In Canada, horses can be raised in feedlots similarly to how food animals like cattle and hogs are raised in the United States. These horses, often Clydesdales and Percherons, are often shipped overseas to Japan, where raw horse meat is considered a delicacy.
Horse welfare advocates in Canada are calling for an end to export of live horses for slaughter, stating that the trip the horses must endure is inhumane in its length (between 20 and 22 hours, though legally the horses can remain in transit for up to 28 hours without food, water, or rest) and space availability; multiple horses are often placed in one crate for the entirety of the trip aboard an airplane.
Canada is one of the leading exporters of horse meat: thousands of horses are raised each year for the sole purpose of being sent overseas to be eaten. Exportation of these horses is a multimillion-dollar industry; more than 85 percent of Canada's horse meat is exported to Belgium, France, Japan, Kazakhstan and Switzerland. In 2022, around 2,600 Canadian horses were exported to Japan for slaughter, fetching $19 million.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is attempting to end the exportation of live horses for slaughter; domestic slaughter would not be affected.
A bill backed by a private member requesting the implementation of such a ban was tabled by Liberal MP Tim Louis in September.
The bill calls for an end to the exportation of horses for slaughter, with fines of up to $250,000 or a two-year jail sentence for people found guilty of exporting live horses for slaughter.
Read more at CBC News.
The post Canada Tries To End Live Export Of Slaughter-Bound Horses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
