Confined in wooden crates, 99 horses were loaded into an airplane's cargo hold at the Edmonton International Airport last month.
The bill calls for a prohibition on the export of horses for slaughter, with fines of up to $250,000 or a two-year jail term for people found guilty of participating in the trade.Horsemeat, described as soft and sweet, is considered taboo to many North American palates but it's no stranger to Canadian kitchens.
Horses are shipped by air from Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg to Japan where they can fetch up to $9,000 each.All went to Japan, at a total value of $19 million.Data collected by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada shows that between January and March of this year, 899 horses were shipped out of the country.
Horses spend, on average, 20 to 22 hours in transit, according to the CFIA. Five deaths in transit have been reported to the agency over the past decade. The mortality rate at all stages of transport is 0.011 per cent, the agency said.Animal welfare advocates filed a legal complaint with the federal government after a December 2022 shipment of live horses from Winnipeg to Japan exceeded the 28-hour limit.
The group has been monitoring the transports for years, gathering records and capturing video footage of the shipments."Often, they're sitting on the tarmac for hours," she said. "They have no food, water or rest."Industry advocates say the sector is an important part of Canada's livestock economy, one that has been unfairly maligned by activists.
For example, loading density regulations enforced by the International Air Transport Association require that horses weighing around 725 kilograms be given 1.7 square metres of space when transported in crates that hold three animals.