A shipment of horses bound for slaughter in Japan has once again violated Canada’s legal time limit of 28 hours for transport without food, water, and rest.
On February 2, 2025, horses arrived at Edmonton International Airport at approximately 9:15 pm and were scheduled to be loaded onto the plane by 2:00 am the following morning. With temperatures plunging to -30ºC, visible frost covered the horses’ backs. Though loading began at 1:21 am, a hydraulic lift malfunctioned due to the extreme cold.
Instead of halting the operation and bringing the horses back to a feedlot for rest, officials chose to leave the horses exposed to the freezing temperatures while staff repaired the lift. This led to a three-hour delay.
When the horses finally arrived in Japan at 7:00 pm, a snowstorm further delayed the unloading process. Ultimately, the shipment exceeded the 28-hour time limit for travel without food, water, and rest. Sadly, this is a disturbingly common occurrence in the industry.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency & Horse Exporters Repeatedly Mislead Canadians
Animal Justice has repeatedly held the live horse export industry accountable for its unlawful and cruel practices, including its excessive travel times. Just last year, we exposed this industry’s failures in two bombshell investigations.
The first revealed serious flaws in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)’s record-keeping. The agency was found to be neglecting its responsibility to track shipments once horses arrived in Japan, enabling over 60 percent of shipments to exceed the 28-hour legal time limit for travel.
The second revealed the deadly consequences of these arduous journeys. Despite claims from agriculture-friendly politicians and the CFIA that horse deaths during transport are rare, documents from the Japanese government, obtained by Animal Justice and our partner in Japan, Life Investigation Agency, told a different story. In just 11 months, 21 horses died and over 50 horses were injured—directly contradicting the CFIA’s claims.
Real Action Needed After Broken Promises
The Liberal government promised to end horse exports for slaughter more than three years ago. Yet a bill to ban this failed to pass before the election, and in 2024, the number of horses exported to their death surged to levels not seen since 2016.
With a new election underway, it’s time to demand that all political parties take concrete action for horses. Join us in holding every candidate accountable and demanding that they commit to ending the export of horses for slaughter—once and for all.
Banner: Life Investigation Agency
