Thank you.
I speak today as a veterinary technologist and as an animal welfare specialist for the Winnipeg Humane Society.
This committee has heard much testimony on research published globally in veterinary literature about horses experiencing negative states of welfare. Testimony has been presented by expert professionals on the different shipping methods when moving valuable performance horses. Some witnesses have claimed that the live horse export industry should have its regulations enhanced in lieu of total prohibition. I suggest that such an approach will not work. Reducing health and welfare risks associated with shipping large quantities of horses overseas would require a total overhaul of the transportation process to an extent that the industry would cease to be feasible or profitable.
Such costly improvements would include enhanced padding and head clearance for horses, multiple veterinarian attendants per shipment, reduced numbers of horses per shipment, intervention capabilities, alternate handling techniques during loading processes and auditory distress mitigation. The slippery slope argument that putting an end to live horse exports will lead to ending other animal agricultural industries is nothing more than repetitive fearmongering.
What we are doing is a great disservice to the Canadian public—who elect politicians to office—by ignoring contemporary societal values towards animals in the law-making process, especially in relation to draft horses, which were relied upon so heavily to build the infrastructure of what is now known as Canada.
Decisions, including position statements established by the CVMA, are influenced as much by societal values and ethics as they are by scientific inquiry. We also see this with animal agricultural industries that revise standard practices based not solely on science but on demands from a more humane and conscientious public. It is not the only factor, but it is a factor that horses do hold a different status for Canadian constituents when compared to other livestock.
Thank you. I am happy to answer any questions that the committee may have.