Disturbing New Report on Horse Slaughter Transport

As the Canadian Senate holds the fate of Bill C-355 in their hands, which seeks a total ban on live export of horses oversees for slaughter, new documents released by an animal welfare group show that as many as 21 horses perished during or after been shipped from a Canadian airport to Japan. Adding to the disturbing factor of this report is that each of these 21 horses died between May 2023 and June 2024.

This is in stark contrast to what the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) told the House of Commons as recently as February that the agency only knew about five horses dying in the live horse shipping for slaughter trade since 2013.

According to the CBC, the Japan-based animal rights group Life Investigation Agency (LIA) got their hands on documents from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Animal Quarantine Service, which is the agency in charge of importing live animals.

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“I believe it is extremely high,” LIA director Ren Yabuki told CBC News in reference to the number of horse mortalities. “In addition to deaths, many horses were noted to be in serious condition, including having diarrhea and fever. The harsh condition under which the horses were transported is clear. What was most surprising was that pregnant horses were also transported. I was shocked to learn that some of them had miscarriages or died after arriving in Japan.”

The Canadian animal welfare group Animal Justice wrote a report based on the LIA documents called Flight to Fatality which includes disturbing details of the deaths. For example, during a flight from the Edmonton airport to Japan, a trip that took 29.6 hours, two horses perished. One died from dehydration, the second from heat stroke.

In another horrific incident in January, three horses died from “physical compression” after falling on the journey. Other horses have died from pneumonia, miscarriage, bleeding colitis and other causes that create nothing but pain and suffering.

The same report also shows that an astounding 65.4% of these flights exceed the legal time limit for animal welfare.

The issue of shipping live horses for slaughter for human consumption has been in the news for years as horse advocates and animal welfare groups lobby for a total ban. And it has gained some traction as public support has grown.

Many horses have died in the unimaginably cruel shipping conditions from pneumonia, miscarriages, bleeding colitis, fever, dehydration, heat stroke, or just by being crushed to death. (Canadian Horse Defence Coalition photo)

In a 2019 Nano poll, two-thirds of Canadians oppose to the slaughter and export of horses for human consumption. Nearly seven in ten Canadians say they would support stopping the slaughtering of horses in Canada for human consumption rather than continue the policy.

The cause also has some high-profile support including beloved Canadian singer/writer/actor Jann Arden, who has put herself on the front lines of the issue.

Earlier this year we reported on the passing of Bill C-355 by the House of Commons in January. But now the fate of these horses rests with the Senate.

“Swift approval of Bill C-355 by the Senate is urged by CHDC and members of the horse community. Particularly in view of new information showing that many live horse shipments exceed the legal limit for time without food, water and rest, as well as disturbing evidence of horse illnesses, injuries and deaths related to the flights, it makes sense that enactment of this crucial bill now looms as an animal welfare priority,” said Canadian Horse Defence Coalition president Sinikka Crosland in a statement to Horse-Canada.

Given the political system in this country, there is no time frame for the Senate to pass the bill. “But we are hoping that with public awareness and lobbying, the Senate will push to get this through ‒ particularly before an election is called,” adds Crosland. “In the event of an election call, all bills before the government basically collapse and we would be back to square one. So ‒ very important for the Senate to make this a priority.”

In a statement provided to Horse-Canada from Humane Society International Canada, campaign manager Ewa Demianowicz remarked, “The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s apparent underreporting of these deaths and serious injuries signals either gross incompetence (through failure to communicate with airlines and partner authorities) or deliberate obfuscation of the facts to cover up animal suffering. We are calling on the Canadian government to immediately halt the live exports of horses from Canada by air for slaughter, and urgently pass Bill C-355, which will stop this cruel practice for good.”

If you’d like to do your part to ensure the Senate passes Bill C-355 you can sign this official petition from MP Tim Louis.