Horsemeat has been found in beefburgers and other food products on sale in UK and Irish Republic supermarkets. But why do the British have such a revulsion over the idea of eating horsemeat?

The discovery of horse DNA in burgers and processed food products in major supermarkets such as Tesco and Iceland has been met with alarm among consumers. Horse-eating, or hippophagy, spread in Europe in the 19th Century, after famines caused several governments to license horse butcheries

Horsemeat is still commonly consumed in France and Belgium, as well as parts of Central Asia and South America

So why are the British so squeamish about eating horse? The answer is possibly that Horses are seen as pets and historically, they were useful for transport and war. There are also strong emotional connotations

There is no real logic as to why plenty of Britons are perfectly willing to eat cows, pigs, and chickens, but see horses as taboo, according to Dr Roger Mugford, who is an animal psychologist

“I’m a farmer and there is an irony. Why are horses different from pigs and lambs?” Part of the reason is people frequently see horses as pets, and humans tend to put “extra qualities and values” on animals they call pets
“As soon as you give an animal a name, how can you eat it? I’ve got lambs, sheep, with names – they live forever. I don’t name the commercial flock, which won’t,”

The horsemeat contributution to the nourishment of the human race is not altogether new. The ancient Germans and Scandinavians had a marked liking for horse-flesh. The nomad tribes of Northern Asia make horse-flesh their favourite food

History is also responsible for attitudes towards horses, according to Mugford

“Horses helped out in warfare. There have been huge sacrifices alongside riders in historic battles. And there are sentimental depictions like War Horse”

Their widespread use as working animals has had a lasting effect, argues food historian Ivan Day
“We have to remember at one point, before railways, horses were the main means of transport. You don’t eat your Aston Martin”

Food historian Dr Annie Gray agrees the primary reasons for not eating horses were “their usefulness as beast of burden, and their association with poor or horrid conditions of living”.

She suspects the practical considerations have become so embedded in culinary norms that horseflesh has garnered emotional connotations

Semi Wild Ponies Roaming Free In Pembrokeshire

But all of the above reasons apply as much to France as they do to the UK. There must be more to it

“It enables us to have yet another point of difference with the French,” says Gray and therefore anything we can do or say to put British beef on a pedestal is usually done – ergo the thought that the French eat horse while we eat good beef becomes a chauvinistic way of asserting national identity,” she says

Gray, who lived in France for three years, says for her, it is completely natural to eat horsemeat as it was sold at her local butcher

“I am far more concerned with where the food is from. I would far rather eat ethically sourced, well-cared for horse, than battery chicken, for example,”

So are attitudes changing at all?

Peta (People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals) says the thought of unexpectedly tucking into a horse burger has “rightly shocked the nation”. But it says Britons who say “neigh” to horsemeat do so only because they find ponies “cute”

“Why is one species cherished while another is spurned? If this story has shocked people, they should consider leaving all flesh off their plates and going vegan,”

Rather than seeing them as “cute”, others may be more inclined to think of horses as majestic, or associate them with nobility

The killing of horses for meat is still an emotive subject as many people see them as companion animals rather than a food source, according to the RSPCA

Horsemeat production levels in 2009

China – 168,000 tonnes
Mexico – 81,749 tonnes
Kazakhstan – 71,387 tonnes
Russia – 48,936 tonnes
Argentina – 37,712 tonnes
Mongolia – 35,582 tonnes
Source: United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation

via BBC News – Why are the British revolted by the idea of horsemeat?.

Would You Eat Horsemeat? | Should It Be Part Of The British Diet?

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A British Horse Called ‘Shayne’ Thought To Be The Oldest In The World Has Died Aged 51 Years

Shayne spent his last few years at Remus Memorial Sanctuary in Essex, which specialises in caring for elderly equines – although the Irish Draught X thoroughbred was the first to make it into his 50s

He was also the only horse to have his own Facebook page

Still Looking Good Despite His Age

“We work very much with older horses here at the sanctuary and this is their time to live out their lives in happy retirement,” said Sue Burton, the charity’s founder. “We have a couple of horses in their 40s and some in their 30s.”

Prior to his arrival Shayne was kept in a private home, but when he outlived his elderly companion he was moved to the sanctuary, where he was very happy. According to Sue, despite his advanced age Shayne was “just your average horse”

Although like most veterans he had arthritis and some dentition problems.To maintain his weight he was given up to six high calorie, high fibre feeds a day and was turned out daily to help relieve his stiff joints. With the staff’s care and attention Shayne had a good quality of life, right to the very end, when he was put to sleep

“We like to think the secret of our success is in allowing the animals to relax and to ask nothing of them,” said Sue. “We do a lot of holistic work with them including reiki, shiatsu, bach flower remedies, natural selection herbs, aromatherapy etc and try to enrich their environment as much as possible to make their lives more interesting”

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