Canada's Horse Slaughter Industry Under Fire: A 16×9 Investigation
Canada’s horse slaughter industry is facing intense scrutiny due to safety concerns and regulatory failures. A 16×9 investigation by Global News highlights the issues surrounding drug contamination and the effectiveness of the Equine Information Document (EID) system. Critics argue that the current regulations are insufficient to ensure the safety of horse meat for human consumption.
Food Safety Concerns
Canada’s food safety system has been under fire since a listeriosis outbreak in 2008 and an E. coli contamination in 2012. These incidents led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give Canada its lowest grade for meat-exporting countries. In the shadow of these scandals, the safety of Canadian horse meat is being questioned.
“When they’re born, nobody is breeding these horses thinking that at the end of the day they’re going to head to slaughter,” says Mindy Lovell, a horse rescuer who spends much of her time saving horses from Canada’s slaughter pipeline. Canada has one of the largest horse slaughter industries in the world, slaughtering between 70,000 and 115,000 horses annually.
Drug Contamination Issues
Lovell claims that most horses are contaminated with veterinary drugs banned by Health Canada for human consumption. “99.99 per cent of all horses, donkeys, mules, whatever, have been on these substances at some point in their life,” she says. One common drug is phenylbutazone, known as “horse aspirin,” which can cause fatal disorders in humans.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) claims a “zero tolerance” policy for these drugs in the food supply, yet incidents of contamination persist. In 2012, European regulators seized Canadian horse meat testing positive for banned substances, despite the EID system meant to trace a horse’s drug history.
Regulatory Failures
Shelley Grainger of the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition criticizes the EID system, citing doctored documents and omissions. The system relies heavily on industry honesty, which Grainger argues is insufficient. Jeff Grof, a key figure in the slaughter pipeline, admits the system can be scammed, but he is only required to submit valid EIDs, not verify their accuracy.
NDP MP Alex Atamanenko highlights the weak regulations compared to other meat industries. Despite CFIA’s zero tolerance claim, horses can be slaughtered if they have an EID declaring drug-free status for six months, with no proof required.
Industry and Government Response
Former slaughter plant director Henry Skjerven points out the lack of thorough inspections due to limited resources. He argues that the CFIA is aware of the EID system’s shortcomings but continues to overlook them. Atamanenko questions whether the CFIA’s mandate prioritizes industry promotion over safety.
The CFIA declined requests for an on-camera interview, but Lovell insists that accepting only horses with traceable medical records would end the industry. “It would take somebody to die before they will pay attention,” she warns.
For more details, visit the original article by Global News.