BC SPCA renews plea to feds to ban the shipping of horses overseas for slaughter

The BC SPCA has renewed its plea to the federal government to stop the shipping of horses overseas for slaughter.

According to the news release, Canada is one of the only countries in the world that breeds, raises and transports horses overseas for slaughter.

Since 2013, more than 40,000 horses have been exported out of the country, says the BC SPCA.

A petition was launched in early 2021 to stop the export of horses and it gathered 70,000 signatures.

In a news release issued earlier this month, the animal welfare agency states that it has also been almost a year since the federal Minister of Agriculture was given the mandate to end the practice.

Since that mandate was handed down, the BC SPCA estimates that 2,000 horses have been transported out of the country.

Now, the organization is launching a second petition to renew calls for action.

“Canada recently updated their transport laws, which previously allowed horses to be transported for 36 hours at a time,” says BC SPCA’s Melissa Speirs, manager of farm animal welfare.

“Canada’s current animal transport laws are still inadequate. It is currently legal for horses to be transported without feed, water, or rest for up to 28 hours.”

However, horses that are being sent out of Canada still face long wait times when in transport. Some begin their journeys in Calgary, Edmonton or Winnipeg and can sometimes end up being in their small shipping containers for up to 22 hours.

The BC SPCA has partnered with the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition to send an open letter to the federal government.

Both organizations are encouraging Canadians to sign the latest petition which was launched on Nov. 9, 2022, even if they signed the original one that was released last year.