MONTREAL — The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Montreal has denounced the export of live horses to Japan for human consumption, a practice that should have been banned by the federal government.

According to the organization, more than 40,000 of these horses have been transported into the country since 2013, often without water, feed or rest for hours.

In a letter to ministers, the SPCA called on Canadians to support the campaign calling on the Canadian government to honor its commitment to ban the transport of horses by cargo plane. By the end of January, more than 2,000 people had supported the campaign.

“It has been more than a year since the Prime Minister ordered the Minister to ban the export of horses abroad. (…) We want to remind the Liberal government and minister of their promise and ask for accountability for the lack of a ban to date,” said Erin Martellani, animal welfare coordinator, in an interview with compassion education at the Montreal SPCA.

A petition signed by more than 36,000 people was tabled in the House of Commons on February 7 by British Columbia’s NDP MP Alistair MacGregor. The federal government must officially respond by the end of March.

“Several animal protection organizations have come together to put pressure on the government. The goal is to bombard MPs and encourage Quebecers, who are largely unaware, to come forward and speak out,” adds the coordinator.

A mandate that is still pending

In December 2021, the Prime Minister of Canada gave the Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau, a mandate to ban the practice, but since then more than 2,000 horses have been exported by plane.

“It is unacceptable that they did not analyze the problem and the issue before the campaign pledge. They made a commitment to Canadians in their platform without doing their duty and without checking if it’s possible,” laments Erin Martellani.

Contacted via email, Minister Bibeau said her team is still working to honor this commitment.

“As part of the process to ban the export of live horses for slaughter, we are currently discussing with key stakeholders and evaluating different approaches to determine the best course of action. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency continues to enforce relevant regulations to ensure horses are fit for transport and transported in a humane manner,” the statement, obtained in January, said.

“Unacceptable” conditions for horses

According to the Montreal SPCA, travel between Canadian feedlots and Japanese locations typically takes more than 24 hours – the law allows up to 28 hours travel.

“Perhaps the regulations are being enforced at the moment because the law has changed, but the delay is seen as unacceptable. (…) After 24 hours, there is a risk of serious dehydration, which also predisposes them to intestinal colic,” explains Ms. Martellani.

The organization also denounces that the horses are stacked “three or four per box” and “regardless of their compatibility”.

“It’s just impossible to assess the tolerance of horses when dozens are arriving and being boxed up quickly. If they were identified to find out if they were compatible, maybe the argument would hold, but they get haphazardly stacked,” she argues.

As prey animals with a strong instinct to flee, horses are also “left for hours on the runway at airports” and are exposed to considerable stress from noise and unfamiliar stimuli.

“A noisy airport runway must be terrible for them. (…) These horses only lived in fattening areas and were therefore not used to being transported like racehorses,” the coordinator continued.

For its part, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ensured that its veterinary inspectors were present at every air shipment of horses to certify the export under the Health of Animals Act.

She argues that the 28-hour maximum is “based on extensive consultation and review of the scientific literature” and that the majority of export shipments are direct flights from Calgary, which take between 10 and 12 hours.

“CFIA inspectors are working diligently to enforce the Animal Health Act and Animal Health Regulations and to ensure horses are transportable and transported humanely. In addition, the requirements of the Live Animals Regulation for containers and stocking density must be met,” the agency said via email.

The CFIA also said that of the approximately 41,000 horses exported to Japan since 2013, only five had died.

“There have been no in-flight fatalities since the animal health rules were updated in February 2020. The last in-flight fatality of a horse exported to Japan occurred in 2014,” the statement said.

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This article was produced with financial support from the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.