Bill C-355 banning live horse air export for slaughter
Government Policy
Blocked
May 9, 2024
Summary
On 9 May 2024, the House of Commons of Canada passed Bill C-355 — Prohibition of the Export of Horses by Air for Slaughter Act — at third reading (adopted on division), sending it to the Senate for further consideration. The bill had been introduced by MP Tim Louis (Liberal, Kitchener-Conestoga) on 19 September 2023 and passed second reading on 31 January 2024 (181 yeas, 137 nays). It was studied and amended by the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) before returning to the House for third reading. As passed, clause 4 of the bill prohibits any person from exporting a horse from Canada by air unless they have provided the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food with a written declaration that the horse is not being exported for the purpose of being slaughtered or fattened for slaughter; penalties apply for false or misleading declarations. The Liberal government had made a 2021 election commitment to ban live horse export for slaughter. The Prime Minister’s Office expressed support for the bill, and Senator Pierre Dalphond served as a Senate ally for the measure. The bill reached Senate second reading on 5 December 2024 but made no further progress. When a federal election was called in April 2025, Bill C-355 died on the order paper before receiving Royal Assent or completing Senate passage. It did not become law. Advocacy organisations including Animal Justice, Animals’ Angels, the Toronto Humane Society, and the BC SPCA had supported the bill throughout; they subsequently called for the bill’s reintroduction in the new Parliament. Statistics Canada data cited in committee testimony documented approximately 2,500 horses exported by air from Canada to Japan for slaughter in 2023 at a trade value of approximately 19 million CAD; exports increased to approximately 3,265 in 2024 while the bill was under consideration.
Background Context
Before Bill C-355, Canada exported live horses by air to Japan for slaughter under the general framework of the Health of Animals Act and associated transport regulations, without a specific statutory prohibition. Since 2013, Canada exported more than 50,000 horses for slaughter. Exports had increased to approximately 3,265 in 2024 — the highest level since 2016. Animal Justice and Animals’ Angels documented deaths and injuries during transport, including 21 horses dying between June 2023 and May 2024, and found that most journeys exceeded the 28-hour legal limit for transport without feed, water, or rest. The Fisheries Act already prohibited shark fin imports and exports (Bill C-68, 2019), providing a legislative precedent for using the same parliament to restrict specific animal product trade channels. The Alberta ag-gag law (2019) and Ontario ag-gag law (2020) had been enacted in the same parliamentary period, indicating a politically contested environment for animal-related legislation. The bill was a private member’s bill; most such bills do not become law.
System Impact
Direction
Reduces Exploitation
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Moderate
Bill C-355 passed the House of Commons at third reading on 9 May 2024. It was sent to the Senate, where it reached second reading on 5 December 2024 and stalled. Parliament was prorogued in January 2025, which did not itself kill the bill (private members’ bills survive prorogation). When the federal election was called in April 2025, the parliamentary session ended and Bill C-355 died on the order paper without receiving Royal Assent. The bill never became law and the prohibition on live horse air export for slaughter never entered into force. During the period of parliamentary consideration, horse exports by air to Japan continued and increased — approximately 2,438 in 2023, 3,265 in 2024. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada data cited in committee testimony showed a 60.2% year-over-year increase in live horse exports for January–June 2024 versus the same period in 2023. Advocacy organisations are calling for Senator Dalphond to reintroduce a similar Senate bill in the new Parliament.
Anticipated Effects
If a successor bill is introduced and enacted in the new Parliament, the prohibition on exporting horses by air for slaughter from Canada would be expected to eliminate the primary channel for the existing trade to Japan, requiring exporters to either discontinue the trade or shift to other transport modes (sea or land) not covered by the air-specific prohibition.
If the government pursues regulatory change via the Minister of Agriculture rather than new primary legislation — an option referenced in a February 2025 statement by the Agriculture Minister’s spokesperson — the live horse export trade could potentially be restricted without requiring a new act of Parliament.
Whether a future instrument would achieve Royal Assent and enter into force depends on political and parliamentary conditions not established in available sources.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Reduces Exploitation (impact direction) because the bill, if enacted, would prohibit the export by air from Canada of live horses for slaughter — directly removing the primary transport channel for the Canadian live horse export trade to Japan. Exports continued and increased during the period of parliamentary consideration; the scale change is anticipated rather than documented.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the bill, if enacted, would create a new federal statutory prohibition on air export of horses for slaughter, codifying what is legally impermissible under a stand-alone Act with associated penalties. The mechanism is legal prohibition, not modification of conditions within a continuing system.
Assigned Moderate significance because the measure targets a specific niche trade — approximately 2,500–3,265 horses exported by air annually for slaughter in Japan — rather than the broader horse industry or animal agriculture. The bill is limited to air transport and does not cover sea or land export, and the overall animal numbers involved are in the low thousands per year.
The duration and persistence of the scale change is not established in available sources; the bill did not become law and exports were continuing at the time the bill died on the order paper.
Key Actors
MP Tim Louis (Liberal, Kitchener-Conestoga) introduced and sponsored Bill C-355. The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food studied and amended the bill before House passage. The Senate received the bill; Senator Pierre Dalphond was the designated Senate ally. The Liberal government expressed support through the Prime Minister’s Office and Agriculture Minister’s mandate letter commitment (December 2021). CFIA and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are the designated enforcement and administration bodies under the bill’s framework. Animal Justice, Animals’ Angels, BC SPCA, Toronto Humane Society, and the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition supported the bill. The live horse export trade principally involves draft-type horse breeders and exporters in western provinces, with Japan as the primary destination market.
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