A new report has revealed ongoing deaths, injuries, and widespread suffering among horses exported via airfreight from Canada to Japan for slaughter, despite government assurances that oversight had improved.
The Animal Justice report, based on newly obtained data from Japanese authorities covering 2024–2025, claims that “horses continue to suffer injuries, illnesses, and death during, and as a result of, transport. The facts speak for themselves, even with the CFIA’s purported efforts to improve oversight, the horse export-for-slaughter industry causes unimaginable and inexcusable suffering to horses.”
Each year, thousands of draft horses are flown from Edmonton and Winnipeg to Japan, where they are slaughtered for consumption. Under Canadian law, horses can be transported for up to 28 hours without food, water, or rest, a limit the report describes as “an extremely long duration” that exposes animals to “fear, exhaustion, severe dehydration, and extreme hunger.”
Previous investigations in 2024 argued that “approximately 60 percent of shipments from Edmonton and 100 percent of shipments from Winnipeg went over the legal limit.”
According to Statistics Canada, 2,512 horses were exported to Japan for slaughter in 2023, with a total value of CAD$19 million. The industry involves approximately five export companies and several hundred producers, mostly based in Alberta, as well as Manitoba and Ontario.
Horsemeat is consumed in Japan as a delicacy, often served raw as sashimi, also known as basashi or sakura niku.
Underreported statistics
The latest findings suggest the situation has not improved. Between September 2024 and September 2025, at least nine horses died as a result of transport, while at least 29 collapsed mid-flight. More than 290 others suffered injuries or illness after arriving in Japan.
In several cases, exporters reported that collapsed horses had not been injured. However, Japanese records indicate otherwise. According to the report, two horses were euthanised shortly after landing due to leg injuries, one “could not stand and had to be towed from the plane,” and another was “forced to stand despite significant bleeding.”
The report also highlights a broader pattern of underreporting. Earlier findings showed that at least 22 horses died between June 2023 and June 2024, yet “none of these deaths and injuries were reflected in the CFIA’s records.”
Evidence of ongoing suffering
Detailed shipment records paint a troubling picture. In one September 2024 shipment of 119 horses, Canadian records stated all animals arrived in “Good” condition. Japanese quarantine notes, however, documented at least 24 horses with serious injuries or illness, including bleeding wounds, swollen limbs, impaired vision, and signs of respiratory distress.
Another shipment later that month recorded horses with “bleeding injuries,” “festered hoofs,” and animals “avoiding putting weight on their legs.”
In October 2024, multiple horses collapsed during a flight.
Harsh conditions and systemic risks
The report attributes the suffering to a combination of long journeys, overcrowding, and lack of basic care. Horses are typically transported in wooden crates holding three to four animals, without access to food or water.
Experts have long warned of the risks. Horses naturally graze for much of the day, and can become dehydrated within 10–15 hours. The report notes that transport conditions can lead to “extreme fatigue,” “extreme stress,” and illnesses such as pleuropneumonia, also known as shipping fever.
Even after landing, conditions remain severe. Horses arriving in Japan are described as “exhausted and severely dehydrated,” and are “commonly sprayed directly with harsh disinfectant chemicals.”
Questions over oversight
Following earlier investigations, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency pledged to “take immediate steps” to improve compliance, including reminding exporters of their legal obligations and updating paperwork requirements.
However, the new report raises doubts about the effectiveness of those measures. It states that “exporters continue to under-report deaths and injuries,” and that many cases documented in Japanese records never appear in Canadian data.
It also notes that compliance with the 28-hour transport limit still relies heavily on self-reporting by exporters, making it “difficult to determine with certainty how many shipments are in compliance.”
Debate over the industry’s future
In 2023, Liberal MP Tim Louis introduced Bill C-355 to ban the practice. The legislation passed the House of Commons in 2024 but stalled in the Senate, where it ultimately died when a federal election was called in March 2025.
Canadian celebrities including Jann Arden, Bryan Adams and Chantal Kreviazuk have signed a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald, urging the government to fulfil the Liberal Party’s 2021 promise to end the export of horses for slaughter overseas.
“The suffering of horses air-shipped to Japan does not align with the expectations of most Canadians, who support high animal welfare standards. This industry cannot meet those expectations and must be banned immediately by the federal government,” said Sinikka Crossland, executive director of the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition.
“The overwhelming majority of Canadians are against the senseless and cruel practice of exporting live horses by air for slaughter,” said Ewa Demianowicz, program director for Humane World for Animals Canada. “The Canadian government must move quickly to align with public values and stop the suffering of Canadian horses who are victims of this industry. Today, from coast to coast, people across the nation stand together to urge Prime Minister Carney to take action.”
“The only way to protect horses from painful injuries, illnesses, and death is to finally end this cruel practice,” the report concludes.
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Author: Edward Hardy
