Newly released government freedom of information documents show that at least 21 horses died during or in the days following their transport from Canada to Japan for slaughter between May 2023 and June 2024.
This contradicts information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suggesting that serious incidents are not reported to the regulator. In February, a CFIA representative he told a House of Commons committee The agency is aware of only five horse deaths related to air transport since 2013.
The documents were obtained by Japanese animal rights organisation Life Investigation Agency (LIA) from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Animal Quarantine Service, which is responsible for the import of live animals.
“I believe this number is extremely high,” LIA director Ren Yabuki told CBC News in an email, referring to the number of horses that died.
“In addition to the deaths, many of the horses were in serious condition, including diarrhea and fever. The difficult conditions under which the horses were transported are obvious. Most surprising was that pregnant horses were also transported. I was shocked to learn that some of them had miscarried or died after arriving in Japan.”
During the period covered by the documents, about 2,500 horses were exported from Winnipeg and Edmonton to Japan. Upon arrival, they are fattened, then slaughtered and served raw as sashimi.
SEE | How horses are flown from Winnipeg to Japan:
Horses being unloaded from trucks at the Winnipeg airport en route to Japan.
LIA works with animal rights activists from the Canadian non-profit organization Animal Justice, which has the report was published based on documents. CBC News independently verified the accuracy of the report’s translation from the Japanese.
“This new data took me completely by surprise,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, legal director at Animal Justice.
“It appears that horses are dying in transit. They are dying after being transported. They are getting sick and injured. And none of that is reflected in official records in Canada. So what officials are saying is really just a small part of the picture and downplays how dangerous and deadly this industry is.”
The documents show that most deaths were caused by dehydration, stress and pneumonia.
For example, in a July 31, 2023 shipment from Edmonton to Kitakyushu, Japan, involving 99 horses and taking a total of 29.35 hours, one horse died of severe dehydration and another of heatstroke. The others arrived in poor condition: one had a fever and the other had conjunctivitis.
During the transport of 85 horses from Edmonton to Kagoshima, Japan, on January 8, 2024, three horses died from injuries sustained in falls during transport.
A week later, on January 15, 2024, during a transport of 98 horses from Edmonton to Kitakyushu, Japan, one horse died of multiple organ failure after falling from a plane and two horses died of miscarriage.
A pregnant mare in the late stages of pregnancy is considered a delicate animal and not suitable for transport, Mitchell said.
“If they die from a miscarriage and the fetus is so large that the paperwork says the foal did not survive … that sounds like a late-term pregnancy,” she said. “So to me, it’s a glaring oversight that this is happening. The CFIA officials who are at the airport didn’t even notice, let alone the exporters who should be looking after these horses and monitoring them before they go abroad.”
In addition to the deaths, more than 40 serious illnesses and injuries were reported.
On Sept. 9, Mitchell shared the information with CFIA officials, including Dr. Mary Jane Ireland, Canada’s chief veterinary officer, “so I’m hopeful that we can get to the bottom of this and not only determine why there’s a communication gap, but resolve the issue.”
Ireland was not available for an interview.
In a statement to CBC News, the CFIA said the “allegations are disturbing and the CFIA takes them very seriously.” The agency is reviewing the access documents and will discuss them with Japanese officials.
The agency said that under Canadian Animal Health Regulations (section 155), air carriers are required to submit a report to the CFIA Veterinary Officer of any animal that is seriously injured or dies during transportation by air as soon as possible after arrival.
“The CFIA will be communicating with all air carriers that transport animals to remind them of their reporting obligations under the Animal Health Regulations. As a priority action, the CFIA will request a meeting with the main air carrier of horses to Japan in the coming days,” the statement read.
If necessary, the CFIA Law Enforcement and Investigations Service may take punitive action, which may include fines and prosecution.
The CFIA said the horse death statistics on its website and presented to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Food were based on information available at the time. If additional deaths or serious injuries related to air transport are confirmed, the CFIA said it would review the information and notify the Standing Committee.
Mitchell acknowledged that the CFIA statistics may be inaccurate because most deaths and injuries occur in Japan, sometimes days after the transport, and the Japanese government may not release that information. There may also be different definitions of a “serious incident.”
“Is diarrhea a serious incident? What if 10 horses have diarrhea? Is a horse that falls but can be made to stand a serious incident? What if it falls and has to be forklifted?” she said. “I’m willing to admit there are some gray areas, but I think a lot of it is just black and white.”
Earlier this year, Animal Justice partnered with LIA to document What happens after planes carrying horses land in Japan? It turns out that these shipments often exceed the federally required 28-hour time limit.
Under Canadian rule Animal health regulationshorses can only be transported without food, water or rest for 28 hours from the time they leave the farm to their arrival in Japan. The CFIA said that is when the Japanese government is responsible for their welfare.
Yabuki calls on the Japanese government to ban activities that “violate animal welfare,” but notes that local laws “treat animals as property” — and therefore strongly appeals to the Canadian government to ban the transport of live horses for slaughter.
It’s been almost three years since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau he instructed his minister of agriculture end the export of live horses for slaughter.
Bill C-355, which would ban the air export of Canadian horses for slaughter, has passed the House of Commons. It will receive a second reading in the Senate in the fall.
