The Life and Death of a Racehorse

The Chilling Implications

From Sinikka Crosland, Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

In July 2011, a Standardbred U.S. racehorse named Silky Shark died in a Quebec slaughterhouse.

The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition tracked the evidence, showing that Silky Shark had been administered phenylbutazone (a deadly drug that must never enter the food chain) and subsequently slipped through the system undetected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Jack Rodolico of Latitude News has produced an exemplary account of the fate of this beautiful horse - Silky Shark's life in the racing industry, how he fell through the cracks, and what chilling implications his death holds in terms of animal protection and food safety.

Links to articles and podcasts are below.   

The full magazine feature and podcast: http://www.latitudenews.com/story/the-shady-trade-in-american-horsemeat/

A short version aired on the American radio program Marketplace: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/drugged-american-horsemeat-sold-europe 

A slightly longer version aired on Harvest Public Media's network of public radio stations throughout the American Midwest: http://harvestpublicmedia.org/article/1544/drugged-horsemeat-us-showing-europe/5

A medium-length text version on The Week:  http://theweek.com/article/index/237968/the-shady-trade-in-american-horsemeat 

CHDC's report, Proof of CFIA Failure: http://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/proof-of-cfia-failure/

CFIA Fails Again at Enforcing Regulations for Live Horse Exports to Japan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CFIA Fails Again at Enforcing Regulations for Live Horse Exports to Japan

October 18, 2012, Calgary, AB - Footage taken of Alberta horses being shipped live to Japan for slaughter shows that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is violating their own standards set forth in the Health of Animals Regulations. The Regulations prohibit the transportation of all animals under conditions that would expose the animals to undue injury or suffering. 

The 2012 footage shows horses in a feedlot being loaded with electric prods into transport trucks, transported to the Calgary International Airport and being crated in wooden crates so small they cannot stand in their natural position, in violation of Section 142 of the Health of Animals Regulations (“No person shall transport or cause to be transported animals in a railway car, motor vehicle, aircraft or vessel unless each animal is able to stand in its natural position without coming into contact with a deck or roof.”) Some horses were even being crated together, even though it is in violation of Section 141.8 of the Health of Animals Regulations, which states that horses over 14 hands high need to be segregated for air transport. 

Canadian draft horses from various producers are routinely live shipped to Japan for slaughter from the Calgary and Winnipeg International Airports. On arrival in Japan, horses are transported to a feedlot; once they reach desired weight they are slaughtered for horse sashimi, which is considered to be a delicacy in Japan. The meat must be eaten within three days because it is highly perishable; according to the 2008 Alberta Horse Welfare Report, each Canadian horse is worth approximately $20,000.

“Footage shows large horses overcrowded (not segregated) into wooden transport crates, often unable to stand in their natural position for a long journey to Japan, in clear violation of two of the CFIA's own regulations”, says Sinikka Crosland, executive director with the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition. These transport conditions not only are inhumane but also are likely to lead to injuries and potential deaths during transport.

“Once again we see CFIA turn a blind eye and choose to protect industry profits rather than do their job”, says Crosland. “The CFIA's mandate is both to protect human health and monitor animal welfare. We recently have seen them fail to protect the public from contaminated meat and now we have clear evidence of them failing to follow their own regulations when it comes to the live transport of horses for meat.” 

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For further information, please contact: Sinikka Crosland, Executive Director, Canadian Horse Defence Coalition. Tel: 250-681-1408

To see the footage of Alberta horses being shipped live to Japan: http://www.youtube.com/user/defendhorsescanada

To learn more about the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition: http://defendhorsescanada.org