A Troubling Trade That Won't Stop
Ottawa and the federal government are once again facing pressure to shut down one of Canada's most controversial agricultural exports: live horses shipped by air to Japan for slaughter. A new investigation by animal rights advocates has found that despite years of public outcry and repeated calls for a ban, horses are still dying, and suffering serious injuries and illness, during these long-haul flights.
The findings are deeply troubling and suggest that little has changed despite increasing scrutiny of the practice in recent years.
What the Investigation Found
According to the investigation, horses are being loaded onto cargo planes and flown thousands of kilometres from Canada to Japan, where they are slaughtered for their meat, a delicacy in parts of Japanese cuisine. The animals often endure extreme stress, cramped conditions, dehydration, and physical injuries during these long flights.
The investigation documents cases of horses arriving at their destination severely ill, injured, or dead. Disturbingly, the report also found that Canadian regulators appear to be largely unaware of the extent of the suffering occurring under their watch, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of federal oversight.
Canada's Role in the Horse Meat Trade
Canada is one of the few developed nations that still permits the live export of horses for slaughter, and the practice has drawn international criticism. Each year, hundreds of horses, many of them former racehorses or animals deemed unfit for other uses, are loaded onto specially configured cargo jets and flown to Japan.
Animal welfare groups argue the journey is inherently cruel. Horses are prey animals that are easily stressed; air transport deprives them of the ability to move freely, socialise, or behave naturally. The risk of injury is high, and there is no way to provide proper veterinary care at 35,000 feet.
Ottawa Under Pressure to Act
For advocates and many ordinary Canadians, the solution is straightforward: ban the shipments entirely. Ottawa has faced sustained lobbying on this issue for years, with petitions, parliamentary debates, and campaigns by groups like the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition.
Canadian residents who care about animal welfare have a direct avenue to push for change: contacting their Members of Parliament and urging the federal government to close the regulatory loophole that permits live horse exports for slaughter. The practice is legal under current rules, but critics argue it violates the spirit, if not the letter, of Canada's animal transport regulations.
So far, the federal response has been slow. Transport Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency share jurisdiction over live animal transport, and advocates say the two agencies have historically pointed fingers at each other rather than taking decisive action.
What Comes Next
The new investigation is expected to reignite debate in Parliament and among the public. Animal rights groups say they plan to bring their findings to federal officials and push for an urgent review of the regulations governing horse transport.
For now, the flights continue, and so does the suffering.
Source: CBC News. Read the original investigation at CBC.ca.
