Newly released access to information documents from the Japanese government show at least 21 horses died during or in the days after being flown from Canada for slaughter in Japan between May 2023 and June 2024.
That contradicts information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, suggesting serious incidents are not being reported to the regulator. In February, a CFIA representative told a House of Commons committee the agency is aware of only five horse deaths related to air shipments since 2013.
The documents were obtained by Japan-based animal rights group Life Investigation Agency (LIA) from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Animal Quarantine Service, which is responsible for the importation of live animals.
“I believe it is extremely high,” LIA director Ren Yabuki told CBC News in an email, referring to the number of horse deaths.
“In addition to deaths, many horses were noted to be in serious condition, including having diarrhea and fever. The harsh condition under which the horses were transported is clear. What was most surprising was that pregnant horses were also transported. I was shocked to learn that some of them had miscarriages or died after arriving in Japan.”
In the time frame covered by the documents, approximately 2,500 horses were exported from Winnipeg and Edmonton to Japan. Once they arrive, they are fattened up, then slaughtered and served raw as sashimi.
WATCH | How horses are flown from Winnipeg to Japan:
Horses are unloaded from semi trucks at Winnipeg airport, on their way to Japan.
LIA is working with advocates at Canadian-based non-profit Animal Justice, which has published a report based on the documents. CBC News has independently verified the accuracy of the translation of the report from Japanese.
“This new data absolutely floored me,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy for Animal Justice.
“It seems like horses are dying during transport. They’re dying after transport. They’re becoming ill and injured. And none of this is reflected in the official records in Canada. So what officials have been saying here is really just a small piece of the picture, and it downplays how dangerous and deadly this industry is.”
According to the documents, most of the 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 from the effects of heatstroke. Others arrived in poor condition: one had a fever and one had pink eye.
During a shipment of 85 horses from Edmonton to Kagoshima, Japan, on Jan. 8, 2024, three horses died of their injuries after falling in transport.
One week later, in a Jan. 15, 2024 shipment of 98 horses from Edmonton to Kitakyushu, Japan, one horse died due to multiple organ failure after falling on the plane and two horses died due to miscarriage.
A pregnant mare in late states of gestation is considered to be a fragile animal and unfit for transport, Mitchell said.
“If they’re dying from the miscarriage and the fetus is large enough that the records say that the foal didn’t make it … it sounds like a later-term pregnancy,” she said. “So that to me is a glaring oversight that this is happening. The CFIA officials who are at the airport haven’t even caught it, never mind the exporters who are supposed to be caring for these horses and monitoring them before they go overseas.”
In addition to the deaths, more than 40 serious illnesses and injuries are documented.
On Sept. 9, Mitchell shared the information with CFIA officials, including Dr. Mary Jane Ireland, the chief veterinary officer of Canada “so hopefully we can get to the bottom of it and not just figure out why there’s a gap in communication but fix the problem.”
Ireland was not available for an interview.
In a statement to CBC News, the CFIA said “the allegations are troubling and the CFIA is taking them very seriously.” The agency is reviewing the access documents and will discuss them with Japanese officials.
The agency said as soon as possible after arrival, air carriers are required by the Canadian Health of Animals Regulations (Sec. 155) to send a report to the CFIA veterinary inspector about every animal that was seriously injured or died during transport by aircraft.
“The CFIA will be communicating with all air carriers that transport animals to remind them about their reporting obligations under the Health of Animals Regulations. As a priority action, the CFIA will be requesting a meeting with the primary air carrier of horses to Japan in the coming days,” the statement said.
If needed, the CFIA Enforcement and Investigation Service can take punitive steps, which may include fines and court prosecution.
The CFIA said statistics on horse deaths on its website and presented before the standing committee on agriculture and agri-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 will revise the information and notify the standing committee.
Mitchell acknowledged the CFIA statistics could be inaccurate because most of the deaths and injuries are occuring in Japan, sometimes days after transport, and that information may not be shared by the Japanese government. As well, there may be different definitions of a “serious incident.”
“Is diarrhea a serious incident? What if it’s 10 horses experiencing diarrhea? Is a horse that’s collapsed, but they can be forced to stand again, a serious incident? What if they’ve collapsed and they need to be moved with a forklift?” she said. “I’m willing to admit there are some grey areas, but I think a lot of this is just black and white.”
Earlier this year, Animal Justice partnered with LIA to document what happens after the flights carrying horses touch down in Japan, finding that these shipments often exceed the federally mandated 28-hour time limit.
Under Canada’s Health of Animals Regulations, the horses can only be in transport without food, water or rest for 28 hours from the time they leave the farm to their arrival in Japan. The CFIA has said that’s when the Japanese government is responsible for their welfare.
Yabuki is calling on the Japanese government to ban acts that “violate the welfare of animals” but noted that local laws “treat animals as possessions” – so he is strongly urging the Canadian government to ban the transport of live horses for slaughter.
It’s been almost three years since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed his agriculture minister to end the export of live horses for slaughter.
Bill C-355, which would ban the air export of Canadian horses for slaughter, has cleared the House of Commons. Second reading will take place in the Senate this fall.
