The world’s first welfare standards for handling slaughter horses have been released.
“These guidelines are an assessment tool or audit tool for processing plants,” said Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada chair Bill des Barres.
The horse processing industry has been under fire for abuses in plants in Quebec and Alberta.
“When we started recognizing there was a perception of, and some problems, we knew we had to tighten the strings,” des Barres said.
The guidelines will be released at an international conference on animal welfare and livestock processing that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is sponsoring in Calgary.
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The CFIA-approved guidelines provide similar information to what is in place for cattle and hogs, including horse behaviour and handling, facility design, transport, compromised animals, effective stunning and willful acts of abuse.
As well, a code of practice is being written for the humane handling of horses throughout their lives.
Clinics teach how to transport and care for performance and recreational horses, while livestock hauler courses include information on transporting horses. The horse welfare alliance has also produced information packages on care and rehabilitation of neglected horses.
