Posted on 2009-04-29

Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada Makes Unfounded Claims

CHDC Director's letter demands proof of increased neglect and abandonment

Mr. desBarres,

I see on your "horse welfare" website in your letter to the Canadian Embassy and to the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, that you say the following:

"All are aware of the resultant inhumane treatment of horses since the closing of three processing (horse slaughter) plants in the United States."

In response, I'd like to remind you that slaughter has always been an option for American horses, whether the last remaining plants were open or not. The same pipelines exist through the large auctions, and horses are still going to slaughter, as they always have. The numbers in the US have barely changed since 2006 and 2007. I should also add that horses continue to suffer at the auctions, during the long transportation across the US, Canada and Mexico, and in the kill boxes of the slaughterhouses, where horses easily move away from the gun and are not afforded a quick, sure death.

Do you have any statistics to prove any increased horse abandonment or neglect as a result of the huge drop in horses slaughtered going back from 1990 to 2000? In those years, slaughter of horses in the US dropped from over 400,000 to under 100,000 horses per year. For your information, attached is a graph showing the USDA statistics.

It's unfortunate, but horse neglect will happen with or without the slaughter option. You are insinuating that it will disappear with slaughter available. You know that is not true. A case in point is the story last year of the Rescue 100 horses in Alberta. Over 100 Arabians were in a horribly neglected state on a private farm there. Alberta has 2 federally licensed horse slaughter plants. The owner neglected his horses regardless of the fact that he had the choice of taking his horses to 2 slaughter plants.

If the PMU industry and the breeding of horses for slaughter were eliminated in Canada, there would be thousands less horses to worry about being mistreated, as you seem to be so worried about. Worried so much that you would rather they be slaughtered. How is that more humane?

I believe your welfare group is more interested in the welfare of businesses that benefit from horse slaughter such as Wyeth, and your member company Bouvry Exports. The memberships of the various provincial horse associations were not surveyed to ask if they supported horse slaughter - the associations' executives decided that for the members. That is not democratic - and I know that there are many members who keep their memberships for the sole purpose of the insurance it provides and the fact that membership is required for participating in horse shows - that is it!

So I go back to my original request, if you could please provide statistical substantiation for your statement regarding: the resultant inhumane treatment of horses since the closing of three processing (horse slaughter) plants in the United States. The Canadian Ambassador to the US and the House Judiciary Committee, as well as concerned North Americans deserve to see evidence supporting this statement.

Yours truly,

Shelley Grainger

Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

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