THE PETITION RESULTS ARE IN
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SIGNED & SHARED
February 20, 2023: More than 36,000 people have signed a petition calling on the federal Liberals to live up to their election promise to ban the live export of horses for slaughter.
Statistics Canada data shows since the promise was made in 2021 more than 2,000 horses have been shipped from Canada to Japan where raw horse meat is a local delicacy. [read more here...]
February 27. 2023 Calls continue to grow from animal welfare advocates demanding the federal government ban live horse exports from Canada.
The horses are shipped overseas for slaughter – primarily to Japan – from Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary airports.
Animal advocacy groups have been asking for years for the practice to be stopped. But no ban is in place, and more shipments are scheduled to happen out of the Winnipeg airport.
“If people could see what we see at the horse shipments, I think they would be speaking out more,” said Danae Tonge with Manitoba Animal Save. [read more here...]
March 9, 2023. The buzz continues…
Canada must end cruel export of live #horses overseas for slaughter. The Gov't promised a ban in last election, under @mclaudebibeau's mandate. Today I asked Gov't Rep. @SenMarcGold when & how this cruelty will end? @jannarden @defendhorsescan @AnimalJustice #cdnpoli #SenCA pic.twitter.com/eCfwnH3YFE
— Sen. Pierre J. Dalphond, Québec (@DalphondPierre) March 9, 2023
On February 7, 2023, a petition closed that was different than most.
It was a Member of Parliament sponsored petition initiated by Canadian icon Jann Arden and designed to raise awareness and hopefully, ultimately, bring about a ban of the inhumane and regulation-breaking live export of horses from Canada to Japan or any other market for slaughter.
Sponsored by Member of Parliament — Alistair MacGregor, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, New Democratic Party Caucus. British Columbia this petition resulted in a great deal of coverage by the press. The last MP sponsored petition on this subject was signed by 77,684 Canadians. This petition gained a VERY impressive…
36,173
SIGNATURES
SO NOW WHAT?
Great question.
The petition was presented to Parliament on February 14, 2023.
The last petition of this type on the same subject resulted in the Liberal Party of Canada making an election promise to ban the live export of horses for slaughter, and a mandate letter from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Agriculture included a line about banning the live export of horses for slaughter.
Now that this petition has been presented in Parliament, within 45 days, there will be a “tabling of a government response“.
In 2020 when a very similar petition was completed, that response came from the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Canada).
And yes, if you’ve been involved with advocacy for animals before your guess that the response was not very satisfying would be correct…
BUT again a petition in 2021 led to an unprecedented election promise by the Liberal party and the PM including a line in his mandate letter to the AG Minister.
With so many signatures on this petition, we have hope that perhaps more Members of Parliament from all parties will step forward to support this cause and that the Liberal party will make good on their promise to ban the export of horses for slaughter.
Or perhaps a private bill will be tabled.
We’ll update here as we know more.
THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT RESPONSE IS HERE!
AND you guessed it, advocates for horses are not happy.
We will give the Minster of Agriculture this, it is longer than the response to the last MP sponsored petition, more time and effort was spent replying to this petition than the last.
You can read the full response here and we’re going to include just a few of the items from the response that anger us the most.
Horses are then transported by air to the importing country, notably Japan, and horses that are exported from Canada for slaughter are subject to the same regulations as horses shipped for other uses, such as breeding or international sporting events. For every shipment, all participants are required to meet all Canadian and international standards. [Read her full response here.]
Really? Seriously?
Do the wooden crates used to transport horses from Canada to Japan (and other markets) for slaughter look anything like the carefully crafted metal, padded "stalls" used to transport show and other horses by air?
Does how horses destined for slaughter are loaded onto flights look anything like how show and other horses are carefully led onto flights?
Seriously? Minister Bibeau, please watch the short videos that show otherwise.
All one has to do is look at footage provided by the CBC National News, or footage from CTV's W5 expose/documentary to realize that is NOT the case.
In no way shape or form does the way in which horses are transported to slaughter resemble how horses exported for other purposes are handled.
AND as covered recently on the CBC National News and as freely admitted by those who transport horses from Canada to Japan for slaughter...
(AGAIN, watch the CBC National news coverage)
National and international shipping regulations ARE being broken. Again, listen to the shipper of horses on the CBC National News admit that the CFIA is turning a blind eye.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
On January 5, 2021, Jann Arden shared what we think is a GREAT tweet and the concept is every bit as powerful now in 2024 as it was then.
Maybe even more so with the introduction of TWO bills that need YOUR help to have any chance of being pushed through.
“You can help us #stopLiveHorseExport call this number and leave a message!! Your voice matters!!! Your caring and kindness will make a difference for these tortured draft horses!!”
And we LOVE the graphic she included with her tweet, we’re adding it below… please join us in calling!
JOIN ACTOR KATE DRUMMOND &
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
