Every year, approximately 2,500 Canadian horses are trucked from barren feedlots, tightly packed into wooden crates at airports in Winnipeg and Edmonton, and flown around the world to Japan, where they are fattened, slaughtered, and eaten as a raw delicacy in high-end restaurants.
The vast majority of Canadians want to see an end to this cruel practice. The government committed to banning the export of horses for slaughter back in 2021, and although MP Tim Louis introduced Bill C-355 to make good on this promise in 2023, legislation has still not passed to ban this practice. But the fight is not over!
How Are Horses Shipped to Japan for Slaughter?
In partnership with Life Investigation Agency in Japan, Animal Justice has repeatedly exposed the industry for failing to report the extent of suffering these horses endure. These investigations revealed:
These investigations also revealed the CFIA’s lack of oversight of this industry – relying on exporters themselves to report the total duration of transport and to report injuries and deaths during transport, and failing to take enforcement action in the face of repeated legal violations.
Shipped from Barren Feedlots
The law says horses can go up to 28 hours without food, water, or rest. The clock starts at the feedlot, as horses are loaded onto trucks. From there, they’re driven for hours to airports in Edmonton or Winnipeg.
In June 2024 Animal Justice and Life Investigation Agency showed that all flights from Winnipeg likely exceeded the 28 hour legal limit for transport without food, water, and rest. Now, the Manitoba exporter has started taking horses to a feedlot closer to the airport for an overnight stop to restart the legal clock. Horses are unloaded at this new and completely unfamiliar feedlot in the dead of night.
Because ground transport, as well as loading and unloading, are extremely stressful for horses, this new workaround may compound horses’ suffering, dividing their gruelling journey into two legs without providing adequate time in between for the horses to truly rest and recover. The workaround may allow some shipments from Manitoba to make it under the 28 hour legal limit by starting the clock at the closer feedlot, but the new process may ultimately cause even more stress for the animals while extending their overall trip.
During our investigation, we witnessed a horse who was pinned under a gate for what might have been hours, struggling to break free. It does not appear that the horse was examined or provided with medical care after this traumatic incident. Hours later, they were loaded onto a truck and made to endure the second, 28 hour leg of their journey overseas.
Crammed Into Crates at Airports
At the airport, the horses are unloaded from the trucks and forced into cramped wooden crates with 3-4 horses per crate. Workers frequently use metal poles to jab horses through the transport truck openings in order to force the frightened animals to move off of the trucks. Once they are loaded into crates, horses often spend hours on the loud tarmac before finally being loaded into cargo planes.
Long, Dangerous Flights
The flight from Canada to Japan is so long, that planes typically land in Anchorage, Alaska to refuel. Injuries and stress-induced illnesses are common in horses exported for slaughter. Many die during transport or in the hours and days following. For instance, Government of Japan records show that between June 2023 and June 2024 alone at least 22 horses died during transport or shortly after from causes including dehydration, stress from transport, injuries sustained during transport, and even painful miscarriages. More than 60 other horses suffered from injuries and illness during this time. None of the injuries, illnesses, or deaths were reflected in the CFIA’s records.
Arrival & Quarantine in Japan
Horses land at airports in Kitakyushu, Kansai, or Kagoshima. Before Animal Justice’s exposé, exporters claimed that horses were back on food, water, and rest within one to two hours of landing. But our investigation shows that it actually takes between 3 and 6 hours to unload and transport the horses to a quarantine facility. There, trucks are sprayed with harsh chemicals that burn the horses’ eyes, skin, and airways. Many horses, desperate for water after more than 24 hours without hydration, lick the harsh chemical off of the tarp on the trucks.
The entire journey takes between 25 and 34 hours, with most flights likely exceeding the legal limit of 28 hours. After their stay in quarantine, horses are moved to another feedlot to be fattened before being violently killed.
Slaughtered for a Raw Delicacy
Once the horses have reached the desired weight for slaughter, they’re loaded onto trucks for the final time—to be violently killed at Japanese slaughterhouses. They are butchered so they can be served raw as sashimi in upscale restaurants.
Take Action
The vast majority of Canadians oppose the live export of horses to Japan for slaughter, and have been pushing for a ban for years. Please tell the Canadian government to ban this practice for good to spare horses from heartbreaking suffering and death on these nightmare flights.
