This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,626 advocates who used the quick action to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help farmed animals, including an action calling for widespread changes to protect animals raised and slaughtered for human use in the agriculture system.
B.C. slaughterhouse with connections to previous cruelty case under investigation
Last night, Animal Justice released horrific footage of animal cruelty at Meadow Valley Meats, a slaughterhouse in Pitt Meadows that promotes itself as “local” and its meat products as “ethical”. This footage shows suffering of the worst kind and demonstrates a clear violation of provincial and federal slaughter regulations.
Quick action: Email the B.C. Minister of Agriculture
Use the quick email tool below to call for meaningful changes for farmed animals in B.C., including:
Proactive enforcement of the Meat Inspection Regulation, which governs provincial slaughterhouses, including appropriate deterrents to prevent animal cruelty and including unannounced inspections;
Publicly-available reports of independent, third-party audits, including consistent video surveillance monitoring for real transparency; and
Effective penalties for industry stakeholders who are found guilty of animal cruelty.
Tip: Personalize your message to make it more impactful! The template below is editable, so feel free to share more about why this issue is important to you.
Live outside of Canada? You can email the Minister at: AF.Minister@gov.bc.ca
This action has now ended.
4,626 people used this tool to call for changes in slaughterhouses. Thank you for taking action.
Next step: Sign the federal action from Animal Justice
Take action to call for improvements to federal regulations around farmed animal care and slaughter in Canada. This quick action from Animal Justice calls on the federal Minister of Agriculture to introduce mandatory video surveillance in slaughterhouses.
Note: This link will take you to the quick action. Scrolling up on the linked page will reveal graphic images of animal suffering.
Not the first time Meadow Valley Meats has been in trouble
Meadow Valley Meats is a B.C.-based slaughterhouse company. According to their website, they are the largest B.C. processor of beef, veal, lambs and goats. This footage does not show an isolated incident, but further evidence of systemic problems in the animal agriculture industry from a major local company.
Media reports that the company, formerly called Pitt Meadows Meats, pled guilty in 2015 to selling E. Coli-tainted meat and after the plant manager knowingly decided not to recall the tainted meat. Meadow Valley Meats also lists Jeff and Ken Kooyman as directors. The two men have connections to the infamous 2014 Chilliwack Cattle Sales dairy cruelty case. That investigation revealed staff repeatedly kicking and punching cows, hitting them with canes and ripping out their tail hair. Video footage also showed a cow being lifted by a chain around her neck using a tractor. The company was fined the maximum amount and had to pay $258,700.
These horrific cases reflect what animal advocates have long argued – that there are serious, systemic animal welfare issues across the animal agriculture industry. It also highlights that court-mandated fines are not enough to change the behaviour of the industry and protect animals.
Meadow Valley Meats is responsible for the following brands, many of which are marketed as local, humane, or family farms.
Image: Meadow Valley Meats website
Regulations around animal slaughter
Meadow Valley Meats is regulated by the Provincial Meat Inspection Regulation, which requires that animals are kept & slaughtered “in accordance with the requirements relating to the humane treatment of animals” set forth by the federal government.
The animal agriculture industry and regulating bodies tout requirements of “humane slaughter” to build public trust; but sadly, this claim doesn’t translate to good welfare for animals.
Help raise awareness: watch & share the footage
Content warning: This footage released by Animal Justice to CTV News depicts horrific animal suffering in a slaughterhouse.
The investigation highlights numerous issues at the slaughterhouse, including:
Cows, sheep and goats being forcefully hit, kicked and thrown to the ground;
Frightened animals crowded together in hallways and panicked attempts to escape;
Cruel use of an electric prod on the face of cows;
Improper slaughter techniques, with animals being improperly stunned to render them unconscious before slaughter;
Still conscious animals having their necks cut;
A sheep that appears injured or sick and unable to walk is dragged from a pen to the slaughter area.
Every few weeks, shipments of gentle draft horses are packed three or four to a crate and loaded onto planes for the long, stressful journey overseas for slaughter.
Horses shipped for slaughter can go 28 hours without food, water, or rest; they can fall during takeoff or landing; and receiving countries have no obligation to report back to Canada on the conditions of horses once they arrive. Organizations and advocates both here in Canada and abroad have shared opposition to live horse export, import, and slaughter. To tell us more about the live horse export industry, the VHS is honoured to welcome a leader in this advocacy work, Sinikka Crosland.
Executive Director of the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Sinikka is the Executive Director of The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, a registered non-profit society dedicated to the protection of horses since 2004.
Note: Horse meat is eaten in Canada and various countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. While today’s discussion mentions Japan as the main importer of live horses from Canada, we want to focus on Canada’s role in this issue and share how we can end our contribution to the pain and suffering of animals. This written discussion has been edited for length.
Chantelle: This month we’ll be discussing the live horse export industry and the work being done to stop it. Organizations and advocates both here in Canada and abroad have shared opposition to live horse exports, imports, and slaughter.
To tell us more about this industry and share about the welfare concerns for these horses, we’re honored to welcome leader on the Canadian side of this advocacy work, Sinikka Crosland. Sinikka is the Executive Director of the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition, a registered nonprofit society dedicated to the protection of horses since 2004.
Sinikka, thank you so much for being here today.
Sinikka: Thank you for having me.
Amy: Can you share about your history advocating for horses?
Sinikka: Sure; it can go back a long way, back to childhood. I loved horses and all animals.
I remember being in grade four, and I loved to write. I would write horse stories every day and hand them in to my teacher.
And then finally she said to me, “Can you please not write any horse stories for the whole month of April? Write other things. I love your writing.”
And so it was hard to do, but that’s exactly what I did. I then devoted my month of April to writing about dogs and cats and foxes and cows and pigs and everything else.
So then back to May 1st, I started writing about horses again. I was one of those little kids who just had a fascination for horses. I love all animals. Horses are not my favorite animal by any means because I love them all.
So then from childhood, on it went. When I had started a family already, I got into horse rescue. And this was through a neighborhood group when we lived in West Bank, B.C. We got involved in rescuing horses there and being involved in some other rescues at the time.
And then the PMU (pregnant mare urine) industry came along, where pregnant mares are hooked up to urine collecting devices, collecting estrogen for postmenopausal women.
The foals are the byproduct of that industry. So we discovered that there are a lot of foals out there on the market. We started to go to auctions bid against the meat buyers, and we’d find homes for the foals.
That industry kind of tanked after a while. It’s still out there, but it’s not as prevalent. But there are lots and lots of horses out there needing homes; and I just carried on working on that level.
And so eventually, Canadian Horse Defense Coalition was formed in about 2004. We became a registered nonprofit and things grew to a national level, with even celebrity involvement in recent years.
Amy: That’s amazing.
Chantelle: Yeah. That’s really amazing and we’re really grateful for you to be sharing your expertise today, and I’m sure our audience is as well.
What is the live horse export industry?
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Chantelle: When we talk about the live horse export industry, this is a part of the animal use industry that sort of dwells in the shadows. I think a lot of Canadians aren’t aware that this goes on. Could you give a little bit of background for folks who don’t know what the live horse export industry is and how it works?
Sinikka: The live horse export industry is the process of shipping young draft horses, about between one and a half to three years old, to Japan for slaughter for human consumption.
If people don’t know what draft horses are, the Belgians and Percherons are 16 to 17 hands high, which is somewhere around 64 to 68 inches at the shoulder, and they weigh up to 2000 pounds. So these are big horses.
Canada sends these horses for a delicacy called basashi, which is like a horse sushi, sliced thinly, often served with garlic and soy sauce and served in high-end restaurants. These are very expensive dishes for people to buy.
Chantelle: Thanks so much for that background.
Where do horses shipped for slaughter come from?
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Chantelle: A lot of people think of horses as companion animals, so hearing that horses are being raised and shipped for food can be confusing when folks first hear about it.
Could you help clear up some of that confusion and talk about how horses come to be in this industry?
Sinikka: The horses are basically purpose bred for this industry. There are only a handful of breeders/feedlot operators who do this business in Canada.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency website says that the horses must originate in Canada. But through access to information, we found out that has changed. So horses from the United States can now cross the border if they have been raised for this purpose and come across to Canada to be shipped from here.
It’s something certainly that our American allies would be interested in hearing about too, that their horses are also coming up to Canada to then be shipped for slaughter.
Amy: I’m curious, does the US have laws about the horses being shipped or is it just a convenience thing that they’re coming into Canada to be shipped?
Sinikka: Right now in the United States, there is no domestic horse slaughter going on. But the feedlot operators down there are quite happy to ship them across the border to Canada and even to Mexico for slaughter elsewhere.
Horses suffer when shipped on long journeys to slaughter
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Amy: What are some of the welfare concerns for these horses who are being shipped for slaughter?
Sinikka: The welfare concerns are many.
It starts with the feed lot, the way that they’re born onto the feed lot.
If something goes wrong and a horse needs veterinary care, farrier care with bad hooves and that type of thing, basically in a feedlot, it’s nonexistent. These problems that can happen are often ignored.
There’s no weather protection in many feed lots, so foals that are born in the winter or early spring can freeze to death.
So you have the feedlot problems and you’ve got the transport problems. Now we’re looking at long distance transport from the United States. That’s another problem where horses are crammed into trucks and shipped from the United States.
And then once they get here, they come to a quarantine feedlot in Canada where horses are kept in pre-export isolation for 45 days. The horses from the United States have to be kept an additional six months. The feedlot situation, as I’ve mentioned, is horrible, and that’s extra time that they must be kept in that situation.
So then at the end of that time that they’re the pre-export isolation, they’re taken to be transported to one of three airports in Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg is where they’re flown out.
There they are put into small wooden crates. They can often stand for a long time on the tarmac waiting for the crates to be ready to be put onto the plane. Three to four large draft horses are crammed into a single crate.
There’s often a problem with headroom because these are tall horses. Their heads can come in contact with the netting at the top. And this is totally a violation of the Health of Animals regulations that their heads come into contact with, with the netting at the top.
So then they have this journey, which can take anywhere from 10 to 13, 14 hours. They can’t lie down, but they do sometimes fall down. And then you have a downed horse in a crate with other horses.
There’s no way of anyone being able to help a horse in distress. You can imagine if you have 30 crates in an aircraft, usually what they send is between 90 and 120 horses per shipment. So there you have them all crammed in there, and how can they be helped?
There have been horses that have been dead on arrival or wounded, injured, that type of thing.
They reach Japan, they’re unloaded at that end, and they still have the journey to the feedlot at that point. Right now in Canada, the regulation is 28 hours they’re allowed to go without food, water, and rest. And that’s from the beginning when they leave the feedlot here to the time that they arrive.
28 hours is a long time, but if there are any delays—which we have seen through access of information that there have been delays—then that period of time can go beyond 30 or more hours.
The other issue is once they arrive, we have no jurisdiction over there anymore. They’re at the mercy of the laws and policies at the other end
Amy: It sounds like there’s a number of aspects of their welfare that get compromised throughout that whole process.
Next steps to end the live horse export industry
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Amy: The federal government committed to ending this industry and their campaign platform and the Prime Minister’s mandate letter to the Minister of Agriculture that was sent in December 2021. So what would you like to see as the next steps to end this industry?
Sinikka: I would really like to see the Prime Minister put pressure on the agriculture Minister to do as he ordered. It’s not a case of, “Here, have a look at this and see what you think about it.” It’s, “I want you to end this,” and yet there has been nothing but delay after delay. The excuses just go on and on. It appears to me that this is a low priority for them.
I would like to see more pressure put on the government. This can come a variety of ways, through more public awareness, more media involvement.
Now that we know there’s a connection to the United States horses coming from there, it would be very handy to have American media cover this and put pressure on the Canadian government.
How you can help horses
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
Chantelle: Something we always ask is what steps the folks listening at home can take to help.
Right now, we know there’s a really important window of opportunity to take action on this issue. Could you share with listeners how folks at home can advocate for an end to the live horse export industry?
Sinikka: There are quite a few things that people can do. Right now there’s an active petition, Petition E-4190, sponsored by MP Alistair MacGregor and initiated by singer, songwriter, animal lover, Jann Arden.
If people go to horseshit.ca, it’s her website and she’s working hard to raise awareness. There are steps that people can take there: they can write to their MP; they can sign that petition.
People can talk to their MPs too, they can make appointments to go in and visit with their MPs, or write them letters, or phone them up. Tell them that this was a promise that this industry should be stopped.
They can write letters to editors of their local papers. This is a way of letting people in the community know who may not even have heard of this industry, and who will hear about it and be quite appalled by it. That would be a way of encouraging other people to go to Jann’s website and find out how to sign the petition.
And with all this pressure being put on the government, we can see that that would really help.
Chantelle: Yeah, absolutely. This is a really important opportunity to make a change right now for animals who are suffering and to advocate directly to your decision makers. So thank you so much for sharing that information Sinikka.
And as we’ve mentioned before, a shift toward plant-based foods is needed worldwide to decrease the demand for industrial animal agriculture. So you can make a difference standing up for animals every time you sit down to choose a meal.
Chantelle: As always, we know this is a really heavy topic for folks listening, but it’s so valuable for people to learn and share about it so that we can all work together and make a difference for these animals. Thank you so much for being here with us today, Sinikka.
Sinikka: You’re very welcome. I appreciate being here and spreading the word.
Chantelle: We really appreciate having you, and for those of you listening, we hope you’ll join us next month as we wrap up our series on animal cruelty with a discussion on how all these laws we’ve been talking about are enforced. We’ll see you next time.
It’s the holiday season, and many celebrations at this time of year focus on food!
More and more people are adding compassion to their festive meals by opting out of animal-based products and ingredients. In this special episode of The Informed Animal Ally, the Vancouver Humane Society’s Amy Morris and Chantelle Archambault discuss their experiences adapting to the holidays after going vegan.
Note: This written discussion has been edited for length.
Chantelle: It’s the holiday season, so we wanted to talk about our experience adapting to the holidays after going vegan and maybe inspire others who are thinking of trying a plant-based holiday for the first time, or who are thinking of new plant-based ways of celebrating.
So let’s jump right in. How was your experience adapting to the holidays after going vegan?
Amy: Making my own food or if I have a holiday where I’m just spending it with vegan friends, that’s easy.
But the times that I first encountered holidays with extended family were pretty tricky to navigate. I really had to think through what my strategy was going to be in advance.
The first thing that I did was to set some clear expectations with my close family to say, it’s important for me to have food available for me at this event, and I really want to appreciate that food. So there’s different ways to do that. Essentially, I’m happy to go to the grocery store and buy things for myself, and this was at someone else’s house, so prepare my own food either before and bring it over or, or if there’s space for me to prepare it at the house.
And by doing that, I think I really set myself up for success because I wasn’t depending on others to accommodate my needs.
It also created the space for them to offer up to prepare some dishes that I could eat.
I’ve seen that play out a few different ways. At one holiday celebration, there was a meal that got provided for me, and it was very interesting because essentially I was expected to eat it and take it home with me because that’s how much my family was not interested in even thinking about a plant-based diet.
I think that speaks to the adaptation that can be required, but also the importance of opening it up to conversation.
Sharing the love
Chantelle: Absolutely.
I was actually really fortunate. I think my experience is a little bit different because I have not spent any holidays with extended family since going vegan, so it’s been pretty insular for me. My immediate family is very accommodating, which I’m really lucky about.
I think the best part for me has been, bringing my baked goods and being able to share them. People were very welcoming about it, even if they were hesitant at first.
Amy: I love that. I definitely have done that as well.
With another family that I spent holidays with, the approach that I took was, I will make dishes to share. I brought all the ingredients over, or in some cases, prepared some things in advance, so there were two types of stuffing.
And what was nice about that is everyone was sort of motivated by the idea of there being like novelty and different things to try, and so everyone was willing to try the dishes that I brought.
I think that was a good testament to the fact that plant-based eating can be a transition for people. Making dishes that you know, you know are going to be tasty and sharing that is a really nice way to have people start to shift the way they think about what plant-based food tastes like.
Chantelle: Yeah, absolutely. And plant-based stuffing is delicious.
Amy: Oh yes. In terms of what I put into it, I like to use a good bread, like a vegan sourdough or whole grain, then mix that up with sweet potato and some potato and carrots, lots of herbs and rosemary, you can put cranberries in it and things like that.
It almost comes out like a roast.
Chantelle: That sounds so lovely. It has that holiday feel and it speaks to how much our celebrations tend to revolve around food and how much this is an opportunity to share our own plant-based recipes with others who are vegan and are also not vegan and thinking of adding more plant-based foods into their diets.
What’s your favorite plant-based holiday treat?
Amy: I’ve experimented so much with a lot of different things. I think the foods that I have a lot of fun making are things that maybe you would traditionally put dairy in.
Making something like a pumpkin pie is so much tastier than even a store-bought one that would maybe have dairy, and serving it with coconut whipped cream made with a whipped cream dispenser. The novelty of the experience as well of having really fresh coconut whipped cream makes the pumpkin pie that much more delicious.
Chantelle: That sounds fantastic. Coconut whipped cream is also amazing.
Amy: How about yourself?
Chantelle: I really liked adapting my childhood recipes to be plant-based.
When I was younger, we used to make Sweet Marie bars, which are rice crisp cereal, peanut butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and I’ve now replaced the butter with vegan margarine and put a plant-based chocolate on top. And that is so delicious.
I also make chocolate coconut macaroons. They’re so good.
For me it’s about finding those nostalgic flavors, and adapting them has been actually super easy. I wrote an article for our PlantUniversity platform about replacing animal-based ingredients with plant-based ingredients in a way that is very simple and sustainable.
Amy: What advice would you give to someone having their first vegan holiday?
Chantelle: I would say find plant-based versions of the foods you already love.
There are more and more products available to find those plant-based versions of foods you love.
If you’re cooking homemade, it’s so much easier. So for instance, that stuffing you made sounds incredible. You can make roast veggies. There’s so many versions of a seitan roast online that you can find and incorporate those nostalgic flavors.
I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I think the best part is that you can also celebrate what you’re gaining; you’re adding all this love and care and compassion into your meal.
Amy: I think there’s so much that gets complicated around holidays. I know that when we talk about holiday, it looks very different for every person. You might be spending it alone. You might be spending it with a huge group of people.
I would say overall, be kind to yourself, set reasonable expectations so that you don’t get stressed out or frustrated.
Focus on what experience you want to have. If you want to be spending time making food and en enjoying making food, do that. And you know, whether it’s you eating it or you sharing it, have it be that the experience itself is part of the joy. Maybe trying a new recipe or adapting one.
On the other hand, if it’s stressful to try to think about all of that, and maybe even like, you know, you feel you’re missing some of the dishes that you’re going to be surrounded by, find some kind of treat or something like that, that makes you feel good. That way you can still have that feeling of celebration in your own way.
Bill C-355 to ban the export of live horses for slaughter passed its final vote in the House of Commons. Thank you for taking action for horses! Ask Senate to support the bill without further delay here.
It’s been one year since the Prime Minister issued a mandate for the federal Minister of Agriculture to ban the live export of horses for slaughter. Since then, approximately 2,000 horses have been shipped on lengthy and stressful transport journeys abroad, destined for slaughter.
Speak up for horses: Support the recent federal e-petition calling for a ban by sending a message to decision-makers.
UPDATE – October 22, 2024: Day of action for horses
Bill C-355, which aims to ban the inhumane export of live horses for slaughter overseas, passed at the House of Commons. However, the bill has been stalled in the Senate since May. Advocates and organizations across the country are calling on Canadian Senators to stop the deadly delay and pass Bill C-355. Learn more by reading the opinion piece from the VHS and Animal Justice and take action by contacting Senators directly.
UPDATE – September 19, 2023: Private member’s bill introduced
Private member’s bill C-355 was introduced in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Tim Louis, aiming to ban the controversial practice of exporting live horses from Canada for slaughter abroad. This bill, along with the Senate bill introduced in June, presents a crucial opportunity for the federal government to follow through on their promise to ban live horse export for slaughter once and for all. Send the new email urging decision-makers to support this urgent change and save thousands of horses’ lives!
Singer-songwriter and animal advocate Jann Arden and Senator Pierre Dalphond have announced the introduction of the Horse Protection Act, a Senate bill which proposes to ban the export of live horses for slaughter. MP Tim Louis also plans to introduce a private Member’s bill in the House of Commons this fall to ban the practice. Thank you to everyone who advocated for an end to cruel live horse exports, including more than 36,000 Canadians who signed the federal petition!
Update – March 29, 2023: Federal Minister of Agriculture responds to e-petition
The federal Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau, responded to the petition that calls for a ban on the live export of horses for slaughter. The Minister’s statement notes that they “remain committed to ban the export of live horses for slaughter, as communicated in the Minister’s mandate letter” and that the government is engaging in stakeholder consultation and “exploring the legal and policy framework for a ban on live horse exports for slaughter.”
The VHS and other animal protection organizations continue to advocate for a ban to be implemented as soon as possible. Each month that action is delayed, hundreds of horses continue to suffer through long, stressful overseas journeys without food, water, or rest.
Update – February 17, 2023: Letter from animal protection organizations highlights egregious suffering
A letter signed by nine animal protection organizations across Canada highlights the egregious suffering of horses sent on overseas journeys and urges the federal Minister of Agriculture to quickly end the cruel live horse export industry. Read an excerpt from the letter below:
Since the 2021 election, more than 2,000 horses have been exported from Canada to Japan for slaughter. Some of these horses were shipped out of Winnipeg on December 12, 2022. Because of flight delays, the horses were in transport without food, water, and rest for well over 28 hours. By the time they left Winnipeg at 9:18am that day, they had already been in transit without food, water, and rest for approximately 16.5 hours and there was no way that the 28 hour limit would be met if they continued on to Japan. Yet those involved proceeded with the shipment. Further delays in Seattle resulted in an even longer journey.So arduous were the conditions that at least three horses collapsed during the trip.
Read the full letter from Animal Justice Canada, the Winnipeg Humane Society, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, Manitoba Animal Save, the Vancouver Humane Society, Animal Save Movement, Humane Canada, World Animal Protection, and the BC SPCA.
Update – February 13, 2023: Federal e-petition has been presented in the House of Commons
A federal parliamentary e-petition, led by Jann Arden and sponsored by MP Alistair MacGregor, calls on the Minister of Agriculture to follow through on the federal government’s promise to end live horse export for slaughter.
Petition e-4190 to help protect horses from suffering through long, stressful journeys to slaughter closed February 7, 2023. The petition has been presented to the House of Commons and is awaiting response. Please stay tuned for updates.
Action: Contact your MP and federal decision-makers
Use the email template below to send a personalized message to your Member of Parliament, the federal Minister of Agriculture and the Prime Minister, asking them to act to end the export of live horses for slaughter.
Note: If you live outside of Canada and want to take action, you can email the Prime Minister at: PM@pm.gc.ca and the Minister of Agriculture at: aafc.minister-ministre.aac@agr.gc.ca
This action has now ended.
6,771 people used this tool to call for a ban on the export of live horses for slaughter. Thank you for taking action.
Most Canadians would be surprised to learn that Canada is one of the top exporters of live horses for slaughter. Every year, approximately 3,000-5,000 live draft horses are loaded onto planes, packed tightly with 3-4 horses per crate, and flown abroad where they will be slaughtered for meat.
Horses’ journeys to slaughter are long and stressful
Horses can be transported for up to 28 hours without access to food, water or rest.
As sensitive prey animals with strong fight or flight instincts, this journey can be incredibly stressful.
Deaths and injuries have occurred, including one known incident of damage to an aircraft, which led to an emergency landing and the death of the horse involved.
There is also no obligation for countries on the receiving end to report back to Canada about the condition of the horses upon arrival.
Canadians are calling for change
Polling shows that a majority of Canadians are opposed to the practice of exporting live horses for slaughter.
The VHS supports organizations including the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition and advocates, like singer-songwriter Jann Arden, who have long been calling for an end to live horse export for slaughter. In Spring 2021, the VHS signed a group letter calling on the federal government to end the practice.
A federal parliamentary e-petition garnered more than 77,000 public signatures in support of a ban, making it one of the most popular animal-related federal petitions on record.
Despite promises, horses continue to suffer due to government inaction
In December 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed the Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau, to ban the live export of horses for slaughter. One year later, horses continue to be shipped to their death as a result of government inaction.
Can you help protect horses from suffering through long journeys to slaughter?
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 771 advocates who used the quick action to tell decision-makers why plant-forward food policy is important to them. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help farmed animals.
The government’s public questionnaire, intended to inform Canada’s national school food policy, fails to mention plant-based food.
The federal government was seeking public input until December 16th, 2022 via an online questionnaire on the future of a national school food policy. The goal was toexpand school food programs across Canada to better provide healthy meals to children.
The questionnaire failed to mention anything about a shift to plant-based foods—a shocking misalignment with the government’s own food guide and climate targets.
A new national school food policy presents an important opportunity to align government policies and practices with the type of food system change that experts are urgently calling for.
Use the quick email tool to call on the federal government to ensure that a national school food policy reflects a much-needed shift toward a more sustainable, humane and healthy food system which prioritizes culturally-appropriate plant-based food consumption.
Tip:Personalize your message to make it more impactful! The template below is editable, so feel free to share more about why this issue is important to you.
Are you a parent/guardian of a school-aged child? Are you a student? Have you experienced food insecurity? Do you work in schools or have expertise in a relevant field?
Consider adding your unique perspective into the first sentence of the template. Example: “As a Canadian resident and a guardian of a school-aged child…”
This action has now ended.
771 people used this tool to share why plant-forward food policy is important to them. Thank you for taking action.
The public questionnaire is now closed as of December 16th, 2022. To provide additional input on other elements of a national school food policy, please use the quick email tool above.
Ready to join the plant-forward movement?
Call on the federal government to ensure that plant-based food is a policy priority.
This action has now ended. Thank you to the 4,381 advocates who used the quick action to call for meaningful actions for farmed animals. Please see the Current Campaigns page for more ways you can help farmed animals.
The Ministry of Agriculture will be doing a review of the farmed animal welfare framework between now and spring 2023, confirms a recent article in the Country Life in BC agricultural newspaper. The Vancouver Humane Society reached out to the Ministry calling for true public transparency on farms and changes that would make a meaningful difference in the lives of the millions of sentient animals raised for food in this province.
Read the Vancouver Humane Society’s open letter to the Ministry of Agriculture:
Oct. 26, 2022
Dear Minister Popham and the Ministry of Agriculture,
We are writing in reference to the article published in Country Life in BC (October 2022, vol. 108 no. 10) confirming that the Ministry will be doing a review of the farmed animal welfare framework between now and spring 2023. We are grateful that the Ministry of Agriculture is actively taking action to consider the lives of farmed animals.
The Vancouver Humane Society represents 36,800 supporters who are concerned about the state of animal welfare for farmed animals in British Columbia. Over the past 10 years, undercover footage filmed on farms raising cows for milk, cattle for beef, pigs for meat, chickens for meat, and hens for eggs, has demonstrated that these animals are in a dire state. From being plucked bare, legs being pulled off, animals being actively abused, stereotypical behaviour like bar-biting, untreated wounds, trampled animals, and inhumane euthanasia methods, animals are not given the consideration they deserve as sentient beings.
Since the publishing of Animal Machines by Ruth Harrison in 1964, there have been disturbingly few changes to address the suffering of farmed animals. Minister Popham, you previously advocated for animals and ending their suffering when serving as the opposition party. The Ministry of Agriculture has the unique ability to significantly reduce the suffering of millions of animals each year by introducing measures that ensure true public transparency. A focus on ‘public trust’, while making no measurable changes to the suffering of animals, is unconscionable, and yet has been the primary approach of the Ministry of Agriculture to date.
We ask for the Ministry of Agriculture to conduct a thorough review which considers the importance of transparency, specifically, one that recognizes the importance of conducting consistent farm audits and making publicly available the findings of the audits. This is the only mechanism that could ensure that there is transparency that results in meaningful outcomes for the animals affected. The Vancouver Humane Society also asks to be included in all stakeholder consultation related to the farmed animal review as an animal protection agency with a British Columbia focus that exists outside of the role of enforcement.
Thank you for your serious consideration of the suffering experienced by sentient farmed animals and of our request to be included as a stakeholder in the review process,
Amy Morris Executive Director
More than 3,000 animal supporters have called on the Ministry of Agriculture to introduce greater protections for farmed animals, including third-party audits and video surveillance on farms. Will you join us? Learn more about the ongoing campaign below.
Help protect farmed animals
In December 2021, the VHS launched a campaign calling for greater protections for farmed animals in B.C. To date,more than 2,200 animal supporters have used the quick action tool to contact the Ministry of Agriculture calling for:
Government-mandated and proactively-enforced compliance with the National Farm Animal Care Council Codes of Practice
Publicly-available reports of independent, third party audits on farms
Consistent video surveillance monitoring on farms
Emergency planning to protect farmed animals in disasters
Please join us in calling on B.C.’s Premier and the Minister of Agriculture to take these important actions to better protect farmed animals from cruelty and suffering.
This action has now ended.
4,381 people used this tool to call for meaningful actions for farmed animals. Thank you for taking action.
Municipal elections are coming up. Will you cast your vote for a kinder world for animals?
On October 15th, municipalities in B.C. will hold their elections of local government and school boards. The weeks leading up to this election are the perfect opportunity to advocate for better protections for animals!
Candidates for mayor and council are listening to the concerns of residents and laying out their platform. By writing to the candidates and asking questions in local debates, you can:
Let the incoming local government know that animal welfare is a priority for residents
Find out where candidates stand on protecting animals
Help to build a community that is kinder to all species by helping to elect animal-friendly candidates
Get updates and alerts about local elections in B.C.
This action has now ended.
Thank you to everyone who signed up for updates and who advocated for animal protection during the election. The VHS will continue to work with successful candidates to build a kinder community for all species who live here.
Contact your local candidates to express your support for animal-friendly policies
Let your candidates know that animal protection is a priority to the residents they hope to represent. Below is an email template you can copy and customize when you reach out to your candidates by phone, email, or social media.
I am writing regarding your local election campaign. As a resident, I would like to express my support for bylaws and practices that consider the welfare of animals and the many people in our community who care for them.
I encourage you to support policies that protect the well-being of animals, including:
- Supporting pet-friendly affordable housing
- Reducing animal-based food purchasing
- Supporting an end to the use of animals in entertainment
- Ending the keeping of wild and exotic animals who suffer in captivity
I would be interested to hear about your platform commitments related to animal protection. Please reach out if you can provide any details about how you will support kindness toward all species if elected.
Thank you.
Tip: To find your local candidates, visit your municipality’s website or search for “[Your municipality’s name] local election 2022”. You can find the list of candidates in Vancouver here.
Attend local debates and ask questions.
Wild and exotic animals (animals not native to B.C.) kept in captivity have complex needs that aren’t being met in cages and tanks and that are crucial for their physical and mental well-being.
Asking questions at mayoral debates and other local events helps you to learn where candidates stand on animal protection issues, and lets candidates know that animal welfare is a priority of residents.
Below are some suggested questions covering a range of municipal policies.
Animals in captivity
Wild, exotic animals have unique needs that cannot be met in captivity. If elected, will you support ending the keeping of wild and exotic animals in permanent captivity for the sake of entertainment and education, in favour of genuine rescue, rehab and release programs and wildlife conservation efforts?
Currently, provincial Controlled Alien Species legislation only restricts the private keeping of certain animal species, while many animals that are not suitable for captivity fall through the gaps. For instance, provincial laws do not prohibit the private keeping of zebras. Municipalities have the power to introduce positive lists, which proactively only allow animals that are evidenced to be a suitable fit for domestic environments. Would you support a positive pet list approach?
Animals in Entertainment
As we learn more about animal welfare, more people are opposing the use of animals in entertainment such as rodeos and sled dog tourism. If elected, will you support ending the use of animals for entertainment purposes in favour of animal and family-friendly events?
The presence of horse-drawn vehicles in urban areas poses a risk to horses, pedestrians, and drivers. Montreal has already banned horse-drawn carriages. If elected, would you support a move away from horse-drawn vehicles?
Farmed Animals
Municipalities take a stance on dietary choices when they purchase food for meetings, events, and concessions, or offer food-related funding. The City of Vancouver has already committed to exploring a 20% shift toward plant-based foods, which will help to decrease emissions, cut food purchasing costs, and save animal lives. Would you support a similar commitment to increase plant-based food purchasing?
Companion animals
British Columbia is experiencing a housing crisis, and many people with pets are finding it extremely difficult to find affordable housing. If elected, will you support ending the “no pets” rental policies?
During the flooding crisis in late 2021, many families with pets were left without adequate accommodation options. Would you support emergency planning that considers animals, including companion animals?
Wildlife
There are significant gaps in provincial legislation around rodent poison use, as many animal protection and wildlife rescue organizations have pointed out. Would you support a full ban on dangerous rodenticides being used on municipal property?
Vote on or before October 15
Your vote counts! You can use yours to speak up for animals on voting day or at advance polls. You can find details about advance polling dates, voting locations, and candidates on your municipality’s website.
Sunday night on the cold tarmac of Winnipeg Airport, a gentle horse stood in a crate, waiting to be loaded onto an airplane. The horse had no name; he and the thousands of horses like him who are shipped out of Canada each year are known only by their identification numbers. He was one of more than 100 horses loaded onto a flight destined for Japan, headed an ocean away to be slaughtered for human consumption.
The flight took off 361 days after Prime Minister Trudeau directed the minister of agriculture to ban the live export of horses for slaughter in a mandate letter on December 16, 2021.
It has now been exactly a year since that letter was sent. Since then, no action has been taken, and the bodies of horses destined for slaughter have continued to pile up.
BREAKING: Another shipment of horses was just sent from Winnipeg to Japan for slaughter 💔
It’s impossible to know exactly what happened to the horse without a name – the Government of Canada has no jurisdiction over foreign slaughter practices after animals touch down in another country, out of the sight and mind of the many Canadians who consider them to be beloved companions. But we have a general idea of what happened to the horses on his flight.
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
The journey from a Canadian feedlot where horses are raised to their final destination overseas can take up to 28 hours; a full day in which they are deprived of food, water, and rest. It’s common for three or four horses to make the journey cramped together in a single wooden crate, with their ears poking through the top slats.
Before 2020, regulations dictated that horses must be shipped in their own crates with adequate head clearance. After the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC) took the Minister of Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to court over illegal breaches of transport regulations, the minister acted swiftly – not by changing the practices to meet animal welfare standards, but by changing the law to fit inhumane conditions.
“It is not acceptable to compromise horse welfare in favour of industry interests,” said CHDC President Sinikka Crosland. “Neither should the law be manipulated in order to meet those interests.”
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
On noisy airplanes, these gentle herd animals with a strong fight or flight instinct go through a long journey of fear and stress. Some fall down upon takeoff or landing. A 2014 incident report indicated that a horse, who appeared agitated during loading, fell during takeoff and remained down during the flight. The horse thrashed and kicked through the crate, damaging the airplane and forcing an emergency landing. After landing, the horse was found dead in the crate, next to two other horses.
With last year’s mandate letter, our government acknowledged the need to put an end to the live export of horses for slaughter. Yet around 2,000 horses have been exported since the federal minister of agriculture was directed to end the practice.
Every month that the Ministry of Agriculture shirks the commitment outlined in its mandate letter, more horses suffer needlessly.
Thousands of Canadians have joined the movement, headed by advocates like the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition and Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden, calling for an end to the long and stressful transport journeys of horses being shipped to slaughter. With the recent launch of a new federal petition calling for the minister to finally end live horse export for slaughter, there is no doubt that many more voices will join the cry for justice.
Petition e-3961 is now closed. Please keep an eye on the VHS website for updates. Thank you for supporting transparency for farmed animals.
Animals suffer in slaughterhouses.
Animals in slaughterhouses face stress, fear, and pain, often after suffering through long transport journeys. Year after year, stories have emerged of horrific suffering in slaughterhouses; and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has limited resources to monitor facilities across Canada.
This is why the Vancouver Humane Society, five other animal protection organizations, and the citizens of Canada are supporting a new official federal government petition to introduce video surveillance in federally regulated slaughterhouses. Surveillance would help to:
Address the most egregious cruelty farmed animals face at the end of their short lives
Improve compliance with cruelty laws
Provide transparency to Canadians who consume animal products about where their food comes from
Industrial animal agriculture has been called the biggest animal welfare crisis on the planet, with more than 70 billion land animals killed for food each year.
The Sentience Institute estimates that 74% of farmed animals are currently on factory farms, which are characterized by large numbers of animals confined in cramped, barren and unnatural conditions. This episode of the Vancouver Humane Society’s podcast, The Informed Animal Ally, explores the practices and laws that impact the suffering of these animals throughout their lives.
The Canadian Criminal Code may apply to farmed animals—they include an offense for wilfully killing, maiming, wounding, poisoning animals—but only if there is no lawful excuse.
The National Farm Animal Care Council’s Codes of Practice outline the minimum generally accepted practices of animal management; practices within the codes would be considered a “lawful excuse” for causing suffering. In British Columbia, the Codes are incorporated into law as a means of defense for farmers even in cases when there is evidence of animal suffering.
Many practices we would consider essential to the welfare of animals are labelled in the Codes as “recommended practices” and not requirements. Even where there are requirements that help to protect welfare, there is no use of the codes for proactive enforcement by government.
Generally accepted practices can cause acute pain and prolonged suffering. For instance, the chicks of egg-laying hens are met with practices that cause immense suffering or death soon after birth.
Male chicks born from egg-laying hens are considered a byproduct because they do not grow as quickly as chickens bred for meat; they can be killed by being sent down a conveyor belt into a macerator, gassed, or suffocated in plastic bags.
Female chicks are prepared to be raised for egg-laying by being debeaked; the tip of the top part of their beak is cut off with a hot blade or laser without anesthetic. This mutilation is done to prevent hens from pecking each other and themselves in stressful close quarters rather than giving the hens more space and freedom.
This is just one of many examples of animals receiving a punishment or painful prevention for an undesired behaviour, rather than addressing the poor conditions that cause the behaviour.
You can learn more about generally accepted practices on farms by registering for free at the Animal Justice Academy and watching The State of Animals Used in the Food Industry: In-Depth with Geoff Regier.
Transportation
The Health of Animals Act regulates animal import and export, including transportation times.
There are very few farms with on-site slaughter facilities, which means most farmed animals must be transported before they are slaughtered.
The transport of animals is regulated federally by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), but the loading of the animals is considered provincial jurisdiction.
Allowed loading practices can cause serious harm to animals, as was evidenced in graphic footage captured on a B.C. egg farm. When animals arrive at the slaughter facility gravely injured or dead, no one is held accountable. Instead, the suffering can be deemed accidental because Codes of Practice were followed and CFIA veterinarians can deem it outside their jurisdiction because the harm happened before transport.
In February 2020, new transport requirements came into effect. Unfortunately, these laws had a negligible impact on the well-being of animals. The new regulations still lag behind other nations. Animals can be transported for long periods without food, water, or rest; they often arrive at slaughter facilities severely dehydrated, unable to stand, and surrounded by their own waste.
Slaughter
Even animals such as dairy cows and egg-laying hens, who are primarily used for the milk and eggs they produce while alive, are slaughtered at the end of their lives.
Slaughter is regulated federally through the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. Though the federal government website claims to require “humane slaughter of food animals”, in reality animals are typically already stressed entering the facility and the slaughterhouse causes further fear and distress.
Laws require that animals are rendered unconscious before being bled. The methods through which this is done have varying degrees of effectiveness and varying degrees of pain. For instance, the gassing often used to render pigs unconscious causes distress. Lori Marino, a neuroscientist and expert in animal behaviour and intelligence, says that “Pigs are at least as cognitively aware as a monkey,” and that their squeals in the slaughterhouse are “distress calls”.
A study published in 2017 found that slaughterhouse workers—often vulnerable migrant workers—experience higher levels of stress than the general population.
Auction of farmed animals
Auctions of farmed animals are typically regulated by the provincial animal cruelty laws; however, there is not usually anyone monitoring them.
Often, there are animals sold at auction who are not in good condition.
Auctions themselves are scary and overwhelming for farmed animals, as they are unfamiliar, loud, and involve a lot of uncomfortable and often cruel handling. Similarly to all other situations with little oversight, animal suffering is the norm.
Labelling of animal products
Very few terms used in the labelling of animal products are actually regulated.
All labels for animal meats where an animal production claim is made such as “organic”, “vegetable grain fed – no animal by-products” or “raised without antibiotics” must be registered with the CFIA.
“Nature” and “natural” are terms often misused on labels and in advertisements and have no meaning for animal well-being. “Organic” means that it follows the Canadian Organic Standards, which still allow painful procedures. However, advertising can be carefully written; is an animal raised by organic methods, or are they only fed an organic feed?
Terms that are not regulated include “grass-fed”, “grass-finished”, “free range”, and “free run”. Hens can be very crowded in barns of 25,000 that are free-range or free-run.
Subliminal messaging and imagery such as the use of the colour green, images of leaves and open pastures, and positive words such as “happy” can also influence the way consumers perceive the welfare of the animals. These are purely marketing tactics and do not reflect the state of the farms.
When it comes to nutrition claims, there are restrictions. However, many of the claims that are on animal products are not on plant products. For example, even though fruits and vegetables can give you much of the nutrition we require in our diets, there are often no labels on them at all because it isn’t legally required.
What you can do
If everyone on earth ate the average Canadian diet, we would need 1.3 earths for agricultural land alone. That huge demand is driving intensive agriculture to try to maximize the food output in the smallest possible space, leading to the most serious welfare concerns.
The best way to reduce the demand for animal agriculture is to start transitioning our consumption to more plant-based foods.
Every level of government and many other institutions like schools and businesses have climate commitments right now, and an important part of meeting those goals would be a shift away from animal agriculture and toward plant-forward policies and legislation.
For instance, the Canadian government currently subsidizes the private animal agriculture industry with millions of taxpayer dollars. Funding that currently props up the animal agriculture industry could be used to invest in sustainable plant-based agriculture and emerging technologies like lab-grown meat.
Governments can also help by improving animal protection laws to immediately address industrial animal agriculture, which produces more greenhouse gas emissions and uses intensive methods with some of the greatest animal welfare concerns.
If you’re interested in spreading the message about eating a plant-based diet, or if you’re thinking of trying more plant-based foods yourself, you can find recipes and tips on Vancouver Humane Society’s PlantUniversityplatform.
Ag-gag laws
Ag-gag laws are anti-whistlerblower laws that apply within the agriculture industry. They can differ between provinces. They aim to prohibit the taking and sharing of footage of farm animal suffering, under the guise of biosecurity. However, ag-gag laws don’t have to be in place for law enforcement agencies to recommend charges against people who take undercover footage, or go onto farms for the sole purpose of exposing animal cruelty. Charges like “trespassing” and “mischief” are applied even when there are no ag-gag laws in place. A number of cases have been going to court in recent years.
To read industry’s perspective on these laws, check out this articlefrom Canadian Poultry or this article from the Canadian Hog Journal.
To read animal advocates perspectives in more detail, you can read this article from the Animal Protection Party or this article from Animal Justice.
Right now, in B.C., 3 animal activists are facing charges for exposing suffering on a farm in Abbotsford, called the Excelsior 4.
