Private member’s bills don’t usually make it through the Canadian Parliament, and Bill C-571 to amend the federal Meat Inspection Act and the Safe Food for Canadians Act to limit horse slaughter for human consumption has come up short. British Columbia Member of Parliament Alex Atamanenko saw his private member’s bill fail to pass May 14 in a 155-102 vote that pretty much kills it dead in Canada’s legislative process. The bill had gained some attention in the United States because it would have banned the importing or exporting of horses to Canada, where the ultimate purpose is equine slaughter for human consumption. Horses raised specifically for human consumption and having detailed medical records would have escaped the limitations in the MP’s bill. In the debate, Atamanenko said his bill would protect Canada’s food supply against phenylbutazone, ”one of the long list of veterinary drugs not permitted for use in equine slaughter for food, meaning that no safe limits have been established.” Pierre Lemieux, Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, helped whip up the governing Conservative Party’s opposition to the bill. “I want to point that it is not just about restricting the movement of horses across the border,” he said. “This bill includes preventing horses from moving from one province to another within Canada. This is not a food safety issue, and it is certainly not an import-export issue, so I appreciate the opportunity to present clear facts to the House.” Although Atamanenko, a member of the New Democratic Party, also had support from the Liberal Party, it was not enough to overcome the governing Conservatives. Since legal horse slaughter ended in the U.S. in 2007, thousands of horses are annually moved across the Mexican and Canadian borders for slaughter to meet the world demand for horsemeat, mostly in Asia and Europe.
