Stop the Slaughter of Horses For Human Consumption In Canada

My brother John owned a horse for many years, Salem's Choice. She was stabled on a riding farm about an hour north of Toronto. Linda and I were living in Northern Ontario at the time, but I would occasionally go riding with him when we came south.

I would usually get a gentle old mare, to ride. John and Salem would go galloping off along the trail while I bounced along behind them, hanging on to my horse for dear life.

That was my main brush with horses, beyond a little group trail riding with friends in my teens. Still I hold an affection for horses and fond memories.

So it came as a shock to read the recent reports in the Canadian media of how we treat our horses at the end of their lives, their inhumane slaughter for human consumption. A practice banned in the United States but big business here in Canada.

According to a Toronto Star report--Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, representing an animal rights group, is calling for an all-out ban on the slaughter of horses for human consumption in Canada – a practice that has increased here since it was stopped in the United States.

Ruby called the slaughter of horses in Canada "shockingly inhumane" and said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency does not properly police such slaughter for human consumption and it should be banned.

At a news conference at Ruby's offices, representatives of the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition showed a graphic video which it says shows horses being slaughtered at Natural Valley Farms in Neudorf, Sask.

The organization says the video demonstrates violations of Canada's food inspection act including: the transportation of animals on double-decker trailers; horses transported with their horseshoes on and not separated for their own protection; the transportation of horses across the U.S./Canadian border and unloaded at night without supervision.

The group also said the video showed evidence of the transportation of injured, blind and emaciated horses (including a horse with a tumour on its face and another with eye cancer) as well as the transportation of a very pregnant mare and the discovery of a full-term foal in a rendering pit that had been eviscerated by animals.

The group also alleges that the horses are not being provided food or water as they wait overnight in pens, are too densely packed and are being improperly stunned before they are killed.

This year alone, at seven federally licensed facilities, an estimated 102,000 horses will be slaughtered in Canada for human consumption in Europe and Asia, the organization says.

It wants a total ban on the slaughter of horses for human consumption and, in the meantime, for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to shut down the Neudorf plant to end a "senseless, inhumane slaughter" of horses.

A CFIA official, who didn't want to be identified, said the agency plans a thorough investigation of the plant and will be asking for an "independent external animal welfare expert" to accompany agency officials during their investigation.

A spokesperson for Natural Valley Farms said the company was not commenting yesterday.

For those interested there is an on-line petition to end the practice of slaughtering horses for human consumption in Canada which can be reached by clicking on the title of this article.