These animals have given their love and devotion and service to their owners all their lives. They deserve better than this!”
To date, no one has come forward who knows the backstory of Bubbles The Rescue Horse and how he came to be in the “direct ship” pen of one of the busiest slaughter ship pens in the country – the Kaufman Kill Pen in Forney, TX. Most Americans know that horse slaughter is illegal in the US and they assume that it no longer exists. Unfortunately, it is a thriving business in Mexico and Canada and the “pipeline” that feeds it in the US is a multi -million dollar industry, flying mostly under the radar of the general public. Horsemeat is consumed and even considered a delicacy across Europe and in Asia. But since horses in the US are raised for sport and competition, they are regularly treated with antibiotics, pain killers, tranquilizers and other substances throughout their lives that makes them unsafe and unsuitable for human consumption. Regardless, a shameful, never ending cycle of over breeding of horses of virtually every breed in the US for show, competition and profit results in thousands upon thousands of unwanted, unneeded, injured, and “old” horses being sent to auction every year, where most of them are snapped up by kill buyers for prices dictated by the meat price at the slaughterhouses. Kill buyers in the US have weekly quotas to meet with the slaughterhouses and livestock who wind up in their hands have precious little chance of rescue. Many of the US kill pens are places of indescribable cruelty
Bubbles was saved from a slaughter house by hiding among a herd of miniature donkeys as they were loaded onto a trailer destined for Becky's Hope Rescue. The rest is history...
and the conditions in which animals are transported - from auction to kill pen and kill pen to slaughterhouse – are well documented and nightmarish. Cruelest of all is the slaughter itself – protracted, tortuous and terrifying. Donkeys in the US and all over the world are being slaughtered in staggering numbers because their hides are used to produce “Ejiao” a gelatin used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
There are equine rescues like Chapman’s all over the United States who do their best to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome at risk equines and provide sanctuary for those too old or with special needs that make them unsuitable for adoption. The problem is that equine rescue has never gotten the attention or financial backing of the public the way dog and cat rescue has. “I don’t know of any of us who do not regularly spend our own money and even our savings to care for these beautiful animals,” said Chapman. “Even so, many great rescues struggle to survive and few are able to grow.” It is Chapman’s dream to someday open an adjunct sanctuary dedicated to the lifelong compassionate care of senior equines of all breeds. “We just have such a special place in our heart for the old ones”. Maybe we could call it ‘Bubbles’ Hope’ “, said Chapman with a smile.
For more information or to make a tax
deductible donation, please visit www.beckyshope.com