Horse meat: Cruel production must end

The latest research reports a continuous shift in horse meat production for the EU and Switzerland from North to South America.

According to the TSB Zürich, the shift of horse meat production to South America is also related to lower production costs. For years, TSB Zürich has been criticising the agonising conditions under which horse meat production takes place in North and South America. Conditions in the producing countries vary.

Horse meat from Canada

The company Bouvry Exports in Alberta, Canada, is the largest North American horse slaughter operation. Fifty percent of the horses slaughtered in Canada come from the USA. EU requirements for meat exports stipulate that US horses must be held in feedlot pens at the slaughterhouse for six months prior to slaughter day. This is intended to minimize the risk of drug residues. “This causes prolonged suffering. The horses are fattened into illness during these months,” reports Sabrina Gurtner, project manager at TSB Zurich. The feed serves solely to increase body weight. The result is painful hoof and metabolic diseases. Sick horses receive no medical treatment. Among other things, they would need to be administered the anti-inflammatory painkiller phenylbutazone. However, this medication is prohibited when the animal is slaughtered for human consumption. This is also confirmed by the feedlot manager to the Canadian regulatory authority CFIA: “(…) for horses destined for slaughter, phenylbutazone is not an option. (…) their condition deteriorates as their weight increases, but due to the EU program we cannot treat them.”

“During our on-site investigations, we repeatedly document horses with lameness, laminitis, or those that have died from their illnesses or injuries,” says Sabrina Gurtner. In the feedlot pens of Bouvry Exports, mares and stallions are kept together. In addition, pregnant animals are also delivered. “The chances of survival are slim for foals in pens designed for fattening. In summer we find sick foals, and in winter foals that have frozen to death at birth,” Sabrina Gurtner describes her observations.

“We import the horse meat directly from Canada. We source it mainly from the Bouvry farm in Alberta, which is without doubt the most species-appropriate and respectful horse breeding operation in the world. The horses live there in semi-freedom,” is how the Swiss importer Skin Packing S.A. describes the horse-keeping practices at Bouvry Exports. “This does not correspond to our observations, which we have been making on-site for over a decade,” criticizes Sabrina Gurtner. Responsible breeders would not allow foals to freeze to death at birth or raise them in such feedlot pens. Professor Stephanie Krämer of Justus Liebig University in Giessen considers the horse-keeping conditions to be highly contrary to animal welfare standards: “The animals are neither fed in a species-appropriate manner, nor is their care ensured. The lack of veterinary treatment for the horses is also deliberate, so as not to jeopardize the export of the meat. The animals' pain is knowingly accepted.»

Horse meat from Uruguay

TSB Zurich and AWF have been monitoring the stations that horses pass through for many years before they are slaughtered in EU-certified slaughterhouses for EU and Swiss customers. For years, they have been documenting the violations. In a recent long-term investigation spanning two years, conducted in connection with an audit announced by the EU, the three EU-certified slaughterhouses Clay, Sarel and El Amanecer were observed covertly and openly before, during and after the EU inspection. "Our research shows that EU audits are being manipulated through extensive preparations," reports Sabrina Gurtner. It is particularly notable that during the inspections, only a fraction of the horses are present in the slaughterhouse pastures. "These are selected horses in good general condition. They are placed on green pastures where there is shelter from the weather. However, this does not reflect the reality before and after the inspection visits. Once the inspectors have left, the horses are again standing on dusty and dirty surfaces, often without roughage and sometimes even without water. Then, instead of 40 to 60 healthy horses, there are several hundred. Among them are pregnant mares, severely injured and severely emaciated animals," says Sabrina Gurtner, reporting on an inspection 14 days after the EU audit. "Also striking is the behavior of the workers. As soon as they feel unobserved, driving flags become batons and horses are systematically beaten," describes Sabrina Gurtner her observations.

Problem: Traceability and consumer protection

The TSB Zürich and its partner organizations generally criticize the insufficient traceability of horses in overseas horse meat production. There is no identification system for horses comparable to that of Europe. Multiple changes of ownership are common, and many horses are traded at auctions. Only the last owner, typically the slaughter trader, provides information about medication administration and the origin of the horses sold by them to the slaughterhouse. "One relies on the honesty of those who profit. This is an entry point for systematic fraud and leads to the systematic endangerment of consumers in the EU and Switzerland," criticizes Sabrina Gurtner.

"From Uruguay and Argentina we regularly receive reports of stolen and smuggled horses. The police have assembled several special units to prosecute mafia-organized gangs," says Sabrina Gurtner. Most recently, in December 2022, a criminal gang in Uruguay was dismantled that had dedicated itself to smuggling stolen horses from Brazil. The gang included a former police officer and the head of the customs office in Rivera.

Slaughter numbers in Uruguay have been rising steadily for several years. In 2022, the figure was 52’000 horses. The Swiss importer Skin Packing has been promising for years to work toward improvements at its supplier slaughterhouses. "We are not seeing any sustainable improvements in animal welfare in our inspections," says Sabrina Gurtner. The TSB Zürich and its partner organizations have for years been criticizing the massive animal welfare violations in Uruguay and Argentina. Past EU audits confirmed grievances and manipulation of inspections by slaughterhouse operators in both countries.

"Given the conditions in overseas slaughterhouses that have remained in violation of animal welfare standards since 2012, the European Commission must finally take action and stop the import of horse meat produced through cruel methods," demand the TSB Zürich and its partner organizations. More on the topic of animal rights.

Petition: Demand an import ban on horse meat from cruel overseas production!