‘Significant Victory’: Canada’s Largest Horse Slaughter Feedlot has Permanently Closed
The majority of horses exported for slaughter from the United States were sent to Bouvry Exports Prime Feedlot, where they endured appalling conditions for up to six months.
A branded horse awaiting slaughter at Bouvry Exports. Credit: Tracks Investigation, Animal Welfare Foundation, Animals' Angels USA, Tierschutzbund Zürich.
Canada’s largest horse feedlot plant has permanently closed after years of scrutiny by animal welfare activists.
Before its closure, Bouvry Exports Prime Feedlot in Alberta was a major hub for horse exports from the United States to Canada, capable of holding up to 1,800 horses destined for slaughter.
Gemunu de Silva, the co-founder of Tracks Investigations, who led four investigations into the harrowing conditions of Bouvry Exports since 2008, called the closure ‘a pivotal moment in the North American horse export industry.’
“Our investigators, who've borne witness to the distressing conditions and suffering of these animals, now celebrate a significant victory,” he said. “Their relentless pursuit of justice, under often harrowing conditions, has paid off.”
De Silva also celebrated the combined efforts of animal activists, investigators, and NGOs in bringing about this change for animals.
“This milestone not only showcases the power of investigative journalism and advocacy in effecting meaningful change but also serves as a powerful reminder of the impact that determination and collective action can have on ending cruelty. As we celebrate this achievement, let it motivate us to continue our efforts toward ensuring a more humane and fair treatment of all living beings.”
“As we celebrate this achievement, let it motivate us to continue our efforts toward ensuring a more humane and fair treatment of all living beings.”
Tracks’ numerous investigations, on behalf of the Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), Animals' Angels USA, and Tierschutzbund Zürich (TSB) into Bouvry Exports’ plant uncovered devastating animal welfare violations.
In the feedlots, thousands of horses were kept in filthy, crowded pens without shelter, despite temperatures dropping as low as -33°C in winter. Tracks' most recent investigation, undertaken in 2023, revealed horses suffering from untreated injuries and diseases and painful hoof conditions such as laminitis. They also found the decaying remains of foals and adult horses.
Horses being held at Bouvry Exports Prime Feedlot in Alberta. Credit: Tracks Investigation, Animal Welfare Foundation, Animals' Angels USA, Tierschutzbund Zürich.
Due to EU food safety regulations, which require a six-month residency period for US horses sent to slaughter in Canada to ensure there are no drug residues in the meat, the equines are kept in these conditions for months at a time before being killed.
Why Are America’s Horses Being Slaughtered in Canada?
Although the US banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption back in 2007, a significant number of horses are still being sent from America to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada due to legal loopholes that allow this practice to continue.
The animals sent for slaughter include both wild and domestic horses, former racehorses, and former carriage horses. Kill buyers purchase the animals at auctions, often outbidding legitimate horse owners and rescue organizations, with the ASPCA warning that ‘every horse in the United States is just one bad sale away from slaughter.’
“Every horse in the United States is just one bad sale away from slaughter.’”
In 2022 alone, an estimated 20,000 horses from America ended up in the slaughter pipeline, enduring long-distance journeys crowded together in trucks without access to food or water.
Drone shot of Bouvry Exports. Credit: Tracks Investigation, Animal Welfare Foundation, Animals' Angels USA, Tierschutzbund Zürich.
Although the industry is in steep decline, with kill buyers earning potential from horses continuing to fall, the number of US horses sold to Mexican slaughter plants increased from 16,362 horses in 2022 to 17,997 horses in 2023.
According to Animals’ Angels’ research, this temporary increase was directly linked to the roundups of wild horses in Wyoming. The groups who wanted to remove the wild horses from Wind River Reservation sent the animals straight to well-known kill buyers, without searching for alternative rehoming options such as adoption.
A $270,000 grant to support the removal of thousands of wild horses from the Wind River who supposedly threaten the big horse, elk, and mule deer populations was approved by Wyoming Legislature’s Select Natural Resource Funding Committee in December 2022. Hunting organization, The Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, funded 50 percent of this grant.
As part of efforts to prevent America’s horses from being slaughtered, activists are championing the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act. If passed, this bipartisan bill would permanently ban horse slaughter in the United States by prohibiting the exportation of horses for slaughter.
What Can You Do?
Nearly 30,000 passionate Species Unite supporters have signed our petition urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass the SAFE act so that we can move one step closer to protecting American horses from slaughter. Help ramp up support for the bill by adding your name here.
Tracks Investigations works tirelessly to expose rampant animal cruelty through their hard-hitting investigative filming. Species Unite has welcomed its co-founder Gemunu de Silva multiple times on our podcast, where he gives us a glimpse into the brave and heartbreaking work of the world’s leading undercover investigation organization for animals.
You can listen to the conversations here and here: S10. E14: Save America’s Horses From Slaughter, S8. E1: Vampire Blood Farms, S7. E4: The Power Of Undercover Investigations, and S4. E23: The Quiet Man Speaks.
Please also consider supporting Tracks’ ongoing efforts to bring injustice to light by making a donation here.
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