A report on horses as food producing animals aimed at addressing horse welfare and improving communication with the livestock industry and the public
Horses are a food producing animal. In the United States, the pressure to ban killing horses for food because it considered “inhumane and un-American” has gained strong momentum. The resulting horse welfare and economic impact is already significant in the US. This same pressure to implement such restrictive legislation may take a foothold in Canada, with the same resulting consequences.
In December 2006, a diverse group representing the Alberta horse industry, the Alberta Farm Animal Care, enforcement agencies and veterinarians met to discuss a strategy to address the issue in Alberta and manage public pressure related to horse welfare and horses for food in Canada. The Alberta Equine Welfare Group was formed to oversee and implement a plan to address horse welfare and to improve communication within the livestock industry and with the public.
The overall objective of the plan is to improve horse welfare and provide tools to manage any public pressure related to horse welfare and horses processed for food. The first step was to prepare a situational analysis report.
Please follow this link The Alberta Horse Welfare Report (2008) to the full report.