The CSPCA supports Bill C-322 which is aimed at prohibiting the importation or exportation of horses for slaughter for human consumption or the importation of horsemeat products for human consumption for the following reasons:

– As reported by experts and demonstrated via undercover footage at horse slaughter plants, due to the specific physiology of horses, and the high failure-to-stun rate, it is impossible, even in well-designed assembly-line conditions, to humanely slaughter horses.

– Current transportation regulations are so poor that horses may be transported for up to 36 hours without food, water or rest. Horses are often transported in cramped trailers designed for shorter animals such as pigs and cows, causing them to travel in uncomfortable positions for long distances. The dead on arrival rate is extremely high.

– Horses used for sporting and recreational purposes are not raised for human consumption and therefore are likely to contain substances that are banned for use in meat animals, as they are harmful to human health.

– Humans and horses share a special bond and we see them as our animal partners for companionship, sport and recreation. Sending horses to a cruel death is a betrayal in the relationship we have with them.

– The claim that banning horse slaughter will increase horse neglect is simply not true. This is an emotional argument used by the horse slaughter industry to try and gain support for horse slaughter from animal lovers.

– There are programs to subsidize the humane euthanasia of horses, for those financially unable to afford the cost (for example, one offered by The Canadian Horse Defense Coalition). Thus horse slaughter is not the only option for those in financial difficulty.

Furthermore, the CSPCA believes that horse overpopulation and the breeding of horses solely for the purpose of profit or sport, needs to be further addressed by the government in order to deal with the underlying issue of “unwanted horses”.