Romanian authorities capitalise on horse meat

The wild horses living in the Letea Forest located in the Danube Delta in Romania were slated to be killed because they allegedly eat wild orchids. Animal rights activists have been able to prevent their slaughter for now. The daily Gândul suspects that the authorities plan to sell the horse meat after they are killed: "Why have those responsible for protecting the Danube biosphere reserve done nothing so far to defend the Letea Forest from the attacks of the wild horses? Why were the horses allowed to multiply, so that almost 4,000 horses now live in this Unesco nature reserve? The answer is: so as not to destroy the local business. ... According to three-year-old statistics, Italy imports 150,000 horses from Eastern Europe, mainly Romania, to turn them into horse meat. It's a cruel trade. The animals are tormented mercilessly until their arrival. ... If they are not sent alive they are sent as processed meat. This business generated seven million dollars in 2007. ... In the end the Delta is just a huge pen for keeping horses for execution."

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Crime, » Italy, » Romania
All available articles from » Rodica Ciobanu

» To the complete press review of Friday, May 27, 2011