euthanasia

[lynnemh]

i have just read an article about a group in usa who are offering euthanasia at $25 per horse, to horse owners who can no longer afford to keep thier horses. this is because of the high numbers of rescues coming in and expected over the coming monthes. what are your thoughts on this? i tend to think that it is a good thing, overall, if it saves horses from starvation and suffering. opinions anyone?

[pmcc]

I agree too, it is not a nice thing to think about but without it there will be a lot of animals suffer if the owners are already struggling and there are no places left to rescue them.
People would also need to ease up breeding until the situation stabilises too. Otherwise these animals will be destroyed and another animal is born to take it's place elsewhere.

[izzy18]

It must be a horrible position to be in. I suppose I always used to believe a healthy animal should never be pts, then a friend mentioned that she would rather her horse was pts than sold on from person to person if she couldn't afford to keep it, as she was worried it would end up like some of the poor Amersham horses :(

It really made me think and I realised the decision wasn't as black and white as I thought it was. If I'm honest I would really struggle to have to have a healthy horse pts, but I can appreciate the other side of the argument as well. There are good owners and bad owners out there, and I suppose you cannot always guarantee where your horse will end up if you can no longer care for it.

Horrible, horrible decision to have to make.

Agree with pmcc though, without a real change on the breeding front, it would just be a never-ending vicious circle. It's a difficult one.

[Sparklie]

I'm all for it.

I work as a trainee veterinary nurse at a small animal vets and the number of people we see who can't afford their animal's treatment always seems to be on the increase. Often these animals are put to sleep instead but this still costs around £100 for an average medium sized dog. Therefore some people are even put off euthanasia as an option. What's to stop the less caring people finding a way of doing it themselves! Sad but true.

My friend used to work at a different vets who would put to sleep and dispose of greyhounds and lurchers for £12 as they knew that if they didn't offer this option if a dog was injured so that it couldn't work/race a lot of trainers would do the deed themselves. There was that horrible man on the news :(

[pauline w]

I had my 32 year old Sherry pts in 2007. It was done by injection and very peaceful and her ashes were returned in a beautifully engraved wooden casket with brass handles. I had a BIG shock when the bill came....... £897.00 and a few pence. I had Merlin, also 32, pts in June and that was £198.00 with sunday emergency call out, the difference being he was buried in his field.(same vets) $25 is a bargain and if I was destitute I would take advantage of it.

[pauline w]

£100 for an average medium sized dog.:(

My other vet (I use several) charged me £10 to put my 19 year old Jack russell x fox terrier to sleep in 2007.

[stressy]

TBH i think if vets bought their prices down for treatment/ medicines this might resolve some of the problems but until this happens if an owner cant afford their horse and they have tried everything else- switching to DIY/ grass livery, removing back shoes, not feeding un necessarily, trying to find a sharer then I think PTS is kindest option

[greymare]

I hate the thought of an animal being put down for no reason, but as others have pointed out, the thought of owners trying to cut back on things that really are necessary is even worse.

I would rather an animal is PTS than allowed to suffer due to an owners inability to keep them.

Very sad, but as long as it is done in a humane and thoughtful manner then I can understnad why people may want it done.

What I woudl be annoyed at is people who cant be bothered going through the selling process using it as a means of disposing of horses and I would like to think that people do their best before making the decision.

Jen
x

[fairlady]

I hate the thought of a healthy animal being PTS tbh, but I also realise
its not so 'black and white' and sometimes the more sensible option especially with the rescue centres being unindated.

However I can't help but agree with stressy's statement that sometimes, not
all the time, Vets really cannot justify their charges, yes we all accept
callout charges etc., but some charges are very extreme:mad: I am sure that
if they dropped/revised some of their charges more animals would receive the
care and attention they need, even if the final option was being PTS.

TBH HOW can they justify £100 to put a dog to sleep, one injection, no matter what size the animal. I know thats about the price because
unfortunately I have paid it, but its definately a money maker for the Vet.

[stressy]

Tbh I think some call out charges are ridiculous, I had to ring a local vet recently as my horse had choke(she had been struggling for 20mins before I called), it took them an hour to get to mine by which time my horse had cleared the blockage, I was charged close to £40 and on the bill it said call out and examination of horse- the vet was there for less than 5mins! Nice work of you can get it eh :rolleyes: Dont get me wrong I think theres some fab vets out there but the prices some of the practices charge are :eek:

[jennywren07]

I think its a good idea. So many horses end up suffering as people cannot afford them, and although i'd far rather see a healthy horse get a good home than PTS it's not always an option. I'd rather see them PTS than passed from pillar to post and suffering

[EnduranceAli]

It is a horrible decision to make and we all need help and support to care for our animals, which includes choosing when it is best for their lives to be humanely ended.

Over the past 2 years I have had various elderly animals pts - due to ill health and extreme old age. I probably cry most days when remembering them and wishing they were still here with me.

I am now approaching having to make the decision for Gambit, the 35 year old Sec A who came to me on loan as a companion back in 2007. His owner has never bothered with him - he came here in a very bad physical and emotional state - and he has become the life and soul of the yard; the one that I worry about constantly and spend a lot of time/money on. However, he is rapidly becoming more confused and needy, struggling to eat, stiff on his old legs and now his breathing is not good. My health is worsening and I am hoping to put my Exmoor mare into livery locally, so I can concentrate on her without the daily hard work of caring for 4 ponies. The other 2 ponies will go to new homes as companions, and Gambit will join his life-long friend, Acky (went over the Bridge in October 2007) - to be buried next to her in the field. Absolutely heartbreaking, and I still change my mind constantly as to whether now is the time (he will be neighing at the gate soon for his tea and deep straw bed - and then I take one one look at his furry face and promise to keep him with me for a few more weeks). For now I wait to see his signal that now is the time - when he is suffering and unhappy with his daily routine.

I always promise that I will not take on another animal, as I find parting so difficult - but we just keep on doing it!

Ali xx

[diplomaticandtactful]

the small animal side of it definitely milks the public particularly if you are based in an affluent area. i have noticed a huge difference in vets bills now we are away from the suburban south.......

i think sadly given the current climate, if you can't winter your horse, and can't guarantee it a new home where it will be safe, then pts is a good option even for a young and healthy horse.

if you see the pictures of the horse markets overseas when they do the october butchers fairs, there are 000s of horses, mares and foals, many of them young and healthy, all penned up going for meat. given that many uk horses are now ending up there as they get a better price for them - it is worth coming over to a sale here and buying couple of lorries of them and shipping them back to france - i wouldn't take the risk in passing on an unsound, old or difficult horse. there are enough perfectly nice horses going for meat for no reason other than no one could be bothered to find them a new job.

when i had my first donkey pts we did the individual cremation, ashes in urn, buried in garden stuff, second time, we had much less money, i didn't even get her ashes back, spent the money on winter hay. she wouldn't have cared, she knew she was loved while she was alive.

[Wally]

£40 for a call out is perfectly reasonable, you could have cancelled it. I don't know any saddlers that would charge any less for a visit, or a dentist.

£100 to put a dog to sleep is taking the pee.

[kayjayhorses]

thats a really difficult question, I know situations change where people lose their job etc and can no longer afford to keep their animal but many times people take on animals without thinking it through then realise they can't afford it. I would hate to think people now have an easy option to get rid of an animal when really they could have made changes to their lifestyle to be able to keep the animal happy and healthy.

the idea is good to avoid ill health and suffering but really is needs to be stopped at the source, I believe in some places in USA to can have a maximum number of animals I think its 2 or 3 and if you want more than that you would need to apply for a licence, I know it would be instrusive and hard to enforce but atleast it would stop people getting to the point of having too many and not coping then having the lot put down when it gets difficult.