Tag: Past campaigns

• In a letter to the Canadian Senate, 30+ Canadian celebrities, 20+ veterinary and animal welfare experts, and more than a dozen animal advocacy organizations have called for an end to the cruel export of live horses abroad for slaughter.
• Bill C-355, which would ban the cruel practice, got through the House of Commons but has been stalled in the Senate since May.
• Recent investigations and Japanese government data show the suffering far exceeds what the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) claims.  
• While the Senate delays action, horses continue to suffer and die as shipments continue.
• TAKE ACTION: Use the quick action tool below to send a message to Canadian Senators in your province, urging them to move forward with bill C-355 without further delay.

Join Canadian celebrities, experts and advocates in urging the Senate to stop the deadly delay.

Canadian icon and multi-platinum artist Jann Arden, along with a host of celebrity signatories including Bryan Adams, Chantal Kreviazuk, Elisha Cuthbert and Queen’s Brian May have penned a letter imploring Canada’s Senate to move forward with Bill C-355, the Prohibition of the Export of Horses by Air for Slaughter Act. The letter (which can be found here) also has strong support from the Canadian acting community, including stars in shows like Star Trek: Discovery, The Handmaid’s Tale, Workin’ Moms, and Heartland.

More than 20 veterinary and animal welfare experts, and more than a dozen animal advocacy organizations have also signed the letter urging senators to study and pass this lifesaving bill, which was passed by the House of Commons in May.

“Since 2006, tens of thousands of terrified horses have been crammed into shoddy wooden crates and flown 8,000 km to their demise, enduring turbulence, thirst and hunger, and abject fear,” said Jann Arden. “To say this practice is inhumane would be an understatement. Canadians want this to end.”

Bill C-355 was introduced last September by federal MP Tim Louis to end the abhorrent practice of shipping horses from Canada overseas to Japan for slaughter. The Bill is being delayed by a handful of Senators and has seen little progress in the Senate since May. The clock is ticking – if the bill is to become law it must pass before the next federal election.

Tens of thousands of Canadians have called and written to Senators, urging them to study and pass the bill. Yet as the legislation remains in limbo, these shipments continue to be sent overseas for slaughter, with horses enduring gruelling journeys. Most shipments appear to go over the legal limit of 28 hours without food, water, and rest.

Shipments continue despite the revelations uncovered through recent investigations by Animal Justice and Japan-based Life Investigation Agency. Based on Government of Japan records, between June 2023 and May 2024 alone, at least 21 horses exported for slaughter died during transport or in the hours and days shortly thereafter.

More than 50 others were injured or became seriously ill during this time. None of these injuries, illnesses, or deaths were reported to Canadian officials.

Bill C-355 reflects a promise made to Canadians during the last federal election, and enjoys broad public support across the political spectrum. With a pending election expected in 2025, Ms. Arden and the letter’s numerous other signatories are gravely concerned about the Senate’s delay in studying and ultimately passing this crucial legislation.

Cover photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is looking for public feedback on proposed guidelines for how plant-based egg products can be labelled. 
• While the intention is to prevent false or misleading advertising of plant-based products, research shows that consumers find labelling of eggs from chickens confusing.
• TAKE ACTION: Your input is needed to help advocate for fair and transparent labelling standards among all egg products in Canada. Share your feedback in a quick email before the consultation deadline of October 28^th. 

Chicken egg product labelling is confusing and misleading  

A 2024 survey prepared by Bryant Research found that consumers are confused and misled by chicken egg labels and packaging.

Terms such as free-range, free-run, cage-free and enriched colony housing have no legal definitions. These terms, along with marketing tactics such as labels with images of happy hens frolicking in the grass, are misleading when compared to the on-farm conditions and methods of production.  

Egg product labelling should include welfare information and method of production 

Research shows that a majority of Canadian consumers think about animal welfare when deciding what eggs to purchase. The majority are willing to spend more when they believe the hens’ welfare is higher.  

Consumers and advocates are increasingly calling for in-store egg labelling that includes animal welfare and method of production (e.g. caged vs. cage-free) information.  

Fairness in labelling for ALL egg products 

Guidelines for plant-based egg labelling must be fair and not put plant-based products at a disadvantage to animal-based products. Efforts to prevent misleading advertising and improve transparency must apply to ALL egg products.  

10 minute survey

Have more time? You can learn more about the proposed guidance on plant-based egg labelling and submit your feedback via the online feedback questionnaire, which includes more questions.  

Update: The online questionnaire is now closed. Thank you to all who participated.

• The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Chicken and Turkey Code of Practice, which serves as a guideline for on-farm care and handling of birds raised for meat, is coming up for review for the first time since 2016.  
• A short public survey will help determine the top priorities for the code review. 
• The current code allows for many inhumane practices that compromise the welfare of chickens and turkeys in the poultry industry.   
• In 2023, more than 780 million chickens were raised and killed for meat in Canada, representing the vast majority of animals farmed for food nationwide. 

TAKE ACTION: Take the 5-minute survey to speak up for hundreds of millions of individual animals. 

Top welfare priorities

Overcrowding 

Lower the stocking density of birds on poultry farms and provide them with more space to move freely and exhibit natural behaviors. 

Overcrowding in chicken and turkey farms in Canada presents significant welfare and health concerns for the birds. Intensive farming practices, driven by the demand for low-cost poultry, often result in large numbers of birds confined to limited spaces.

For example, the average chicken farm in Canada houses 36,000 birds.

This high-density environment can lead to increased stress, aggressive behaviours, and the spread of diseases, which may necessitate the use of antibiotics and other interventions.

Furthermore, overcrowding compromises the birds’ ability to engage in natural behaviors, such as movement and foraging. This impacts their overall well-being. 

Fast-growing breeds 

Prohibit fast-growing breeds, in favour of higher-welfare breeds that grow more naturally. 

Breeding practices have led to fast-growing chicken and turkey breeds that amount to higher profits for producers but come at significant health and welfare costs for the birds. In 1950, it took 84 days for a chicken raised for meat to reach market weight. Today it takes 38 to 40 days.

The accelerated growth has been linked to skeletal deformities, heart problems, and reduced mobility, as these birds may struggle to support their own weight.  

Barren on-farm environments 

Improve on-farm conditions by requiring:

• access to outdoors;
• enrichment opportunities and materials, such as perches, pecking and foraging materials;
• natural light and darkness; and healthy air quality and litter.   

Intensive farming practices have increasingly led to chickens and turkeys being housed in barren barns, without access to natural light, outdoors, and enrichment opportunities that allow them to engage in important natural behaviours, such as perching, pecking, and foraging. They spend much of their short lives surrounded by their own waste, contributing to unhealthy conditions. 

Painful procedures 

Prohibit painful physical procedures, including beak and toe “trimming” and snood removal.

Common physical procedures on poultry farms, including beak and toe “trimming” and snood (fleshy area on a turkey’s beak) removal, are done to prevent feather pecking and other injuries in flocks. These invasive procedures are performed without pain control, which can lead to chronic pain and stress. 

Feather pecking and other injuries are often a result of intensive farming practices, including overcrowding, barren environments and lack of enrichment opportunities that allow birds to engage in natural behaviours.

• The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Equine Code of Practice serves as a guideline for the on-farm care and handling of horses raised in Canada, including horses used for rodeos, racing, and slaughter. 
• The code of practice is up for review for the first time since 2013 and NFACC is seeking public input on what issues to consider when reviewing and updating the code.
• The current code allows for aversive handling practices that cause stress and fear to horses.
• Note that the code does not include transport, such as the live export of horses for slaughter; it only includes on-farm practices and deciding if individual horses are fit for transport.

Photo: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

Top welfare priorities

Aversive handling & training 

Prohibit aversive handling, training methods and tools that involve the use of fear, pain or stress to make horses perform an activity or behaviour. 

Many modern training practices are still largely based on historical methods that rely heavily on punishment. While horses may appear “calm”, they are often experiencing learned helplessness. This condition occurs when the horse experiences a painful or negative situation repeatedly and is unable to escape or change the outcome. This results in a negative mental state for the horse. 

Environment & enrichment 

Improve requirements to ensure access to appropriate space, shelter, and dry, clean pen conditions. 

This is important in preventing lameness and other health issues.

Improve requirements to ensure opportunities to forage, turnout/free pasture time, and socialize.

This is crucial for reducing stress and stereotypic behaviour.

Health & lameness

Require that pin firing (thermocautery) not be performed.

Pin firing is a painful procedure that involves burning or freezing the skin and tissue of the affected leg. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) opposes the practice as it “is ineffective and is inconsistent with evidence-based medicine”.

Photos: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media

• The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Beef Cattle Code of Practice serves as a guideline for the care and handling of cows raised in Canada’s beef industry. 
• The code of practice is up for review for the first time since 2013 and NFACC is seeking public input on what issues to consider when reviewing and updating the code.
• The current code allows for many inhumane practices that compromise the welfare of cattle in the beef industry.  

Top welfare priorities

Fear and stress

Chronic fear and stress throughout an animal’s life, as a result of harsh handling, on-farm procedures, separation of the cow and calf, etc., is a serious animal welfare and health concern. Stronger requirements around staff training and oversight (e.g. video monitoring, third party audits) are needed.

Painful procedures

Require pain medications for all painful procedures, regardless of the animal’s age.

Enrichment

Require enrichment opportunities that allow cattle to express natural behaviours, including foraging, exercise, social behaviour, and grooming. 

Weaning

Require a more gradual, natural weaning process for cows and calves to reduce stress.

Barren environments

Feedlots often lack appropriate space, grazing access, and shelter. Poor feedlot conditions are a serious health and welfare concern and can lead to lameness and disease.

Nutrition

Abrupt changes from a pasture diet to an unnatural high grain-based diet can cause serious digestive and nutritional issues.

Your voice makes a difference.

When the Dairy Cattle Code of Practice was updated, it received a record-setting 5,800+ comments! The strong public response during the public consultation prompted stronger restrictions around abusive handling, changes to housing models, and a ban on branding.

Now, cattle in the beef industry need your help too. Thank you for speaking up for farmed animals!

Photos: Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

• 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.