There’s a reason they’re called butchers: meet The Prince of Flesh, Australian horse flesh purveyor

Images courtesy of Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses please find them HERE

WARNING, GRAPHIC: I have included additional photographs of this horror on another page due to the graphic nature of them, please do not click this link if you are sensitive to these types of images. If you still wish to see them, however, please click HERE

By Stephanie Dyer

Please send a letter, using a SAMPLE LETTER below, modifying, or writing your own, expressing your protest against horse meat for human consumption in Australia.

“We’ll be known as the horse whisperers,” he said, “You just whisper ‘Can I have a kilo of horse meat please’ …” Straight from the mouth of West Australian butcher “The Prince of Flesh”.

Horses have been part of Australia’s history and are almost a cultural icon. Our love and respect for horses runs deep, and it’s easy to see why. Their glorious stride and amazing grace truly captivates us all. Horses have the power to stir the soul and capture the imagination.

The horse is a creature of grace, power and beauty that has been prized throughout history for its intelligence, speed and strength. From their velvety muzzles to the tips of their flowing tails, horses have been loyal companions in peace and in war. They are truly beautiful creatures that capture our hearts.

Horse meat has NEVER been sold for domestic consumption in Australia – until now.

Almost overnight West Australian butcher “The Prince of Flesh” has achieved the unthinkable, he has managed to put horse flesh on the menu in Australia.

With the help of West Australian Minister of Agriculture and Food; Forestry, Terry Redman, this greedy flesh loving butcher is now leading horses into the killing box to please the taste buds of Europeans who live in Australia. What next, shall this butcher be putting cat and dog meat on the plates of those from Asian Cultures who like to eat our furry friends?

The Prince of Flesh is very proud to be the first Australian butcher to offer horse flesh for human consumption. “It’s all about supplying the ethnic community with something they grew up with,” Mr. Garreffa says.

This Australian butcher claims that he is simply doing a good deed to supply people from certain cultures with food they grow up on. This is Australia, though, and we do not eat our pets or companion friends.

The Prince of Flesh is blaming animal liberation groups from all around the world for supposed threatening phone calls and emails. This West Australian based butcher even claims that he has received death threats. “The majority of them you can tell that they’re from animal liberation groups from all around the world who automatically attack anyone if someone tells them to,” says butcher Mr. Garreffa.

The Prince of Flesh claims that the demand for horse flesh is high, so we suspect he will be flat-out shooting these majestic animals in killing boxes from now on. You may even see this butcher stalking horses at your local racetrack, busily eyeing off horses that are not good enough to race, but good enough to kill for his new horse flesh eating enterprise.

Mr. Gareffa has already tucked into horse flesh saying the medium rare steak tasted like “very rich beef with a slight sweet overtone on the back of the palate”. If you visit Mondi Di Carne gourmet butchers, which is owned by Mr. Garreffa, you can even buy a pig head, yes he has them on offer as well.

This butcher says that if he was told that people were going to start eating Jack Russells tomorrow, he would be horrified. He loves his Jack Russell and misses him a lot after losing him last year, however if one is horrified at eating a Horse (their beloved pet) they are an animal liberation “extremist”? It appears this Australian butcher has some very conflicting ideas. Surely any rational, intelligent person can understand the hypocrisy and moral discord in such actions, so please tell them.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR LETTER OF PROTEST:
Terry Redman, Minister for Agriculture and Food; Forestry
Minister.Redman@dpc.wa.gov.au

Premier of West Australia, Honourable Colin Barnett MEc MLA
wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au

West Australian Butcher, Vince Garreffa – “Prince of Flesh” Mondi Di Carne “gourmet” butchers
princeofflesh@mondo.net.au

Minister Castrilli – Minister Local Govt (Animal Welfare Unit & Animal Welfare Act sit under his portfolio)
Minister.Castrilli@dpc.wa.gov.au

Opposition Leader, Eric Ripper
leader@loop.wa.gov.au
eric.ripper@mp.wa.gov.au

Premier of Victoria, John Brumby
premier@dpc.vic.gov.au

GROUP (copy/paste into your TO: hit one carriage return):
Minister.Redman@dpc.wa.gov.au
wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au
princeofflesh@mondo.net.au
Minister.Castrilli@dpc.wa.gov.au
leader@loop.wa.gov.au
eric.ripper@mp.wa.gov.au
premier@dpc.vic.gov.au

SAMPLE LETTER (Please revise or modify and shorten so they receive a variety of messages, or feel free to write your own, letter courtesy of Stephanie Dyer):

To Whom It Concerns,

After learning of the decision to allow the human consumption of horse flesh to be legalised in Australia, I ask that this decision be overturned at once, and that the slaughter of horses for human consumption be stopped immediately.

The issue of slaughtering horses for domestic consumption has of course sparked up much controversy from animal lovers in Australia and around the world, and for good reason. The Australian public finds the killing of Australian horses for their meat to be abhorrent. This is why horse meat has never been available before now.

The slaughter of horses for human consumption in Australia will open up another world of welfare concerns for West Australia, a State in which the current government has already reduced its Animal Welfare Inspectorate from 6 to 1. So who is going to be monitoring the welfare of horses that are slaughtered?

The WA Government is already in a position where it is unable to monitor the welfare of any farmed animal used for meat. So the question must be asked, who will control and measure the process of killing horses for human consumption in Australia? Who shall ensure that animal welfare guidelines are met from backyard to slaughter?

Slaughterhouses in WA do not have the appropriate facilities for horse slaughter nor have the slaughtermen involved been trained in horse handling and slaughter processing.

Does Australia need to add horses to our plate? There is already a long list of animals that are exploited for their meat, and to add horses to this list for Australian consumption is immoral.

One of the major suppliers of horses for human consumption is the racing industry which breeds approx 30,000 horses each year. Approx 70% of these horses are simply not “good enough” and will be discarded without running a single race.

If Western Australia is to please minority groups; those Europeans who have a taste for horse flesh, will WA take the next step and cater for Asian cultures? Will the WA Government permit the slaughter of cats and dogs for their flesh? What is the difference between eating one pet and eating another? Horses are of course pets to many Australians.

Furthermore, you are all well aware of the toxicity of horse meat, poisoned with phenylbutazone, a banned substance in accordance with the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act as described via other country parameters.  Tainting the food supply with such toxins is not only negligent, but it is also immoral.  It is also important to recognize that European markets are increasingly rejecting horse meat from Western countries where horses are routinely treated with such prohibited substances, and Australia will be a known target of such disapproval as well.

You have an opportunity to honor the wishes of the Australian people, to represent Australia’s wishes with integrity, and to undertake the effort to protect rather than harm.  It is time to refuse participation in the bloody trade of horse slaughter and I respectfully ask that you do so immediately.

I urge you to discontinue your contribution to the heinous and inhumane business of horse slaughter.

I thank you for your attention and consideration.

NAME
ADDRESS