Horse destined for slaughter treated bad
Activists release new video of alleged mistreatment of horses on Sask. farm 17 hours ago TORONTO — The way horses destined for slaughter are being treated on a Saskatchewan farm is shocking and inhumane, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition said Wednesday as it released more graphic video detailing the slaughterhouse's practices. The coalition held a news conference hosted by prominent Toronto defence lawyer Clayton Ruby to release the video and call on Ottawa to outlaw the slaughtering of horses. "The problem is policing this kind of activity is impossible," Ruby said. "Things are getting worse and Canadians should not be forced to accept this practice." In the video, which outraged animal-rights groups last week after an activist secretly recorded workers at Natural Valley Farms in Neudorf, 130 kilometres east of Regina, horses can be seen sliding around in tiny, cramped pens, some still conscious when they are killed. The la-*test*-('") video - portions of it were released to media outlets last week - shows horse carcasses dumped by a roadside, their ears sliced off. It also shows horses being transported to the farm in tight, double-decker trailers. "Many are arriving dead," said Twyla Francois of the coalition as the video showed the weakened animals stumbling from the crates. Many of them arrive at the farm in poor health, and are sometimes deprived of food and water, the coalition said. The horse meat industry has been growing in Canada ever since the United States banned horse slaughterhouses last year. Canadian producers take the bulk of those horses, slaughter them and shipping the product to Europe and Japan. A ban on the practice in Canada would only result in more widespread abuse and neglect, said Natural Valley founder David Fiddler, who has dismissed the coalition's allegations of abuse. "There's more abandoned, neglected and abused horses in the U.S. now than there ever was in the history of the country," said Fiddler, who describes himself as a "horse lover." "We're at the leading edge of humane animal treatment." Fiddler questioned the authenticity of the video, but admitted he has yet to see it. He said he has no plans to pursue legal action against the coalition, but insists that his farm follows the procedures laid out by the Canada Food Inspection Agency. Shanyn Silinski, executive director of the Farm Animal Council in Manitoba, said horses in the U.S. are left to roam wild, eventually dying from starvation or dehydration. Those who normally rescue horses are overwhelmed by the numbers, often to the point where they're being charged by animal welfare authorities. A regulated industry monitored by a provincial and federal agency would be more humane than banning slaughter houses outright, Silinski said. Failing a ban, the coalition wants stricter regulations imposed by the CFIA or, at the very least, some form of safe, humane euthanasia. "This so wicked, so evil, it shouldn't be allowed to persist," said Nicholas Dodman, veterinarian and animal behaviourist from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., who has written extensively on the American ban. A CFIA official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the agency is monitoring the site and has veterinarians on the farm every day. The government agency said it investigated the slaughterhouse, which is a pilot project, in November 2007 and found no mistreatment. Since the release of the most recent video, CFIA has said it intends to investigate the allegations of abuse and bring an independent animal welfare expert in to inspect.
Activists release new video of alleged mistreatment of horses on Sask. farm 17 hours ago TORONTO — The way horses destined for slaughter are being treated on a Saskatchewan farm is shocking and inhumane, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition said Wednesday as it released more graphic video detailing the slaughterhouse's practices. The coalition held a news conference hosted by prominent Toronto defence lawyer Clayton Ruby to release the video and call on Ottawa to outlaw the slaughtering of horses. "The problem is policing this kind of activity is impossible," Ruby said. "Things are getting worse and Canadians should not be forced to accept this practice." In the video, which outraged animal-rights groups last week after an activist secretly recorded workers at Natural Valley Farms in Neudorf, 130 kilometres east of Regina, horses can be seen sliding around in tiny, cramped pens, some still conscious when they are killed. The la-*test*-('") video - portions of it were released to media outlets last week - shows horse carcasses dumped by a roadside, their ears sliced off. It also shows horses being transported to the farm in tight, double-decker trailers. "Many are arriving dead," said Twyla Francois of the coalition as the video showed the weakened animals stumbling from the crates. Many of them arrive at the farm in poor health, and are sometimes deprived of food and water, the coalition said. The horse meat industry has been growing in Canada ever since the United States banned horse slaughterhouses last year. Canadian producers take the bulk of those horses, slaughter them and shipping the product to Europe and Japan. A ban on the practice in Canada would only result in more widespread abuse and neglect, said Natural Valley founder David Fiddler, who has dismissed the coalition's allegations of abuse. "There's more abandoned, neglected and abused horses in the U.S. now than there ever was in the history of the country," said Fiddler, who describes himself as a "horse lover." "We're at the leading edge of humane animal treatment." Fiddler questioned the authenticity of the video, but admitted he has yet to see it. He said he has no plans to pursue legal action against the coalition, but insists that his farm follows the procedures laid out by the Canada Food Inspection Agency. Shanyn Silinski, executive director of the Farm Animal Council in Manitoba, said horses in the U.S. are left to roam wild, eventually dying from starvation or dehydration. Those who normally rescue horses are overwhelmed by the numbers, often to the point where they're being charged by animal welfare authorities. A regulated industry monitored by a provincial and federal agency would be more humane than banning slaughter houses outright, Silinski said. Failing a ban, the coalition wants stricter regulations imposed by the CFIA or, at the very least, some form of safe, humane euthanasia. "This so wicked, so evil, it shouldn't be allowed to persist," said Nicholas Dodman, veterinarian and animal behaviourist from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., who has written extensively on the American ban. A CFIA official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the agency is monitoring the site and has veterinarians on the farm every day. The government agency said it investigated the slaughterhouse, which is a pilot project, in November 2007 and found no mistreatment. Since the release of the most recent video, CFIA has said it intends to investigate the allegations of abuse and bring an independent animal welfare expert in to inspect.