On Oct. 4, demonstrators across Canada demanded an end to Canada’s horse-slaughter industry. These protests followed petitions signed by thousands of people in support of Bill C-544, a private member’s bill tabled by NDP MP Alex Atamanenko. The bill seeks to stop the import of horses from the U.S. to Canada, where they are killed in abattoirs before their flesh is exported to Asia and Europe to be eaten. Canadians don’t eat much horsemeat, but Canadian livestock dealers and slaughterhouse operators were quick to smell profit after the U.S. banned the slaughter of horses in 2007. Every year, an estimated 50,000 horses are transported to Canada and another 57,000 to Mexico, an increase in the tens of thousands since before the U.S. ban. This business is lucrative for those who seek to profit by circumventing humane initiatives, but those financial gains come at a grotesque price in terms of animal suffering.
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