Article originally published in the Daily Hive.Written by Chantelle Archambault of the Vancouver Humane Society and Kaitlyn Mitchell, a lawyer and director of legal advocacy with Animal Justice.
Animal lovers across Canada came together this week for a day of action to call out the Senate’s delay in passing a bill to end the export of live horses from Canada for slaughter overseas.
The unified message from thousands of individuals from coast to coast to coast on October 22 was that Canadians want to see this heinous practice stop. Senators need to stop horsing around and move forward with Bill C-355, which has passed the House of Commons but has been languishing in the Senate with little progress since May.
Hope was in sight last September when Liberal MP Tim Louis introduced Bill C-355. The private member’s bill follows the federal Liberals’ campaign promise during the 2021 election to finally ban the controversial practice of shipping horses on stressful journeys to slaughter – a promise reiterated by the prime minister in his mandate letter to the Minister of Agriculture that December.
But since then, more than 6,000 horses have been loaded onto airplanes and shipped to their deaths in a horrific betrayal – betrayal of the trust of many voters who considered animal welfare a priority in their election day decision; betrayal of the gentle and sensitive animals whom many people consider to be close companions; and betrayal of the compassionate values of most Canadians. In fact, recent polling shows only 22% of Canadians are in support of the live horse export industry continuing.
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
For more than a decade, animal protection groups and the Canadian public have been raising the alarm about the long and gruelling journey horses endure when they are sent from Canadian feedlots to Japan for slaughter. These sensitive animals with strong fight-or-flight instincts are carted to airports in Edmonton and Winnipeg in the dead of night, as far from the public eye as possible. They are packed in wooden crates, typically with three or four horses in a single crate, regardless of their social compatibility. They can wait for hours on the noisy tarmac before being loaded onto planes.
Legally, horses can go up to 28 hours without food, water, or rest on these stressful overseas trips. Two new exposés by Animal Justice and Japanese animal advocacy group Life Investigation Agency (LIA) show that the suffering these horses endure is far worse than previously imagined and completely at odds with claims made by industry representatives. The industry regularly violates Canadian transport laws with impunity.
Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition
In the first exposé, released this past June, the groups documented how long it takes for horses to be given access to food, water, and an opportunity to rest after they land in Japan. Contrary to industry and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) claims, the horses did not arrive at the quarantine feedlots until up to six and a half hours after landing. This suggests that all shipments from Winnipeg, and approximately 60% of those from Edmonton, likely go over the 28-hour legal limit. The groups’ footage also showed horses routinely sprayed with harsh disinfectant chemicals as they arrived at the quarantine facility. The horses are so dehydrated that some try to lick the painful chemicals off the nets of the transport truck.
For the first time, the same shipments of Canadian horses being sent to Japan for slaughter have been documented leaving Canada & landing overseas. Animal Justice is releasing new groundbreaking footage of these harrowing journeys, breaking the 28-hour legal time limit for travel. Take action: https://bit.ly/4bkINJn
And it’s not just transport times that have been lowballed. The group’s second exposé, released last month, revealed Government of Japan records showing that the number of horse deaths, illnesses, and injuries associated with export far exceeds what Canadian regulators have previously indicated.
Between May 2023 and June 2024 alone, at least 21 horses shipped from Canada died during transport to Japan or in the hours and days after landing. More than 50 more animals sustained injuries and illnesses. Horses exported for slaughter are dying prolonged and painful deaths caused by dehydration, severe injuries sustained by falling on the flights, and even agonizing miscarriages.
Official documents from Japan reveal that MANY Canadian horses are dying from being flown overseas for slaughter. There are far more deaths & injuries than are being reported to the Canadian government-including deaths from stress, dehydration, & miscarriages 🐴💔 Take action now to BAN this cruelty: https://bit.ly/3Zm5UAR
The truth about the horse export industry has come out, and it is an ugly truth.
Given the horrific realities faced by horses shipped for slaughter, it’s no wonder that the government’s deadly delay weighs so heavily on the hearts of Canadians. Now that Bill C-355 has passed the House of Commons, the fate of thousands of horses is in the hands of the Senate – an institution notorious for delaying private members’ bills. With the next federal election looming and partisan showmanship in the political spotlight, now is the time for Senators to heed the will of Canadians before it’s too late.
Newly released access to information documents from the Japanese government show at least 21 horses died during or in the days after being flown from Canada for slaughter in Japan between May 2023 and June 2024. That contradicts information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
New reports obtained by animal advocacy groups in Japan reveal 21 horses died after export from Canada for slaughter – far more than reports from Canadian regulators indicate.
“Newly released access to information documents from the Japanese government show at least 21 horses died during or in the days after being flown from Canada for slaughter in Japan between May 2023 and June 2024. “
“That contradicts information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, suggesting serious incidents are not being reported to the regulator. In February, a CFIA representative told a House of Commons committee the agency is aware of only five horse deaths related to air shipments since 2013.”
For the first time, the same shipments of Canadian horses being sent to Japan for slaughter have been documented leaving Canada & landing overseas. Animal Justice is releasing new groundbreaking footage of these harrowing journeys, breaking the 28-hour legal time limit for travel. Take action: https://bit.ly/4bkINJn
This is the second time this year that Canadian regulators have been found underreporting the severity of horse suffering during transport. In June, Animal Justice released an exposé which revealed the gruelling journeys of horses exported from Canada for slaughter regularly exceed legal limits.
For the first time, the same shipments of Canadian horses being sent to Japan for slaughter have been documented leaving Canada & landing overseas. Animal Justice is releasing new groundbreaking footage of these harrowing journeys, breaking the 28-hour legal time limit for travel. Take action: https://bit.ly/4bkINJn
The Vancouver Humane Society has signed onto an open letter to Canadian decision-makers after a new exposé reveals the horrific hidden journeys of horses exported for slaughter.
The CFIA allows horses to go a gruelling 28 hours without food, water, or rest when being transported. However, Canadian officials only track the journey until horses land on foreign soil. In reality, horses spend hours on the other side of the ocean painfully hungry, thirsty, and exhausted before reaching their destination. Time spent in transit regularly exceeds the 28 hour legal limit.
Videos also reveal horses sprayed with harsh disinfectant chemicals when they reach a quarantine facility. The horses are so dehydrated that some try to lick the painful chemicals off the nets of the transport truck.
You can read more about the investigation and open letter in the CBC.
Bill C-355 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.
Each month, gentle draft horses are packed into crowded crates and shipped on cargo planes from Canadian airports to be slaughtered for meat.
Horses can legally go up to 28 hours without food, water, or rest.
Flights have resulted in injuries and death.
Bill C-355, which aims to ban the export of horses for slaughter, recently passed the Agriculture Committee and will move to its final vote in the House of Commons before going to the Senate.
Take action to ban the live horse export industry
TIP: For added impact, edit the template message below to personalize your email to decision-makers. See the Learn More section for additional talking points.
Learn more
Horses are suffering in Canada’s cruel live horse export industry, and Canadians are demanding change.
In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed the Minister of Agriculture to ban the live export of horses for slaughter. Finally, in 2023, two bills were introduced to end the inhumane practice.
One of those bills, Bill C-355, has now passed the Agriculture Committee and will move onto its third and final reading and vote at the House of Commons.
Although only 22% of Canadians agree with the live export of horses, 43% of MPs voted NO to banning the practice at the bill’s previous reading. It is vital that we ensure decision-makers know that the well-being of horses is a priority for Canadians.
See how your MP voted previously and use the quick action on this page to ask your MP to vote YES to Bill C-355!
In what’s believed to be a first in relation to farmed animals, a court has given animal welfare advocates the green light to privately prosecute a live-horse exporter in Manitoba after three horses collapsed during a trip that exceeded the 28-hour maximum journey without food, water, or rest.
“We have so few laws on the books to protect these horses,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy with the non-profit group Animal Justice.
“The least that we can do is to make sure that what few laws we do have are actually enforced. Otherwise, what good are they?”
Bill C-355 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.
Members of Parliament recently voted in support of sending Bill C-355 to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee for further review (181 yes-137 no). See how your MP voted!
This bill aims to end Canada’s highly controversial practice of shipping live horses overseas for slaughter. Your action is needed to support this bill as it moves through the legislative process. Call on the Agriculture Committee and your Member of Parliament to support Bill C-355 and end live horse export for slaughter once and for all!
TIP: For added impact, edit the template message below to personalize your email to decision-makers. See the Learn More section for additional talking points.
Learn more
Many Canadians would be surprised to learn that Canada is one of the top exporters of live horses for slaughter. Every year, thousands of 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 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.
In December 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed the Minister of Agriculture to ban the live export of horses for slaughter. Still, horses continue to be shipped to their death as a result of government inaction.
Finally, in 2023, two new bills were introduced that aim to end the controversial practice of exporting live horses from Canada for slaughter abroad. Senate Bill S-270, the Horse Protection Act, was introduced by Senator Pierre Dalphond and singer-songwriter Jann Arden, while private member’s bill C-355 was introduced in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Tim Louis.
Bill C-355 has since been voted on by Members of Parliament (MP) to be sent to the next stage, which involves further study by the House of Commons Agriculture Committee. Find out how your MP voted on the bill at the second reading stage.
Can you call on the Agriculture Committee and your Member of Parliament to support Bill C-355 and end live horse export for slaughter.
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.
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.
