As part of the evaluation for a ban on fur farming following the successful European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe, representatives of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety will visit Finnish fur farms between 8 – 15 March.
The visits are part of a wider fact-finding mission on pandemic preparedness and control, with a focus on non-foodborne zoonotic disease agents.
Photo – Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsallianses / We Animals Media
They aim to collect and assess information on the level of surveillance in mink farms for zoonotic infections with zoonotic agents such as SARS-CoV2 and avian influenza. The visits may also include a review of the animal welfare conditions.
These assessments of public health and animal welfare are part of the follow up on the European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe, where over 1.5 million European citizens called for a EU wide ban on fur farming and the sale of farmed fur products due to animal cruelty and public safety risks.
Finland is one of the EU’s biggest fur producing countries, and avian influenza spread widely in the country in 2023, on 71 of 400 farms.
Some organisations have criticised the timing of the visits during breeding season, where the farms will be void of young animals being reared for the next season, as breeding animals will typically give birth from May.
The visits are also pre-announced, giving farmers the opportunity to present the best possible conditions to inspectors.
Even when visiting these farms under the best possible conditions, inspectors will be able to see how standard housing on fur farms fails to meet the behavioural needs of wild animals such as mink and foxes.
A typical mink cage on European fur farms has a floor area of only 4 sheets of A4 paper, and denies the animals the opportunity to perform natural behaviours such as swimming, climbing and jumping.
Mink and foxes are also solitary animals who would choose to live alone in their natural habitats, whereas fur farms see them housed in rows of cages in extremely close proximity.
The Fur Free Europe network awaits news on the outcomes of these visits, which we expect to support the need to move ahead with an outright ban on farming animals for their fur in the European Union.
Animal rights activists claim pig cruelty in undercover investigation
An undercover investigation on two Irish pig farms by animal rights activists has shown what they claim is “severe animal cruelty, neglect and environmental pollution”.
The footage purportedly taken in January 2024, was presented by Animal Rebellion Ireland (ARI) and the National Animal Rights Association (NARA) which said the farms were chosen “at random”.
Source: Animal Rebellion Ireland (ARI) and the National Animal Rights Association (NARA)
The activists said their footage shows pigs in “coffin-like confinement”, pigs with “docked tails”, “seemingly untreated wounds and injuries”, and “dead pigs left piled up outside”.
The footage was given to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), from which the campaigners say they are now “awaiting a response”.
“We want the entire pig industry shut down, and not over a lengthy transitional period. It needs to be shut down immediately,” NARA spokesperson, Laura Broxson said.
One of the pig farms investigated housed between 9,000-12,000 pigs, according to Animal Rebellion Ireland representative, Becky Jenkins, who said “this investigation is the first of many”.
“There were many pigs and piglets sick and injured. Some were biting the bars of their pens repeatedly, which is a stress-induced stereotypical behaviour,” Broxson said.
“We were expecting it to be bad, but we were not fully prepared for the horrors we witnessed,” the spokesperson said and added that there was “nauseating stench of faeces, urine and decay”.
“If dogs and cats were kept in such conditions, there would be national outrage, legal prosecutions, and immediate changes in legislation to prohibit its continuance,” Broxson added.
Attending a press conference organised by the organisations today (Tuesday, March 5), People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said he will raise the matter in the Dáil this week.
L-r: Animal Rebellion Ireland representative, Becky Jenkins; former UK pig industry vet, Dr. Alice Brough; and National Animal Rights Association spokesperson, Laura Broxson at a press conference in Dublin which revealed the footage of pigs.
The DAFM said it will investigate the “alleged breaches” of pig welfare requirements raised by the acitvists “following receipt of any evidence”, and take “appropriate action” where non-compliance or poor welfare is identified.
In a statement provided to Agriland, the DAFM said that it takes any allegations of breaches of animal welfare regulations “extremely seriously”.
“Irish pig farms are subject to national and European pig welfare regulations, and department officials regularly inspect pig farms on that basis.
“The department has a number of initiatives to support improvements in pig welfare, including pig welfare action plans which the pig sector has engaged with.
“And the provision of grants through the department’s [Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes] TAMS programme to support higher-welfare buildings and infrastructure on farms,” the DAFM said.
Diana, over recent weeks we have explored every legal possibility to help the animals on the Bahijah, only to have to accept that their fate rested with the live export regulator in Australia – the Federal Department of Agriculture.
So it’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that, inconceivably, the regulator is allowing the animals to be re-loaded so the ship can once again embark for Israel.
As you know, the decision to grant the exporter an export permit rather than keep the animals in Australia condemns them to another month at sea – and is nothing less than sanctioned animal cruelty.
This map shows the extended route the sheep and cattle will be forced to travel over the next 30+ days – just so they can be killed for their meat in Israel.
This has been like watching a horror movie, Diana. First, the decision to send a shipment of live animals into a conflict zone, then they head for South Africa, and then to not offload them immediately when they returned to Australia – allowing them instead to languish for days in the middle of a Western Australian heatwave.
It has been a true ‘tragedy of errors’ – human errors – and yet, once again, it is the animals who will suffer the consequences.
Our commitment to you Diana, has always been that we will leave no stone unturned when it comes to protecting animals. And I promise you, we haven’t.
Over recent weeks we’ve been part of a monumental collaborative effort, spanning Australia, South Africa and Israel.
We have been communicating in the strongest of terms with the live export regulator – highlighting to them their strong grounds to reject the export permit application.
Yet, they have chosen to approve it – adhering to processes that were not written with the interests of animals at heart.
As you know, this trade has been littered with animal welfare disasters. On each occasion we have honoured these animals by being their voice with our politicians, and that is what we must do again.
That re-loading and shipping these animals once again to Israel was the live export industry’s preferred option, when more humane alternatives exist, presents further evidence as to why this ruthless trade must end.
Their ‘animal welfare’ claims have been brutally and completely exposed as PR spin.
Right now, we are calling on our Australian supporters to ensure every politician here understands the weight of community anguish at this injustice.
We also wanted to thank you Diana, for supporting our efforts from overseas to ensure that the story of the animals on the Bahijah is one of the very final pages of the tragic story that is live animal export.
To mark the RSPCA’s 200 year anniversary, we interview Chris Sherwood, the organisation’s Chief Executive. He tells us about the RSPCA’s unwavering commitment to animal welfare since 1824.
Tell us a bit about the RSPCA and its main battles?
There’s so much to say!
This year is our 200th anniversary – that’s two centuries we’ve been changing laws, attitudes and behaviours towards animals. More than 400 animal welfare laws have passed since we were founded in 1824, and we have literally changed the way we all think, feel and act towards animals.
We’ve fought for animals in homes, laboratories, farms, and the wild, and of course, we’ve rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed countless numbers, while always showing them all the compassion they deserve.
Our landmark anniversary is an amazing time to reflect on all that – and just how much society has changed for animals over the past two centuries. Indeed, I’m so proud that the RSPCA has been at the forefront of many of those changes – from stopping bear baiting and cockfighting shortly after our formation, to championing a Protection of Animals Act in 1911; and campaigning for laws like the Hunting Act 2004 and Animal Welfare Act 2006. But our influence has not just been legislatively. From setting up the RSPCA Fund for Sick & Wounded Horses during the First World War, to responding to the East Coast Flood of the 1950s – and so much more – we’ve been there. Into the 1970s, and the RSPCA Reform Group helped us develop a comprehensive animal welfare policy platform – further shaping how society – all of us – treat and think about animals.
Yet, there is still so much to do. Animals are arguably facing the biggest challenges of our history, through climate change, industrial farming, loss of habitat, the cost of living and the effects of the pandemic. Unless we put animal welfare on the mainstream agenda as one of the most pressing causes of our time, we risk animals lives getting worse, not better.
But we know that we can’t do this alone – we need as many people to join us as possible. So to mark our 200th anniversary this year we launched our million strong movement – we want a million people to join us in our 200th year and beyond, whether that is volunteering, giving their voice to animals or fundraising for us.
In which countries is the RSPCA present?
The RSPCA works in England and Wales – with dedicated staff and a proud network of branches operating in every single community of both nations. But as the world’s first animal charity, we sparked a global movement that spread around the world – so we’re also proud to have links with the animal welfare movement in all corners of the globe.
We have a dedicated international team who take our experiences and expertise of animal welfare in England and Wales all around the world – and have helped inspire and influence change right across Europe, Africa and Asia. We are also proud to be active members of Eurogroup for Animals, and a founding partner of the World Federation for Animals.
From humble beginnings at the Old Slaughter’s Coffee House in Central London in the early 19th century, it’s amazing to think what the RSPCA has gone on to achieve.Image What about you? Tell us a bit more about your role within the RSPCA and why you joined.
It’s been an enormous privilege to serve as the RSPCA’s chief executive since August 2018 – I could not be prouder to lead this fantastic charity for the past nearly six years.
My background is probably not typical of many chief executives – I was the first person in my family to get GCSEs, let alone an A level or undergraduate degree.
Before joining the RSPCA, I spent time as director of innovation and development at leading disability charity Scope, before working in policy and external affairs at Relate – the UK’s leading family and relationships charity – where I was later chief executive.
I’d always wanted to work in the voluntary sector because of my passion for creating a good society – inspired by where I grew up, in a former steel down battling with the social and economic effects of deindustrialisation. For me, a good society is one which is kind, inclusive and compassionate, and where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, not just survive – a better world in which we all take responsibility for our individual and collective impact on each other, on animals and on the planet.
Since becoming CEO at the RSPCA, we’ve of course endured a global pandemic, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and the continued, mounting threat of serious climate change – to name but a few of the challenges at the top of my in-tray, so it has certainly been an incredibly busy and challenging five and a half years.
I am inspired every day by the work of our diverse, dedicated teams – from our frontline officers, to our animal centres, call handlers, science experts, campaigners and so many others; all dedicating themselves to making our world a better one for the animals we share our lives with.
And I think we’ve been making a real difference, from continuing to deliver frontline animal rescue services throughout Covid-19, to supporting people through these difficult economic times, with, among other things, a pet food bank scheme, which delivered 1.5 million meals to needy pets last year. We’ve secured tougher sentences for animal abusers (my proudest moment as CEO) while animal sentience has been recognised in law and we are on the cusp of seeing live exports banned, something we have been campaigning against for more than 50 years.
In 2021, we launched a new strategy Together for Animal Welfare, which set ambitious targets to cut animal neglect in half, see more than half of UK farmed animals reared to RSPCA standards, and secure a UN declaration for animals. It’s ambitious, and we need as many people as possible to support us, and to support the animal welfare cause if we are going to continue to change animals’ lives now and in the future.
We know the RSPCA can’t fix every problem animals face by ourselves – and our response is so much stronger when we work together. But that’s why I see 2024 – our 200th anniversary – as the start of a new chapter in a remarkable story of helping animals; and a chance to transform again how we work together, everyone for every animal, to meet the challenges of the years, decades and centuries to come.https://www.youtube.com/embed/PkyLdSEHVDs?autoplay=0&start=0&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogroupforanimals.orgWhen did the RSPCA join Eurogroup for Animals and why?
We’re the OG! We’ve been involved since the very beginning – some 44 years ago, in 1980!
In fact, the RSPCA founded Eurogroup for Animals – because we know that the animal welfare sector is stronger when it works together and speaks with a united voice. Over more than four decades, we’ve worked closely with our partners and are proud of the campaign successes it has secured for animal welfare.
It’s really important to pay tribute here to our outgoing president Dr Richard Ryder; Eurogroup for Animals was very much his vision; and also to our former director general Peter Davies – who did inspiring work as president.
Since the UK left the European Union, our membership has remained vital as we negotiate the Brexit transition. The European Union remains the UK’s largest market for imports and exports. The UK also left the EU, but not Europe, and we know animal welfare transcends national borders. The ongoing war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for collaboration, and the RSPCA worked with and through Eurogroup for Animals as part of our response to helping animals there.
What are RSPCA’s main campaigning achievements in 2023?
2023 was a really busy year for our campaigns; we saw an incredible 200,000 people sign petitions, write to the UK and Welsh Governments, contact their elected representatives and get their voice heard. We know animal issues are responsible for filling many politicians’ mail bags – and we make no apology for that!
But it was a turbulent year in British politics. We are leading up to an election which polls suggest could lead to a change of UK Government for the first time in 14 years.
And there were challenges, and frustrations, for animal welfare policy. The UK Government sadly dropped its flagship Kept Animals Bill, which was a tough pill to swallow, and we had to mobilise very quickly to ensure lots of very hard work and policy commitments were not lost altogether. We also saw the UK involved with new free trade agreements that failed to include measures to ensure imports met the UK’s higher animal standards. At one point, the list of broken promises from the UK Government for animals was as high as 15 – but fortunately the tide could be turning in favour of animals again.
We’ve seen the fruits of our campaigning continue in recent weeks and months; with restrictions on the keeping of primates as pets, a ban on the live export of animals and new rules around pet theft back on the agenda. In Wales, we successfully campaigned for the UK’s first ban on the use of snares, while glue traps were outlawed too – offering a real lifeline for wild animals. The UK Government also committed to a consultation on mandatory food labelling, which could give millions of people more information than ever before about where the food they eat comes from.Image How can the public act for the RSPCA?
There’s so many ways our supporters can get involved – and help animals.
None of our work for animals would be possible without our amazing supporters and volunteers. We have approximately 16,000 members, and last year more than 7,000 volunteers supported our work. We’re lucky that many people choose to support us – but this year, we want to go even further by inspiring a million-strong movement to come together for animal welfare.
From transporting injured wildlife to rescue centres, to signing and sharing petitions, going into schools and chatting to kids about animals, or taking on a fundraiser for us, there are endless opportunities for people all over England and Wales to help us create a better world for every animal.
And it’s thanks to our kind donors that we can keep our work going. Last year, rates of animal abandonment reached a three-year high, and we’ve seen unprecedented demand on many of our services due to the cost of living crisis. A few pounds really can make all the difference and help keep our rescuers on the road.
Words to live by?
Anyone who follows me on X will know I regularly tweet about cake (carrot cake being my favourite!); so I subscribe to the adage “a party without cake is just a meeting”!
I’m also always inspired by Margaret Mead’s quote – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. It really highlights the power of people. Indeed, many charities start by a group of people coming together who aren’t happy with something in society and want to see it change; that is the story of the RSPCA and from those humble beginnings – a global movement sparked.
And it’s perhaps a bit of a cliche in the animal welfare world now – but it’s always hard to look beyond Mahatma Gandhi’s great quote – “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. As the RSPCA turns 200, we can be proud of the moral progress we’ve seen in this country – but there’s still so much more work for us all to do.
Thanks to everyone who is supporting our Petitions (to English and German Ambassadors) re cat torture in China. You can see both of these directly below this post. Please sign if you have not done so yet, and pass on to all your contacts. Thanks M.
Thank you – this issue is really getting a voice now; and as we say the Chinese government needs to step up to the plate and take action.
Victoria Beckham’s show at Paris Fashion Week has been disrupted by activists from animal rights group Peta. The 49-year-old designer, who found fame in pop group the Spice Girls, showcased her autumn/winter 2024 collection on Friday. The campaigners got up during the show and walked the runway alongside the models while holding up signs saying “viva vegan leather”. Their T-shirts read: “Animals aren’t fabric. Turn your back on animals skins.”
Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the explicit recognition of animal welfare in the scope of the financial aid and calls on the EU to ensure that the Facility will indeed foster improved animal welfare standards in all grants and loans given to the Ukrainian beneficiaries.
On 27 February the European Parliament approved the revision of the EU’s long term budget, which includes the so-called Ukraine Facility mechanism. The Facility mechanism – powered with 50 billion EUR – will be the EU’s main instrument providing financial support to Ukraine until 2027. Importantly, animal welfare is recognised as an objective of the Facility mechanism.
Fostering investments in line with EU animal welfare standards is becoming critical in light of the unconditional and full trade liberalisation between the EU and Ukraine in place since 30 May 2022. This full liberalisation is for now further fuelling intensive animal agriculture in Ukraine with a significant increase of poultry meat and egg imports. Conditioning investments to animal welfare standards has the potential to improve the welfare of millions of animals in Ukraine, ensuring EU citizens’ wishes to protect animals are respected. This will also send the right message to EU producers to accelerate the transition to sustainable methods of production.
Prioritising animal welfare through the Facility will also ease Ukraine’s accession negotiations to the EU by stimulating a sustainable reconstruction of its agricultural system aiming at an alignment with the EU acquis. Ukraine is a big agricultural producer with a large share of it relating to animal products. Using the financial support of the Facility to help Ukraine transition towards more sustainable agricultural methods of production is the only way forward in order to advance Ukraine’s green recovery.
The modernised EU-Chile Free Trade Agreement, approved by the European Parliament today, includes commitments to animal welfare such as the recognition of animal sentience, the phase-out of antibiotics used as growth promoters, and language on animal welfare cooperation.
While these provisions are welcomed, the negative impacts of unconditional trade liberalisation should not be ignored: The EU and Chile should maximise the language on animal welfare cooperation within the agreement to ensure significant progress for the well-being of animals.
In 2002, when the EU and Chile concluded their first trade agreement, they added, for the first time ever, provisions on animal welfare cooperation. Yet, it was followed by increased intensification in the Chilean livestock and aquaculture sectors due to increased trade opportunities. There is a high risk that this modernised deal will fuel this trend as it grants further market access for Chilean animal products by increasing quotas for poultry, pork, sheep and beef without any animal welfare condition. Such a condition could have contributed to enhancing animal welfare standards in Chile, especially considering that Chilean producers believe that the trade deal would generate greater certainty for investments aimed at exports to the EU.
The FTA does include a chapter on sustainable food systems with provisions on animal welfare cooperation, despite being non-commital. Future EU-Chile cooperation on animal welfare, as like-minded partners, must focus on concrete initiatives such as the phase-out of cages for pigs and poultry, along with lower stocking densities for poultry. Other areas include animal transport, the use of anaesthesia for mutilations and joint action plans to phase out antibiotic use in animal production.
It is disappointing that the new EU approach to Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters will not yet apply to this trade agreement. The review process of the TSD Chapter should contain detailed language on the link between animal welfare and sustainable development, wildlife conservation and trafficking, and the importance of ensuring aquaculture welfare. In terms of enforcement, the EU and Chile should create clear roadmaps, identify priority issues, and include last-resort sanctions.
In November 2021, Chilean President Gabriel Boric signed an Animalist Commitment with Veg Foundation during his campaign. The document includes 10 points to improve the lives of animals raised for consumption.
Unfortunately after two years of government, very little progress has been made in fulfilling this commitment, since only one of the 10 points has been worked on. We call on President Boric to keep his word and improve the lives of millions of animals in Chile, by implementing these points in both trade agreements and national law. This FTA could have bolstered national efforts similar to the impact of the first EU-Chile trade agreement, which led to the adoption of Chilean animal welfare law in 2009
Ignacia Uribe, Founder and CEO, Veg Foundation.
Until the EU has animal welfare-based import requirements, the EU should negotiate ambitious animal welfare conditions with all trading partners, and replicate the approach it followed in the EU-New Zealand trade agreement. The EU should not let its trade agenda freeze the path toward higher welfare food systems. Embracing animal welfare conditions in some FTAs while omitting them in others would certainly be incoherent,
Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals.
Eurogroup for Animals and the Chilean-based organisation Veg Foundation regret that the modernisation of this trade agreement fails to guarantee that EU-Chile trade does not have a detrimental impact on animals, and encourage the effective transition towards sustainable food systems in which animals’ well-being is promoted and respected.
Survey shows EU consumers want better animal welfare laws
28 February 2024
Almost 9/10 consumers responded that they support better animal welfare laws for animals raised for consumption, and believe that the EU should act to update legislation to offer them protection.
In a new survey by BEUC, which aimed to analyse consumer’s attitudes on animal welfare, 6/10 consumers said that they have a low level of knowledge on animal welfare practices and 3/4r want a better labelling system for animal-derived products. Consumers expressed that they have a low trust in animal welfare claims by companies and 84% would react negatively to welfare-washing.
7/10 respondents expressed the need for the cost of transition to be equitably shared, and that the EU must provide funds to farmers to implement higher standards.
A large majority, 78%, agreed that imports of animal products should be subject to the same welfare rules as those produced in the EU. This has been supported by another report by Vrije Universiteit Brussel and BEUC, which concluded that EU trade policy is not sufficiently coherent with the Green Deal, and consumers must be treated fairly through import requirements, and through better labelling that allows them to make an informed choice.
With 9 in 10 consumers supporting new laws for better animal welfare, our survey confirms that the way we treat animals raised for food matters to people. It is high time the EU Commission delivered on its promises to revise EU laws on farm animal welfare
Monique Goyens, Director General, BEUC.
This survey spans Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. 1,000 respondents per country were surveyed in November 2023.
WAV Comment – EU citizens are not the ignorant ones; it is those in the Commission who fail to take note !
In what’s believed to be a first in relation to farmed animals, a court has given animal welfare advocates the green light to privately prosecute a live-horse exporter in Manitoba.
“We have so few laws on the books to protect these horses,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy with the non-profit group Animal Justice.
“The least that we can do is to make sure that what few laws we do have are actually enforced. Otherwise, what good are they?”
The case involves an air shipment of live horses in December 2022 from Winnipeg to Japan. The Korean Air cargo plane was supposed to stop in Anchorage, Alaska, for refueling and a crew change, but there was a blizzard, so they had to find an alternate route.
That, combined with delays in Winnipeg, meant the shipment exceeded the 28-hour maximum time live horses can be transported without food, water and rest.
Several organizations — Animal Justice, the Winnipeg Humane Society, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition and Manitoba Animal Save — filed a complaint with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which acknowledged the breach and confirmed three horses had fallen during the transport, but said there would be no penalty.
“We urged them [CFIA] to take enforcement action, and we were incredibly disappointed when they didn’t,” Mitchell said.
“Once we realized that the CFIA was not going to take action, then we made the decision to commence this private prosecution.”
The group argued three different laws were violated and proposed three separate charges.
After a hearing in Winnipeg Tuesday, a Manitoba provincial court judge allowed a charge to be laid against Carolyle Farms — a live-horse exporter located in Swan River, Man. — under a section of Canada’s Health of Animals Regulations, which require a contingency plan to respond to unforeseen delays that could result in the suffering of an animal.
But the Crown stayed a proposed charge under the regulations for exceeding the maximum time limit for a transport, because it said the CFIA was part of those discussions. It also stayed a proposed charge for causing distress to animals, citing jurisdictional concerns.
“Where did these horses collapse? Was it somewhere over the ocean? We just don’t know. So that’s frustrating,” Mitchell said, adding the case is a rare example of a private prosecution — in which a private individual, rather than public authorities, is permitted by the court to lay a charge for an alleged offence.
“I vividly recall that cold winter night one year ago,” said Manitoba Animal Save organizer Danae Tonge, who documented the 2022 shipment.
“I am relieved that the court allowed this charge to be laid and look forward to the next steps in this case.”
Farm owner defends decision
Lyle Lumax, the owner of Carolyle Farms, said Tuesday that a phone call from CBC News was the first he’d heard of the court action.
He defended the decision to carry on with the December 2022 flight, even though it would exceed the legal time limit.
Lumax, who says he understands and loves horses, said the contingency plan is always to bring the horses back to the farm, but that 10-hour round trip puts even more strain on them.
“I can’t exactly remember, but it was something like we were three hours over the 28 hours,” he said.
“And everybody involved decided that was far less risky to the horses then putting them back on the trucks, driving back to the farm, loading them and putting them back into the plane and into the crates again.”
CBC has also asked the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for comment.
Canada is among the leading exporters of live horses, mostly Clydesdales and Percherons, bred specifically for human consumption — an industry worth tens of millions of dollars a year.
Raw horse meat sushi is considered a delicacy in Japan. The horses exported sell for up to $9,000 each, Lumax said. The horses are fattened up in Japan before being slaughtered, according to the CFIA.
Mitchell estimates nearly 4,000 horses have been exported from Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg in the last year.
In a 2021 mandate letter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his agriculture minister to work toward ending exports of live horses for slaughter. Advocates and activists have circulated petitions and put pressure on the federal Liberals to follow through.
A private member’s bill before Parliament now would prohibits exporting live horses from Canada by air for slaughter.
Mitchell said she will testify before an agricultural committee in Ottawa on Thursday.
World Animals Voice 