SIEU SFANTU, Romania (AP) — The name of his farm roughly translates to “Saving horses from a female horse killer with a whip.” But for Simion Craciun, the real predators come from the nearby slaughterhouse.

Costel Mustafa, a butcher at Bucharest's Bucur Obor meat market, sees it as part of a response to the condescending attitude some Western Europeans have towards Romania.

Despite their current beatings, malnutrition, and disheveling, horses were an intrinsic part of agrarian society, plowing fields, trotting country roads and, until recently, trotting alongside car.

In the countryside, farmers have a more real relationship with their animals and take care of them like a car owner. But the cost of between €100 ($135) and €150 ($200) to raise a horse per month – up to 40% of the national average wage – may be too expensive for the self-sufficient farmer. level to be able to pay for them.

Nicu Stoica, an equestrian trainer who owns many horses, said: “Riding horses is expensive and many owners have been forced to give them up, especially since they are banned from the cities. .

Even in a country where horses are a national symbol, such concern for their welfare is rare. During difficult economic times, some Romanians are selling their horses to slaughterhouses because they cannot afford to keep them.

Romanians, who don't normally eat horse meat, insist that other Europeans are unfairly blaming them. In the UK, where horse meat is taboo, consumers have reacted with particular disgust to the scandal.

Mutler reports from Bucharest, Romania.

Bedridden horses and rickety carts were once a common sight even in central Bucharest, with owners sometimes whipping the animals until they collapsed. But as part of an effort to modernize the country after joining the European Union in 2007, Romania banned horses from entering cities, making them a burden for many owners.

“Dude horse!” he said, as he cut a carcass of lamb. “The French just want to smear us. Brother? They are even worse.”

But Craciun agonizes over how horses in Romania are often seen as fit only for slaughter. He said he paid double what the local abattoir offered to get his first horse and now owns 14, eight of which he rescued from the abattoir.

The European horse meat scandal has focused attention on Romania and its network of 35 factories that are authorized to slaughter horses. France says Romanian butchers are part of a supply chain that has resulted in horse meat being labeled as beef in frozen meals across Europe. The Romanians were furious and said the meat was duly declared when it left the country.

Horse exports are on the rise, growing by about 10% between 2011 and 2012, with about 6,300 tonnes of horse, mule and donkey meat being exported. Many horses have been sold by private owners.

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“Never, I would sacrifice a horse,” he said.

When he learned that a horse was being sold to a slaughterhouse in the poor northern Transylvania region where he lived, he rushed to pay more and bring the horse back to his picturesque land, where tourists Schedule to learn to ride a horse. speak.

“When I saw how the farmers whipped them, I went crazy,” says Craciun. “I go to sleep thinking about them. I wake up and think about them.”