More than 60,000 American wild and domestic horses were needlessly slaughtered for human consumption in 2019. Although they aren't killed in the U.S. due to a ban passed in 2006, horses are often purchased or rounded up by middlemen and taken to Canada or Mexico where they are slaughtered for their meat.
While the idea of eating horse meat sounds disturbing to most Americans, it's considered a delicacy in Mexico, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Poland, and China.
The horses are killed or rendered unconscious with gun bolts to the brain before they are bled out and then processed to be shipped out for food.
The most grievous aspect of the problem is that we could make it go away overnight. The Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act of 2019, H.R. 961/S. 2006 which permanently bans horse slaughter in the U.S. and prevents the export of horses for the same purpose, has bipartisan support in Congress and 80% of the American people.
Upworthy had the pleasure of speaking with actress Bo Derek ("10," "Tarzan, the Ape Man," "Tommy Boy") to tell our readers how they can help her and Horses in Our Hands make the final push to end this awful and unnecessary practice.
Horses in Our Hands is the only equine welfare-specific organization lobbying Congress for the permanent ban on horse slaughter during the current legislative session.
Derek fell in love with Andalusian horses while scouting locations for "Bolero" in 1983. When she returned home, she became a horse breeder and a trick rider. She has had up to 22 horses on her California ranch, but these days she's down to five.
via Horses in Our Hands
Derek has a deep relationship with horses that's been developed from spending countless hours in the saddle and stable.
"I've developed a sense of their body language that's tuned to very high sensitivity," she told Upworthy. "But you have to spend a lot of time with animals to be able to develop that understanding. But once you do you find they'll never lie to you."
The relationships she forged with horses have helped her evolve as a person as well. "If you spend a lot of time around animals your instincts become a bigger part of your life," she said.
Derek has been an active part of the movement to end the slaughter of American horses for food for over 18 years and she's was also a racing commissioner in the state of California. She says one of the biggest roadblocks to getting legislation passed is the Cattlemen's Association lobby that fears any regulation of four-hooved animals could eventually be applied to cattle.
"They believe it's a tipping point that will have cascading consequences for their industry." Derek said. "Which, I don't believe, but they seem to take a hard line on that."
Derek says that if legislation is passed protecting horses from slaughter there should be no problem finding proper care for the extra animals.
"About a million horses die naturally or are euthanized every year in this country," she said. "So yes, the country can definitely absorb 60,000 more."
But she laments the spectacular amount of money and time that has been put into solving the issue.
"Our politics is out of control. I found it obscene and vulgar the money that was spent on both sides of this issue for 60,000 horse carcasses. Why fight so hard to keep this practice going?" she wondered.
"The biggest lobbying firms have been spending billions of dollars on this issue," Derek said. "It's so crazy."
Even though she has dealt with the rigors of Washington and Sacramento for over two decades, Derek still remains positive for the future of America's horses because she's seen what happens when people take action.
"The one thing I did find while I was working in Washington is that when people write their congressman it really does make a difference," she said.
"I've had congressman call me and say, 'Bo, please tell them to stop with the phone calls. Ok, you have our vote,'" she adds.
Derek believes that the best way to end the slaughter of American horses for food is to bombard their congressmen's office with phone calls and emails. "Seen it happen many times and it works," Derek said.
Horses in our Hands has been ramping up its efforts to get the SAFE Act passed by asking people like you call and write your representatives in Washington to get them to pass the bill.
Since this past May, they have managed to have 112,000 supporter letters submitted to members of the U.S. House and Senate via the organization's website.
Click here to send a letter to Congress asking them to pass the SAFE Act to end horse slaughter.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."