On December 11, 2012, Jack Rodolico of Latitude News reported on the story of Silky Shark, a Standardbred racehorse who was slaughtered and slipped through the system to dinner plates, when his carcass should have been condemned.
The CHDC provides evidence of phenylbutazone entering the human food chain in Proof of CFIA Failure.
The report ends with a list of emails for concerned people to contact within various Canadian government organizations. Here are some talking points when you write with your concerns:
– Horses are not raised as livestock for human consumption.
– Horses come from unknown points to auctions and feedlots and, therefore, cannot be properly traced.
– The majority of pleasure and sport horses have received banned veterinary drugs during their lifetime.
– The EID program does not ensure reliable tracking history for horses. Owners are only required to declare “to the best of their knowledge” that their horse(s) has not received banned drugs for the previous six months. However, there is a long list of drugs that are banned for life including phenylbutazone and clenbuterol.
– The CHDC has evidence in their most recent reports of the failure of the EID program for North American horses. These reports include “Proof of Failure” and “Pasture to Plate“.
– The CFIA only does random testing on less than 1% of horses.
– Despite the CFIA’s weak safeguards, the CHDC’s “Proof of Failure” report provides compelling evidence that a Standardbred racehorse received phenylbutazone and entered the human food chain.
– There is no scientific evidence that phenylbutazone ever leaves the body and it has proved fatal to humans.
Canadian Horse Defence Coalition's Blog 
[…] CHDC’s report, Proof of CFIA Failure: https://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/proof-of-cfia-failure/ […]
[…] Please read about Silky Shark here. […]
This is my very first blog, and I cant think of a better reason.
Despite spending my life fighting animal cruelty it is with deep embarrasment that I have to admit that until recent days I was basically oblivious to the horse slaughter. I had a minimal awareness of the deplorable horse charters but aside from that remained blissfully uninformed to this horror.
I personally can only allow my mind and heart small doses of animal brutality info at a time, as I soak it up like a spnoge and then remain nauseious and unable to sleep for prolonged periods as it then consumes my every waking moment.
I have spent a number of days now informing myself including viewing one of the horrific videos, which has left my heart screaming in shame and outrage. The visuals will haunt me till the day I die.
As yet my knowledge is limited. It seems to me that as long as Stephen Harper remains prime minister change will be difficult. When he funds a slaughterhouse 2 million of the publics money to retrofit it, his position is clear.
I am an average person, fortunate enought to live in this beautiful country we call Canada. Sadly these criminals on top and their slaughterhouse bed-fellows are leaving such a foul taste in my mouth that I am riddled with shame and disgust to admit to loving Alberta. I can only surmise that the people in office are there because , like me, too many others remain clueless as to the heinous atrocities taking place behind closed doors while the murderering butchers and their political enablers laughingly sip martinis and and pat each other on the backs for the vats of blood money they are bringing home.
The publics ignorance becomes even more apparent when Bill Desbarres , Claude Bouvry’s paid representative ,was honored with the Readers Choice Award for his lifetime in the service of the horse? in 2012. I cannot describe my disgust. But then people obviously have no idea that this “horse loving , great guy” is one of the same people that promotes horse slaughtering as humane and simply denied the atrocities shown in the videos calling them staged after their authenticity had been proven. The fact that no charges were laid in something so undeniably gruesome simply shows again how much power we have handed these criminals.
Sadly I personally do not see much worth in writing countless letters. For the most part they are ignored or smirked upon. If statistics at the moment, claiming that 2/3 of Canadians are against the slaughter then how is it that we are paralyzed in bringing about even the smallest modicum of change due to a handful of greedy buiseness people at the top? How many countless horses have to suffer and be butchered before we truly find an answer and commit to fighting this with something that works?
Sylvia from Calgary, who just crawled out from under a rock!
Lots of people don’t know how the horses are cruelly and barbarically put close to death and skinned alive in our nation’s slaughter houses to the tune of almost 90,000 every year. Canadians are basically an apathetic bunch on the whole lot: Even when they do know, most are too busy texting their ‘100’ non-friends and that about sums up the extent of their moral compass. That’s too harsh? Oh no, not at all. We mercilessly kill baby seals with much the same level of ‘humanity’ – and on this one, great troubadours like Sir Paul McCartney (an English bloke by the way) crawled on the ice in protest – but hell, it’s the Europeans we are poisoning with toxic horse meat (that we wouldn’t feed to even a dog) so if it ain’t us, let’s not worry about it, eh?? That about sums up the Canadian. Ah come on, you think Stephen Harper doesn’t know what a jerk-ass he is when it comes to environmental or animal welfare? Hell, luckily it’s HIS kids who will be mired in the long run – our generation will be long gone. Take that Mr. Silky-sharper-Harper. We are horrid to our farm livestock too – watch those poor sows who cannot even touch their babies or turn around – Canadians have no moral compass to speak of and yet we point fingers like self-righteous upright citizens (eh?) at others. Hey Sylvia, don’t be proud of anything Canadian, be ashamed. Canada wont sign any accord that would lower pollution, wont stir an inch to stop poisoning those European allies with dangerous and toxic horse meat (we will need them alive if history continues to repeat itself), wont stand up for animals right to a quality life … what’s left to be proud of ?
[…] world, watches as the horsemeat scandal unfolds in Europe and the U.K., the CHDC is reposting “Proof of CFIA Failure“, the story of Silky Shark, a Standardbred racehorse who was slaughtered and slipped through the […]
I agree with all above but we need to get this to the proper people and get this stopped for sure and by the way I have a 12 year old Standard Bred, a 9 year old Thoroughbred and an old blind riding horse and I promise you they will grow old and be buried on the property when they die they have forever home here with me. I would take a lot more but I dont have the property yet. Like come on this is horrific and terrible.
[…] watches as the horsemeat scandal unfolds in Europe and the U.K., the CHDC is reposting “Proof of CFIA Failure“, the story of Silky Shark, a Standardbred racehorse who was slaughtered and slipped through […]
[…] 12 days before Christmas, the CHDC’s “Proof of Failure” report provides compelling evidence that a Standardbred racehorse received phenylbutazone that […]
[…] CHDC’s report, Proof of CFIA Failure: https://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/proof-of-cfia-failure/ […]
Reblogged this on delia1979.
Canada STOP slaughtering our horses!
Remember, Americans, you have to pressure your politicians to pass the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. Once the flood of horses from the US stops then, hopefully, the industry will end in Canada.
Yes, Canadians want slaughterhouses closed, regardless of whether American or Canadian horses are slaughtered. But you have to remember Americans are sending “their” horses to Canada, sometimes even rounding up “wild” Nevada horses. It’s a responsibility for all of Canada, United States and Mexico. For Americans to blame Canada is the equivalent of blaming Mexico. We are all guilty.
And we have to remember that Canadians open their doors to those thousands of horses and then brutally put them (eventually after a prolonged and horrific experience) to their death. Let’s not blame the Americans because they stopped horse slaughter whereas us Canadians can’t even close the goddamn door at the border crossing!
When enough Europeans and Asians come up with ‘mysterious’ and terminal illnesses they will take a thorough look at the food that they consume. There is enough tainted and toxic horse meat entering their food chain now to burden the European taxpayers with medical treatment costs: Many ills caused by toxic horse meat. It wont be long before someone lets the *hush-hush* out of the bag and here in Canada, we are only too happy to keep the Asians and Europeans eating what we wouldn’t give to our dogs even.
So you are saying that you are happy to slaughter your standardbreds to feed asians and europeans? My horses sure don’t need a “fan” like you!
What??? oh gawd no! We are saying Canada is. Cause if Canada cared about the health of the Europeans, Canada would not allow horse slaughter at all.
I will be emailing this to everyone I can think of!! The people in Europe who consume this horse meat should all go on ‘strike’ and stop eating it!! How can they continue to consume it with evidence like this? How can this be so hidden from the consumers? I want to send all these people in Europe pictures of what they are consuming…horses suffering in slaughter plants. This needs to stop! Thank you CHDC for compiling this information.
What a disgusting trend…. These racehorses deserve to live out their lives in calm and restful pastures not ending up in a slaughterhouse. Slaughter of any horse should not be occurring… let alone contaminated tissues…. Just horrific! Canada needs to lead the way! This is inhumane and immoral! It’s wrong!
The horse meat industry is impossible to regulate for toxins unless every single horse going through the system is checked. That is never going to happen so who are they kidding! Most horses at some time in their lives are treated. This is a rotten industry – cruel and dishonest. It must be banned.
Every horse that is dumped into the slaughter pipeline that is raised in the US is contaminated with these drugs. No horse owner in the US wants to be bothered by keeping track of a horse passport when horses are not used as food. Every horse owner keeps a bottle or tube of Bute handy in case they need it. When the passport system kicks in in the summer of 2013 if the EU is serious about stopping drug contaminated horse meat from reaching consumers in Europe they had better be prepared to turn back every truck loaded with horses from the US. If they don’t they are not serious about stopping the health risk of this meat. And that goes for Mexico as well.
Congrantulations CHDC for hanging in there until you came up with th “Proof of Failure” which no official should be able to lie his or her way way out of. What a wonderful way to end the old year and to start a new one. Thanks.
THIS IS VILE. AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE !
there is no way to prove a horse is safe for human consumption unless they r raised like cattle from the time they are born, and here in America we do not raise them as livestock, they are our friends and pets. I even wonder if their meat is safe for our dogs to consume.
Dog food companies DO NOT use horsemeat in their dogfood for fear of being sued. It says a lot for our food system when the meat cannot be fed to dogs but is perfectly fine for human consumption.
Of-course! Horses are people,s PETS and sporting partners, ect. We care, train, groom, show, love,ect and “ride” these animals, they are NOT “Livestock” and were never intended to be! … gee
Great point! – This evidence suggests the EID system brought in by the CFIA to meet European
standards for food safety and traceability is flawed, incomplete and appears to
invite fraud. The EID system, promoted by the Canadian government as a document
that ensures “a continuous medical history” on each horse presented for slaughter, is far
from a guarantee that food safety is being addressed.
I’m not understanding why horsemeat is even an option for human consumption. The “meat” industry is in enough trouble in the last few years, adding horsemeat is ridiculous! We are told that Canada is THE place to live and bring up our kids, is just this propaganda from the government???
The sad reality is that the good name of Canada has been tarnished. Our environmental and animal care/preservation track record places us dead last on the developed countries list globally. Kids in Canada grow up believing that locking animals up in tiny cages (chickens) for life is the norm; slamming piglets on the floor to ‘stun’ them is ok; eating poisoned horse meat is ok as long as we send it abroad; …. it is propaganda to praise this country Canada. We are pertuators of some horrific sins against all forms of life.