Animal welfare groups and celebrities continue to call for the passing of Bill C-355 to end the export of live horses for slaughter. This month Liona Boyd, five-time Juno Award-winning classical guitarist, composer, and member of the Order of Canada, is teaming up with Humane Society International/Canada, along with other advocacy groups, to urge the government to pass this crucial legislation that would ban the inhumane air shipment of live horses to Japan for slaughter.
Although the prorogation of Parliament puts the bill at risk of expiring, lawmakers still have the power to act swiftly and spare the lives of countless horses. (Bills that die during a pause of Parliament must be reintroduced once Parliament resumes.)
“Just this week, yet another shipment of horses doomed to slaughter was sent to Japan,” Boyd, who will be inducted as a member of Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2025, said in a statement. “As a proud Canadian who loves horses and strongly opposes animal abuse, I cannot stand by while this bill stalls. I am urging the Canadian government to put aside party politics and take immediate action to pass this bill to ensure the kind of suffering documented in this cruel and senseless transport is ended for good. Canadians deserve a government that respects public will, and we want this cruelty stopped now.”