Senators are wrangling over a bill that would ban the export of horses to Japan, and animal advocates fear they are running out of time

A Manitoba state senator who has spoken passionately about banning the practice of exporting horses by air for slaughter in Japan says he won’t accept an invitation to come and see a shipment of horses being loaded onto a plane at a Winnipeg airport.

Meanwhile, animal rights advocates worry that continued debate in the Red Chamber over Bill C-355 will trigger a federal election call and spell the death of the bill.

On Dec. 5, independent Sen. Charles Adler implored his colleagues to support the bill, which would ban the air export of horses for slaughter, and send it to committee before the Senate goes up for recess later this week.

“Once the doors close in Canada and the plane is in the air, the management in charge has absolutely no way of knowing what is happening to those horses,” Adler said. “Canadian inspectors are not present on flights or on the ground when those horses arrive at their destination, so Canada relies entirely on local authorities overseas to tell us if there has been a death or injury during transport.

“There is a high possibility that these horses will suffer or be injured in the process or worse“.

But Adler declined a challenge issued by another Manitoba senator, Conservative Don Plett, to join him at the Winnipeg airport early Monday morning to see the horses being loaded onto a plane departing for Japan.

“You implied, Senator Adler, that these horses are suffering on the runway. They are cruelly put in boxes where they can’t turn, where they can’t lie down, and that’s not true,” Platet said after Adler’s statement.

“I invite you to come with me on December 16 to the Winnipeg airport and see just that.”

Growing concerns about delays

Adler confirmed to CBC News that he will not be joining Plett, who recently toured Edmonton on a cargo plane to see how the horses are treated.

“I support the bill and do not wish to do anything to distract from what is most important, which is to alleviate the suffering of Canadian horses being airlifted on a cargo ship without heat, food, water or rest, halfway around the world,” Adler wrote in Response to CBC News.

Plett told CBC on Friday that there were still at least three senators who wanted to talk about the bill. As the official critic, he has the last word. He doesn’t think there will be enough time before the holiday because there is a lot of government work to be done.

“It has always been our belief that all of this should be done through regulation and not through legislation,” Plett said.

That’s a concern for Caitlin Mitchell, director of legal advocacy for Animal Justice. She’s concerned the bill is stuck in partisan politics and won’t pass before the next federal election.

“Going to the airport and seeing the horses is important to me because I think it’s important to document that these shipments happen,” she said. “I think it’s important to witness the suffering of horses firsthand.”

CFIA steps up monitoring of transient horses

Animal Justice has released newly obtained documents from the Japanese government showing at least one horse died after sustaining injuries during a June trip to Japan. Several other people collapsed on the way.

In September, the advocacy group submitted documents revealing that at least 21 horses died during or in the days after they were airlifted from Canada to Japan between May 2023 and June 2024.

This contradicts information provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). In February, the agency’s representative He told a committee in the House of Commons The agency is aware of only five horse deaths related to air shipments since 2013.

The CFIA told CBC News it has reviewed the documentation provided by Animal Justice and, as a result, is now requiring exporters and air carriers to document the start and end times for each leg of shipment from Canada, as well as the total transit time.

A. has happened Emergency plan of the air carrier includes measures to mitigate the suffering of animals in the event of delay.

However, the CFIA said it found only one death and eight serious infections that occurred during the trip or were observed on arrival between June 2023 and June 2024. The additional cases occurred after the horses were in Japanese quarantine.

Canada cannot force Japan to report any incidents after horses were taken off cargo planes, so the CFIA said that would not be included in its report. Preparing reports. As of September, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has provided Canada with this information.

Fears of delay

Two CFIA officials and Canada’s chief veterinarian traveled with a shipment of horses to Japan in December, the regulatory agency said. They monitored all stages of the process – loading the horses at the Alberta farm, driving them to the Edmonton airport, transporting them to the crates and loading them onto the plane.

They flew on board with the horses and continued to monitor the process as the animals were transported to the quarantine facility.

While in Japan, CFIA officials met with the chief veterinarian and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials to exchange information.

But amid the political debate and government investigation, Dana Tong of Manitoba Animal Save said she just wants to ban the practice altogether.

“Seeing the horses arrive and be unloaded is tragic and terrifying,” she said.

“If Bill C-355 is not passed before the end of the session, or if a snap election is called, this bill could be tabled and we could lose all progress on it, which would be devastating.”