Author: Kristin Stone

Each year in Canada, around 700 million farmed animals suffer routine abuses and traumas during their transport to auction and slaughter. These animals experience tremendous psychological and physiological stress as they are transported in cramped, overcrowded, unsanitary conditions and can be subjected to rough handling, beatings and electric shocks; and all this without food, water, rest, or protection from extreme temperatures. Under current laws, these horrific conditions can last up to 72 hours.

As a result, many animals suffer from injuries and disease during their journey, and every year millions of farm animals die before ever reaching their destination. In fact, millions of animals arrive dead at Canadian inspected slaughterhouses each year, and millions more arrive so badly injured that they are unable to even walk. These animals, known as “downers,” can be dragged off transport trucks and into slaughter facilities, despite the Canadian Food Inspection Agency prohibitions on doing so (CFIA is a department of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada that oversees animal transport).

Tell Minister MacAuley to publish new regulations for public comment!

Despite the prevalence of abuse and more than 500,000 truckloads of animals on the road each year, enforcement is inadequate, with too few CFIA inspectors and only spot-check inspections on Canadian highways. The Canadian government is needlessly turning a blind eye to the suffering of hundreds of millions of animals.

What we’re doing

HSI/Canada is fighting to reduce the level of suffering endured by what is perhaps the largest single group of animals — those destined for slaughter for human consumption.

HSI works to share knowledge about humane handling and transport and is part of the Handle with Care campaign, an international coalition calling for an end to the long distance transportation of animals for slaughter all around the globe.

Take action

The regulations concerning the transport of animals to auction and slaughter are woefully outdated. Draft updates to the regulations governing animals in transport have been completed, but Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAuley has yet to publish these new regulations and allow Canadians to comment on their content.

Write to Minister MacAuley and CFIA President George Da Pont and ask them to urgently publish the new regulations for public consultation. 

Learn more

• Read more about animals transported in Canada
• Learn more about how pigs and laying hens are treated in Canada

The European Union lies at the very heart of the global horsemeat trade.

Each year 250,000 horses are killed for their meat in Europe, with many tens of thousands of those horses suffering long-distance transportation to industrialised slaughter plants to feed European consumers.

In order to satisfy the demand, additional hundreds of thousands of kilos of horsemeat is imported into the EU annually from abattoirs in other countries, such as Argentina, Mexico and Canada.

Horse slaughter is not only inhumane, but can also be a health concern due to the possible presence of veterinary drug residues.

Horsemeat consumption in Europe

While there is a lucrative trade in horsemeat in Europe, it is not necessarily consumed in all EU countries to an equal degree, if at all. Horsemeat is, for example, commonly eaten in (parts of) Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, while, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, there has historically been a strong cultural aversion to eating it.

Even in the countries where horsemeat is widely available, not everyone believes that it is acceptable to eat it. A survey conducted by Ipsos MORI in July 2012 [1] found that only 50 per cent of respondents in France, 51 per cent in Belgium and 58 per cent in Italy believed that it was acceptable to eat horses.

The road to hell: Long-distance horse transport in the EU

Each year tens of thousands of horses endure long distance transport within the EU, by road and even by sea, often crammed into vehicles unsuitable for carrying equines.

Journeys can last for several days, and often cross a number of national borders before the horses reach the abattoir.

Not only can horses suffer during transportation, they are also subject to the stress of being unloaded and kept in holding pens, or lairage, at their final destination.

Industrialised slaughter

The European horsemeat industry centres around Italy and Spain with nearly half of all horses slaughtered for meat being killed there. The remainder are slaughtered primarily in Poland, Romania, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Industrial-scale slaughter of horses is highly problematic because horses are flight animals. The panic and instinctive desire to escape they experience in the slaughterhouse causes them to thrash their heads frantically making it difficult to effectively stun them prior to slaughter.

Importing cruelty

What many European horsemeat consumers do not know is that huge quantities of the meat are routinely imported to the EU from the other side of the globe.

In addition to the cruelty associated with horse slaughter, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of such imports, particularly meat derived from horses of US origin which are killed at slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada.

Consumer safety & drug residues

To ensure consumer safety, the EU will only permit the importation of meat products that comply with EU food safety standards. Import regulations for horsemeat require it to be free from veterinary drug residues.

Despite both Canada and Mexico introducing steps to meet EU requirements, HSI believes that growing evidence shows those measures to be fundamentally flawed.

Humane Society International is urging the European Commission to take action to ensure that meat from non-EU origin horses is no longer placed on the EU market.

What we’re doing

HSI Europe is working with our Canada office and the Equine Protection Department of The Humane Society of the United States to stop the slaughter of these beautiful and intelligent animals, reduce the international demand for horsemeat, and raise awareness of the serious health risks that horsemeat contaminated with veterinary pharmaceuticals poses to consumers in Europe and elsewhere.

View our European Voice ad [pdf]
View our plea to Commissioner Borg [pdf]

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1. Ipsos MORI, Attitudes to Horsemeat Consumption, 20th August 2012. Survey in Italy, Belgium and France commissioned by Humane Society International.

In addition to the cruelty associated with horsemeat imported to the European Union, serious concerns have been raised about human health risks in meat derived from horses of non-EU origin, particularly from the United States.

Each year, more than 100,000 horses are shipped across the U.S. border to Canada or Mexico for slaughter at abattoirs that supply the European market.

Veterinary medicines

Unlike in the EU, where all horses are categorised as food-producing animals (irrespective of whether their owners regard them as such), horses in Oceania, North and South America are not raised to be food animals.

As a consequence, horses in countries that supply the European market are routinely treated with veterinary medicines, such as the anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone, which are prohibited for use in food animals because they may pose a risk to human health. There are no legal requirements for owners to record the use of such drugs.

In the EU, however, owners are required to maintain equine passports, detailing treatment with any medicines banned for use in food animals. Passports must accompany horses as they move within a Member State or across national borders and record, where certain drugs have been used, that the animal must be excluded from the food chain.

Although this passport system is not completely watertight, as recent incidents of fraud with equine passports have highlighted, it is an important safeguard. [1]

Excluding veterinary drug residues from the food chain

The EU will only permit the import of meat products that comply with EU food safety standards and slaughterhouses approved for export to the region are subject to audits by the European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). To ensure consumer safety, import requirements for horsemeat [PDF] require it to be free of veterinary drug residues.

Since these EU regulations came into force on 31 July 2010, only horses with a known medicinal treatment history can be slaughtered for export to the EU. However, hundreds of thousands of horses in non-EU countries who have been treated with veterinary pharmaceuticals that are banned for use in food producing animals in the EU, are sent to EU approved slaughterhouses every year. While countries, such as Canada and Mexico, have introduced measures to meet these requirements, official FVO audits [2] continue to conclude that the measures introduced by the Canadian and Mexican authorities are irretrievably flawed. HSI believes that, in the case of horses of non-EU origin, these steps are unworkable because generally no treatment records are kept for horses in these countries.

Lack of medical history

Large numbers of horses are often bought at US auctions by “kill buyers” whose sole intention is to send them directly to slaughter.

There is no requirement for a medical history to be supplied to the new owner; however documents are filled out at the auction for any horse who has been bought by a kill buyers for slaughter at an EU-approved slaughterhouse in Canada or Mexico. These equine identification documents are usually completed by the auction house or kill buyer, individuals who have many times had the horse for 24 hours or less and know nothing about the horse’s lifetime medical treatment history.

This raises real concern about the ease with which potentially unsafe drug residues could enter the human food chain and be exported for sale to EU markets.

Non-EU origin horsemeat off the EU market

Humane Society International is urging the European Commission to take action to ensure that meat from non-EU origin horses is no longer placed on the EU market.

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1. Fraud with equine passports in the EU, for example, has been investigated in the Netherlands. Incidents of fraud are also reported in: European Commission, Directorate of Health and Consumers (2012) Final report of an audit carried out in Belgium from 23 January to 2 February 2012 in order to evaluate the official controls related to slaughter and processing of fresh meat, in particular fresh equine meat DG(SANCO) 2012-6332 – MR FINAL.

2. European Commission, Health and Consumers Directorate-General (2012) Final report of an audit carried out in Canada from 13 to 23 September 2011 in order to evaluate the monitoring of residues and contaminants in live animals and animal products, including controls on veterinary medical products DG(SANCO) 2011-8913 – MR FINAL.

European Commission, Health and Consumers Directorate-General (2011) Final report of an audit carried out in Canada from 23 November to 06 December 2010 in order to evaluate the operation of controls over the production of fresh meat, meat products, minced meat, meat preparations and casings for human consumption destined for import to the European Union under the auspices of the agreement between the European Community and Canada on sanitary measures to protect public health and animal health in respect of trade in live animals and animal products. DG(SANCO) 2010-8522- MR FINAL.

European Commission, Health and Consumers Directorate-General (2011) Final report of a mission carried out in Mexico from 22 November to 03 December 2010 in order to evaluate the operation of controls over the production of fresh horse meat and meat products intended for export to the European Union as well as certification procedures. DG(SANCO) 2010-8524 – MR FINAL.

In addition to the 250,000 horses slaughtered annually for their meat in the European Union, horsemeat is imported to the region, mostly from Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Uruguay and Brazil. Smaller quantities are also imported from Australia and New Zealand. This combined trade results in hundreds of thousands of kilos of horsemeat being produced annually for consumption across the EU.

Levels of consumption

While there is a lucrative trade in horsemeat in Europe [PDF], it is not necessarily consumed in all EU countries to an equal degree, if at all. Horsemeat is, for example, commonly eaten in (parts of) Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, while, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, there has historically been a strong cultural aversion to eating it.

Respondents to a July 2012 survey [1] said they never or only sometimes eat horsemeat, whilst only a very small percentage of those asked said they eat it frequently (3 per cent of Italians, 4 per cent of French and 6 per cent of Belgians).

Even in the countries where the meat is widely available, not everyone believes that it is acceptable to eat horses. The same survey found that only 50 per cent of respondents in France, 51 per cent in Belgium and 58 per cent in Italy believed that it was acceptable to eat horses.

Clearly labelled?

Horsemeat is marketed to consumers in a variety of different ways. It may be sold as fillet steak or stewing meat, but is often processed into other products, such as sausages and smoked ready sliced meats.

Results from a retail investigation into the availability of horsemeat [PDF], undertaken in June 2012 and carried out in Belgium, France and the Netherlands [2], revealed that the meat can also be found as an indistinguishable ingredient in cheap, fast-food meat snacks. So consumers may be completely unaware of the origin of the horsemeat or that they are buying horse at all, due to inadequate labelling.

Call for a moratorium on imports

The majority of European consumers surveyed [1] in Belgium, France and Italy, the biggest EU importers and consumers of horsemeat, support an end to imports of horsemeat from countries whose food safety regulations do not meet EU standards.

The survey showed 84 per cent of Belgians, 73 per cent of French and 85 per cent of Italians, backed such a measure.

The poll also indicated a lack of consumer awareness about horsemeat origins. Most people polled mistakenly assumed that horsemeat sold in their country originates either locally or from elsewhere in Europe. In fact, Europe imports a significant proportion of its horsemeat from abroad.

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1. Ipsos MORI, Attitudes to Horsemeat Consumption, 20th August 2012. Survey in Italy, Belgium and France commissioned by Humane Society International.

2. Retail Investigation into the Sale of Horsemeat [PDF], October 2012. Compiled by Humane Society International.

The European horsemeat industry centres around Italy and Spain, where nearly half of all European horses slaughtered for meat are killed [PDF].

Each year, many tens of thousands of equines are transported to Italy from elsewhere in Europe to be butchered. Almost half of those animals are killed in the Puglia region in southern Italy; this is also the region with the highest levels of horsemeat consumption.

Horses are also slaughtered for food at abattoirs in other European countries such as Poland, Romania, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

The road to hell: long-distance horse transports in the EU

In 2012, 36,455 horses [1] endured long distance transport to slaughter within the EU [PDF], by road and even by sea, often crammed into vehicles unsuitable for carrying equines.

Journeys can last for several days, and often cross a number of national borders before the horses reach the abattoir.

Horses destined for slaughter in Italy will have been transported from Eastern and Central European countries, such as Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Slovenia and Hungary. A significant number of horses may also have been transported from Spain, France and Belgium.

Not only can horses suffer during transportation, they are also subject to the stress of being unloaded and kept in holding pens, or lairage, at their final destination.

Industrialised slaughter

Industrial-scale slaughter of horses is highly problematic because horses are flight animals. The panic and instinctive desire to escape they experience in the slaughterhouse causes them to thrash their heads frantically making it difficult to effectively stun them prior to slaughter.

Slaughterhouses are often not specifically designed for horses, so the animals are killed on the same lines as cattle. Stunning takes place via the use of a captive bolt pistol, which is supposed to destroy the horse’s brain tissue and cause irreversible unconsciousness or immediate death. The animals are then bled out before being processed into meat.

Together with our NGO partners, HSI is working towards raising consumer awareness of the origins of horsemeat.

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1. . European Commission (2013) Animal Health DG SANCO Unit G2 Activity Report 2012. Annex VIII Traces Data.

Canada’s animal welfare laws have remained largely unchanged since 1892. Recent amendments have increased penalties, but the application and scope of the current laws remain ineffective. Consequently, under the Criminal Code it is difficult to prosecute even the worst animal abusers. Our laws need to be improved to serve as a real tool to protect animals from neglect and abuse.

Animals as property

Canada’s animal cruelty legislation is outdated and lags far behind most developed countries. In Canada, animals are not protected equally as the criminal code does not provide a clear definition of “animal”, but rather, refers to specific animals and protects them differently.

The current law contains a separate section and separate offences for cattle, and refers to dogs, birds and “other animals.” Canada offers virtually no protection for wild and stray animals, as un-owned animals have less protection than owned animals. In fact, under the Criminal Code, animal cruelty crimes are considered property offences instead of violence against a living, sentient creature.

Crimes are difficult to prosecute

Another issue with the Animal Cruelty section of the Criminal Code of Canada is the use of the term “willful neglect” which requires proof that an accused intended to harm or kill his or her animal(s). Courts must prove that neglect was a willful or motivated action. Even in cases where dozens of animals have been left out in the cold to die or starved to death, judges will typically conclude that the accused didn’t actually intend for the animal(s) to suffer or die and will find them not guilty.

Although penalties dealing with animal cruelty were recently updated, these penalties are still insufficient, with many loopholes, and do not act as a deterrent to violent offences and abusive owners.

Animal fighting

The Canadian Criminal Code also does not provide protection for animals being trained to fight each other. It is an offence to engage in animal fighting, but not to train animals to fight nor to accept money from animal fighting. The requirement to catch perpetrators in the act makes it very difficult to prosecute cases of dog fighting.

The solution: Effective legislation

Animal cruelty provisions should protect all animals, not just “those kept for a lawful purpose.” This outdated wording needs to be revised and animal offenses should be moved to their own separate section of the Criminal Code. Effective legislation must also include a clear and concise definition of “animal”.

Effective legislation must prohibit the training of animals to fight other animals and enable the conviction of individuals found to be betting on animal fights.

Effective legislation must refer to “negligent” behaviour, which is defined as “departing markedly from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use” and does not require the courts to prove that neglect is a willful action.

The penalties dealing with animal cruelty must be increased, both monetarily and punitively. Penalties should be stiffer when taking into account the severity of the crime. The legislation should also allow the court to prohibit offenders from owning animals in the future and to make restitution payments to the organizations charged with caring for the abused animals.

Don’t be fooled: the person or pet store you’ve picked to buy your puppy from might be supporting the notorious puppy mill industry.

Puppy mills are breeding businesses that raise dogs in shockingly poor conditions. “Breeding stock” animals are caged and continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals may be killed, abandoned, or sold to another mill. The result of all this breeding? Millions of puppies, many with health and behavioral problems not easily seen at the time of purchase.

Pet store deception

They may seem to know what they’re doing, but behind the friendly façade of pet stores often lies the ugly reality of these puppy mills. There’s only one sure way to combat the tragedy of mass breeding operations—don’t support them. No matter how cute the puppy in the pet store is, please don’t buy her. You may feel like you’re “rescuing” her, but in reality you’re freeing up space for another puppy mill “product” while supporting and encouraging an industry based on abuse.

Unless you personally visit the place where your puppy was born and raised—and where the puppy’s parents live—there’s no way to know that your puppy didn’t come from a puppy mill, no matter what a sales clerk tells you.

Ask you local pet store to sign our Puppy-Friendly Pet Store Pledge!

Save a life; Opt to adopt!

Shelters and breed rescue groups have many wonderful dogs available for adoption every day. Whether you want a puppy or a more mature dog, a purebred, hybrid or one-of-a-kind mixed breed dog, your shelter has the best selection of animals anywhere. And by opting to adopt, you will be saving a life.

Website and classifieds: The new face of a terrible business

Don’t believe everything you see online or in the classifieds—a world of cruelty might be lurking behind that cute little puppy picture. If you think you’ve found the perfect breeder on a website showcasing adorable photos, claims of how they cherish their “furry babies,” and promises that they sell exclusively to “qualified homes,” be on alert—such websites are among the newer scams that puppy mills are running. There’s no way to know whether you’re dealing with a puppy mill by simply looking at a website or talking to someone over the phone.

Selling online and through classified ads allows puppy mill operators to “cut out the middleman” and sell directly to consumers. It’s more profitable, and it is completely unregulated. Remember that puppy mills house their dogs in deplorable conditions and churn out puppies for quick sale and shipment. Don’t support this cruelty; always visit the breeder’s home and meet both parents of the puppy before you buy. But better yet, opt to adopt from a local shelter or rescue group.

Overview

• Approximately 700 million animals are slaughtered for food every year in Canada. During their journey to slaughter, animals are often forced to endure long periods in extreme temperatures without access to food or water and without being afforded an opportunity to rest.
• Standards for transporting farm animals in Canada are among the worst in the industrialized world. Each year, millions of animals succumb to these inhumane conditions and arrive dead or dying at federally inspected slaughterhouses.
• According to the government department responsible for enforcing transport standards, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), between two and three million animals die during transport every year. Most of these animals are chickens—either broiler chickens, raised for meat, or spent hens, laying hens who are no longer seen as productive.

Suffering in transport

• Transport is an inherently stressful event for any farm animal given their natural sensitivities to new places, loud and unfamiliar sounds, changes in temperature, and being placed into close proximity to other animals.
• Within Canadian borders, ruminants such as horses, sheep and cattle can be transported for up to 52 hours with no access to food, water, rest, or protection from extreme heat and cold; pigs for 36 hours; and newly hatched chicks can be transported for up to 72 hours with no access to food or water. Rest periods need only be five hours and there is no maximum time limit to an animal’s total journey time.
• Animals transported in Canada are often overcrowded in trucks, causing poor ventilation and air quality, over-heating, trampling and injury, and forcing animals to sit or lie in their own excrement.
• Animals in transport often suffer as a result of poor driver training.

Inadequate government regulations and inspections

• A lack of enforcement of current regulations is placing animals at risk of not even being assured minimum standards of protection.
• HSI/Canada is highly concerned about the infrequency of inspections of transport vehicles, loading and unloading procedures, as well as the lack of properly trained CFIA inspectors.
• CFIA considers spent laying hens to be compromised animals (fragile animals who should only ever be transported with special care and provisions). While CFIA standards require that no more than one percent of broiler chickens arrive DOA (dead on arrival) at their destination, the requirement for spent laying hens is four percent, allowing for their transport despite acknowledging that these animals are less likely to survive the stresses of their journey.
• According to CFIA inspection reports, however, trucks have been known to arrive well over these limits, with hundreds of dead chickens—sometimes up to 30 percent of the animals on board.
• Under CFIA regulations, transporting “downer” animals, animals who are unable to stand or walk due to stress, injury, illness, or fatigue, is banned. However, according to CFIA records, instances of animals being dragged onto and off transport trucks still occur.
• Transporting downer animals is not only problematic from a welfare perspective, but also poses serious food safety concerns.
• In 2010, CFIA was given a “D” by the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, for failing to meet its obligations under Canada’s Access to Information Act.
• In 2008, CFIA was awarded theCanadian Association of Journalists’ Code of Silence Award for its “dizzying efforts to stop the public from learning details of fatal failures in food safety.”

What we’re doing

• HSI/Canada, along with numerous animal protection groups, are requesting changes to the Health of Animals Act to improve standards for animals in transport.
• Updates to the Act have reportedly been drafted, but Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has yet to prioritize publishing the new regulations, despite the ongoing suffering of Canadian farm animals.

You can help

Write to Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz to ask him to urgently publish the new regulations and to allow the Canadian public to comment on proposed changes.

Since 2009, Japan has imported almost 9,000 tons of horsemeat from North America, the majority of which originates from U.S. horses slaughtered in Canada. In addition, during the same period, nearly 15,000 live horses have been shipped to Japan from North America, making the long, often overcrowded flight under sedation only to be fattened up and ultimately slaughtered.

Horsemeat consumption in Japan

Japan remains one of the leading importers of both horsemeat and live horses for consumption. While some may argue that the consumption of horsemeat in Japan is a tradition, it was not until the post-war era that horses were ever raised for slaughter in the country, so this is a weak justification for killing and eating these beloved companion animals.

Consumer safety & drug residues

North American horsemeat also creates an unacceptable public health risk.

Horses in the U.S. are not raised for consumption, and virtually all U.S. horses slaughtered for human food start their lives as companion, working, or sport horses. Throughout their lives, these horses are routinely given a wide variety of veterinary drugs and other chemical substances that are known to be dangerous to humans if consumed, have not been tested on humans, and/or have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration for use in food producing animals.

There is no legal requirement in the U.S. for horse owners to maintain treatment records to show which of these substances have been administered, and when, to these horses over the course of their lifetimes.

Racehorses, many of whom are sent to slaughter when they are no longer deemed profitable, are sometimes given illegal drugs to enhance their performances, including cocaine and cobra venom. These substances can cause serious negative health impacts if ingested by humans. As such, The Humane Society of the United States, along with Front Range Equine Rescue, has petitioned both the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration to classify all horses who were formerly companion animals, wild horses, or work and sport horses, and any other horses without a proven lifetime medical history as unqualified for use in the production of horsemeat for human consumption.

While about half of the veterinary pharmaceuticals commonly given to U.S. horses are prohibited in food products by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Public Welfare, the testing performed on imported products focuses on microbial and fungal pathogens and not on veterinary pharmaceuticals. Japanese consumers, therefore, are at risk.

What we’re doing

HSI is working with the Equine Protection Department of The Humane Society of the United States and our Canada and European Union offices to stop the slaughter of these beautiful and intelligent animals, reduce the international demand for horsemeat, and raise awareness of the serious health risks that horsemeat contaminated with veterinary pharmaceuticals poses to consumers in Japan and elsewhere.