Group petitions airport to stop flying live horses for slaughter

An animal welfare group is asking the Edmonton International Airport to stop sending live horses to Japan for slaughter.

An airport spokeswoman said all guidelines are being adhered to, but passengers and cargo are not within the airport’s jurisdiction.

“We don’t have jurisdiction over who or what gets on the airplane,” Traci Bednard said Wednesday.

An online petition from Voice for Animals that has amassed close to 80,000 signatures is trying to shut down the airport’s involvement in the horsemeat industry.

Sinikka Crosland, a member of the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, and Karin Nelson, a member of Voice for Animals, put the petition on Care2.com.

The group alleges the horses are being kept in conditions contrary to Canadian Food Inspection Agency standards.

“Edmonton Airport is complicit in this violent and unsavoury industry by making money from the takeoff and landing fees paid by these air cargo companies and airlines,” the petition said.

The petition said the horses are kept in crates that are too small with no food or water for longer than the 36 hours outlined by Canadian guidelines, with an additional 10 to 13½ hours of flight time and ground transfer in Japan.

The airport is confident regulations are being followed, Bednard said.