ridden for at least
a year due to severe muscle wastage. The
stallion will be castrated and both are on a
special diet as they are full of worms.
This is sadly just another example of how
horses are just being left to starve to death
as the owners lose interest or simply can’t
afford to keep them. Thanks to our amazing
volunteers in our charity shops we heard
about this case and were able to save 2 of
them. Once again, thanks to the great work
in our charity shops and the public’s support
of them, we are able to help these and all the
other horses and donkey’s currently in our
care.”
Following the success of the shops in Quesada,
La Siesta, Los Montesinos and La Zenia, Easy
Horse Care are now looking for a second
premises to be able to deal with more horses.
For more information on the Easy Horse
Care Rescue Centre call Sue on 652 021
980 or email www.easyhorsecare.net and
don’t forget to follow them on Facebook. The
Rescue Centre is continuing with its open
days throughout the summer every Sunday
and Wednesday from 1-4pm where you can
see the horses for yourself and fi nd out more
about the work they do. Los Montesinos
charity shop is needing a few extra volunteers
so if you can give a few hours a week then
please contact Vicky on 636 062 000.
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Page 63
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