WINNIPEG—Animal Justice is extremely saddened that another shipment of live horses bound for slaughter overseas has departed Winnipeg Richardson International Airport on Monday morning, despite the growing calls for the flights to be banned and the steady progress of proposed legislation that would outlaw the practice.
Video captured by Manitoba Animal Save late on Sunday, March 10, shows horses being unloaded from a transport truck, then confined in wooden crates and carted to the tarmac ahead of their grueling flight to Japan where they will be fattened, slaughtered, and eaten as a raw delicacy.
By the time their plane touched down in Japan, the horses had been in transit without food, water, and rest for around 26 hours. The horses’ lengthy journey then continued as they were unloaded from the plane, removed from their crates, and transported to a quarantine feedlot.
The flight comes just weeks after a month after Animal Justice successfully laid a private federal charge in court Winnipeg under the federal Health of Animals Regulations against Carolyle Farms—the live horse exporter located in Swan River, Manitoba.
The charge stems from a December, 2022 air shipment of horses which unlawfully exceeded the 28-hour maximum time limit for transporting horses without food, water, and rest. At least three horses collapsed during the flight on their journey to Japan for slaughter.
The flights, where 100 or more horses are often crammed on a plane, could soon be illegal as Bill C-355, the Prohibition of the Export of Horses by Air for Slaughter Act is currently before the House of Commons Agriculture Committee.
“It’s been over two years since the federal government first promised to outlaw live horse exports, yet approximately 4,000 horses have been shipped to Japan for slaughter in that time,” said Winnipeg-based lawyer Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy at Animal Justice. “We’re calling on MPs to swiftly pass the bill to shut down this cruel industry as soon as possible.”
Video of the preparations for the Monday flight can be found here. (Credit: Manitoba Animal Save)
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Contact:
Kaitlyn Mitchell
Director of Legal Advocacy
[email protected]
