For the love of horses, it’s time to take action

I hope everyone has enjoyed the touch of summer we have been experiencing; the rays of sunshine give hope for progressive move forward in the world we live in. Speaking of the world we live in, the animal welfare world has some wins, and some loses; I try to strike a balance between writing to you about both to make life on the internet more palatable.

There is an issue though that has been left without a move forward and I would like to tell you about it.

Currently Canada exports up to 5000 live horses annually to be slaughtered overseas and the Winnipeg Humane Society is a major player in taking steps to put a stop to this.

Draft horses that are purposefully raised for exportation are shipped out of three airports located in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. Horses destined for exportation are raised in feedlots without sufficient protection from the elements and once horses arrive overseas, there is no accountability, no way to know how they will be treated or how they will be slaughtered.

These beautiful, companion fight or flight animals do not deserve this fate.

After years of turmoil and opposition to this practice and industry, the Prime Minster has asked his team to put a stop to it- we are still waiting.

Once re-elected, Prime Minister Trudeau provided Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, with a mandate letter in early 2022, which included many different action items, one of which asked her to implement a ban on live horse exportation, only recently has she declared she is currently meeting with industry stakeholders for more information. As of today, no other deadline or plan of action has been announced.

What you can do:

If you are like me, it is very difficult to hear about the trials and tribulations of animals and the perils they face without being able to do something… so how about this:

Join the WHS Rally to End Live Horse Exportation at the Manitoba Legislative Building – The rally on Saturday June 11 at NOON, will bring horse lovers from across Manitoba together to denounce horse exportation. In the meantime, please contact the Minister in opposition today: https://openparliament.ca/politicians/marie-claude-bibeau/contact/

Together, we can achieve a ban on this inhumane industry. For more information on Live Horse Exportation click here.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and we hope to see you on June 11^th.

With love and compassion,

Jessica Miller
WHS CEO