Kendra Coulter, Chair of the Department of Labour Studies at Brock University, wrote a piece recently published in The Conversation where she advocates for Canada to put an end to its export of live horses shipped for meat.

She writes:

“This story is not graphic, but what happens to horses shipped for meat sure is.

You might have believed horses were cherished and protected in Canada. Unfortunately, the truth is more complicated.

Extra-large horses (like the beer commercial Clydesdales) are lovingly called gentle giants because they are calm, kind and co-operative. Yet those born into the meat trade are put in boxes and shipped across the ocean without food or water on a long, one-way flight to their unceremonious deaths. Then they are eaten by the wealthy.

Often three or four horses are crammed into crates that barely offer enough room for one. About 40,000 horses have been shipped to slaughter from Canada since 2013.

It’s a gruesome national disgrace. And it’s perfectly legal, although hopefully not for much longer.”

Continue reading the full article here.