Posted on 2008-10-21

CFIA and Horse Welfare Investigations Demanded

CHDC Presses for Investigation into Animal Welfare

Canadian Horse Defence Coalition Presses for Investigation into Animal Welfare Violations at Saskatchewan Horse Slaughter Plant

Natural Valley Farms in Neudorf, Saskatchewan went into receivership on September 22/08, yet horses continue to be slaughtered at the facility by Velda Group, an international Belgian-based company, as recently reported by the Western Producer. Velda is also reported to be a potential buyer. We find it astounding that Natural Valley Farms (NVF), a company that recently received nearly $4 million in federal grants would be in financial trouble. Natural Valley also defaulted on a loan from Farm Credit Canada, and received a grant worth nearly $500,000 from the Province of Saskatchewan. We are further alarmed that Velda appears to be taking over the business at NVF, now known as Natural Meat Company. Velda is infamous in Illinois for numerous environmental charges and convictions at their Cavel International horse slaughter plant that closed business in September 2007. To read a summary of Cavel's list of over 100 food & safety and protocol non-compliance issues, please go here.

Natural Meat Company continues to slaughter horses uninterrupted, when only 4 months ago the CHDC released its highly critical report on operations at the facility. Frequent occurrences of cruel handling, abusive and inadequate slaughter practices translate into brutal suffering to horses every day at this plant. According to Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, upwards of 30% of horses stunned at the plant were not rendered unconscious, meaning that approximately 61 horses were butchered alive every day at the plant. Dr. Dodman concluded this after viewing undercover footage taken at Natural Valley Farms in late spring 2008. Velda has a long history of animal welfare violations while operating Cavel in DeKalb, Illinois. The Canadian Horse Defense Coalition (CHDC) has no reason to believe that there will be less suffering for horses now that Velda is running a Canadian plant. We are greatly concerned for all horses destined there, as the numbers rise dramatically and new operators do not adhere to humane handling and slaughter practices.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has yet to respond to the evidence provided in our June report. Citizens are appalled at the conditions at the slaughterhouse, and the CFIA's disregard of our report is a slap in the face of concerned Canadians.

After analyzing the June report, the CHDC opened a police file at the Broadview, Saskatchewan RCMP detachment. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is an offence to willfully cause unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal. Film evidence obtained for the June report provides proof that an investigation is in order, as several horses were beaten willfully at Natural Valley while in the kill box and five different Acts covering everything from animal welfare, transport of horses, humane slaughtering and environmental regulations, were violated.

Statistics for September 2008 show that a record 12,190 horses were slaughtered in Canada. So far this year, 84,288 horses have died in Canadian slaughterhouses, already 4,873 more than last year. We will easily surpass 100,000 horses in 2008. This number will double from just two years ago!

Given the vast, systemic problems within the CFIA that have been recently exposed, the CHDC has called on the Auditor General of Canada to conduct a performance review of the Agency. The CFIA is acting with callous disregard to the basic welfare of farm animals, and is refusing to investigate these well-documented cases of animal suffering. In a democratically elected government, this is simply unacceptable! We urge Canadians to send their messages to the Auditor General, expressing their concerns regarding the CFIA's lack of enforcement at horse slaughter plants.

Office of the Auditor General of Canada
240 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G6
Telephone: (613) 952-0213 ext 6316 or
1-613-952-0213 (Staff directory press 27)
Auditor General - Sheila Fraser Ext. 6316
Deputy Auditor General - John Wiersema Ext. 5242
Commissioner of the Environment - Scott Vaughan Ext. 6400
Website: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/index.htm
Email: complaints-plaintes@oag-bvg.gc.ca
(see our letter to the Auditor General below)

Defend Horses Rally Day

Sunday, October 26, 2008 has been designated a national day to show your support against horse slaughter, and commemorate the lives of horses who have died tragically in Canadian slaughterhouses. The inspiration for this event comes from Catherine McPherson of Kingston, Ontario. Catherine's group will be demonstrating in front of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa at 2:30 PM. We encourage horse defenders to attend, or to stage demonstrations in your own cities to coincide with this event. People are also encouraged to write to the Auditor General, the Minister of Agriculture and their Members of Parliament, to voice their objections to this cruel practice. Please find contact information and what you can say on the CHDC website at www.defendhorsescanada.org or contact us at info@defendhorsescanada.org.

**Breaking News** A horrific accident on Calgary's Deerfoot Trail on October 17/08 resulted in the deaths of 12 slaughter-bound horses on a packed trailer full of 44 equines: to see article click here. While we understand that the hauler has been charged with numerous offences, the CHDC is appalled at the general lack of protection for horses in transport. What is ironic about this situation is that both victims and survivors of this crash were earmarked for slaughter-an equally violent end to life. The CHDC calls on Canadians to protest to their MPs about the raising of horses for slaughter and to write to the CFIA regarding the dangerous conditions under which they are transported. Find contact information on the CHDC website at www.defendhorsescanada.org.

CHDC's letter to the Auditor General

Dear Ms. Fraser:

On July 10, 2008, the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition (CHDC) provided the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with a package containing 10 hours of horse slaughter footage taken by an undercover investigator at Natural Valley Farms (NVF) in Neudorf, Saskatchewan. The findings were extremely troubling, with at least 12 violations of various Acts recorded (please see the attached list of CFIA violations).

The footage was reviewed by Dr. Nicholas Dodman, Director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Dodman stated that upwards of 30% of horses stunned at the plant were not rendered unconscious before being butchered.

The British Columbia SPCA similarly reviewed the footage and found nine counts of willful abuse to horses inflicted by the captive bolt pistol operator as well as structural problems with the kill box making humane slaughter impossible (BCSPCA Audit attached). A PDF version of our June 2008 report can be found here:
http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/pdf/bbb2008.pdf.

To date we have received no communication from the CFIA regarding our report and the concerns raised. Natural Valley Farms recently entered into receivership and is being run by the Belgium-based Velda Group under the name Natural Meat Company. The CHDC is greatly concerned that inadequate slaughter practices continue at the plant, particularly as Velda Group has a long history of environmental and animal welfare violations. We noted on our recent return to the facility that Velda is now also hiding evidence by crushing the skulls of the horses slaughtered inside the plant. The other remains continue to be illegally dumped in an exposed rendering pit. Also, as will soon be announced, NVF has been captured on video illegally dumping what appears to be massive quantities of raw horse blood from tanker trucks onto open fields, which runs down into the Qu'Appelle River. The Qu'Appelle River feeds the Assiniboine River - a river that many cities in Manitoba rely on for drinking water. The polluted water ultimately makes its way to Hudson Bay.

In view of the serious nature of these violations and no apparent action taken, we respectfully request an immediate performance review of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

I look forward to your response.

Yours truly,

Sinikka Crosland, Executive Director

CFIA VIOLATIONS AT NATURAL VALLEY FARMS NEUDORF, SASKATCHEWAN

TRANSPORT

1. Horses transported with horseshoes on and not separated for their protection.

HEALTH OF ANIMALS ACT SEGREGATION 141.(7) An equine shall, unless its hind feet are unshod, be segregated from all other equines during transport.

2. Horses transported on double-decker trailers.

HEALTH OF ANIMALS ACT SEGREGATION 142. No person shall transport or cause to be transported animals in a railway car, motor vehicle, aircraft or vessel unless (a) each animal is able to stand in its natural position without coming into contact with a deck or roof.

3. Horses crossing the US/Canadian border and unloaded at night without CFIA supervision.

COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION OF EQUINES TO SLAUGHTER ACT LETTER OF INTENT WITH CANADA

A. The CFIA at the border must provide veterinary inspection of the horses to verify that the horses are being transported humanely. B. At the Destination Slaughter Plant the CFIA must identify time and date of arrival of each truckload of U.S.-origin horses.

4. Evidence that a pregnant mare was transported too close to term/full-term foal discovered in rendering pit.

HEALTH OF ANIMALS ACT SICK, PREGNANT AND UNFIT ANIMALS 138.(3) No person shall load or cause to be loaded on any railway car, motor vehicle, aircraft or vessel and no one shall transport or cause to be transported an animal (c) if it is probable that the animal will give birth during the journey.

5. Health compromised horses - including injured, blind and emaciated horses - loaded and transported.

HEALTH OF ANIMALS ACT SICK, PREGNANT AND UNFIT ANIMALS 138.(3) No person shall load or cause to be loaded on any railway car, motor vehicle, aircraft or vessel and no one shall transport or cause to be transported an animal (b) that by reason of infirmity, illness, injury, fatigue or any other cause cannot be transported without undue suffering during the expected journey.

6. Horses are arriving dead in increasingly high numbers since our investigations began in September 2007 (related to violations of all the above)

SLAUGHTER

1. Injured and diseased horses are not separated in the slaughter plant waiting pens for their own protection.

MEAT INSPECTION ACT - PART III 63.(2) Every food animal that is obviously diseased or injured shall immediately be segregated from apparently healthy food animals.

2. No food or water is provided in the slaughter plant waiting pens overnight.

MEAT INSPECTION ACT - PART III 65. Every food animal in a holding pen awaiting slaughter shall be provided with access to potable water and shall, if held for more than 24 hours, be provided with feed.

3. Horses are being packed too densely in the slaughter plant waiting pens overnight.

MEAT INSPECTION ACT - PART III 64. Every holding pen that is used for food animals awaiting slaughter shall be provided with adequate ventilation and shall not be used in a manner that results in their overcrowding.

4. Horses are being improperly stunned (with rates as high as 30% according to Dr. Nick Dodman, Tufts' University).

MEAT INSPECTION ACT - PART III 79. Every food animal that is slaughtered shall, before being bled, (a) be rendered unconscious in a manner that ensures that it does not regain consciousness before death, by one of the following methods:
(i) by delivering a blow to the head by means of a penetrating or non-penetrating mechanical device in a manner that causes immediate loss of consciousness.

80. No equipment or instrument for restraining, slaughtering or rendering unconscious any food animal shall be used by any person for those purposes
(a) unless the person is, by reason of the person's competence and physical condition, able to do so without subjecting the animal to avoidable distress or avoidable pain; or
(b) where the condition of the equipment or instrument or the manner in which or the circumstances under which the equipment or instrument is used might subject the animal to avoidable distress or avoidable pain.

5. Horses who are clearly reviving are being suspended, stabbed and put through the butchering line regardless.

MEAT INSPECTION ACT - PART III 78. No food animal, other than a bird or domesticated rabbit, shall be suspended for the purpose of slaughter unless, immediately before being suspended, it is rendered unconscious or killed by a method set out in section 79.

6. Horses are being beaten and tormented in the kill box.

MEAT INSPECTION ACT - PART III 62.(1) No food animal shall be handled in a manner that subjects the animal to avoidable distress or avoidable pain.

OTHER SLAUGHTER CONCERNS WITH NO SPECIFIC REGULATION PROTECTING THE HORSES

1. Horses are being improperly bled out. Improper bleed out may result in returning consciousness.

2. The CFIA Head Veterinarian is stationed in the butchering area and yells frequently to increase the line speed.

3. Contrary to CFIA's assertions, no one from CFIA is overseeing the stunning/killing.

cc: John Wiersema, Deputy Auditor General, Government of Canada Clyde MacLellan, Assistant Auditor General, Government of Canada Neil Maxwell, Assistant Auditor General, Government of Canada Ronald Thompson, Assistant Auditor General, Government of Canada Scott Vaughan, Commissioner of the Env. and Sustainable Dev., Government of Canada

"Help us lead Canada's horses away from barbarism . .
and into the protected pastures of a civilized nation."