COLUMN: Accent on Agriculture – Horse meat is not going anywhere

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/05/2023 (726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When I was reporting on the livestock markets on a daily basis, occasionally we would get a quote on a horse. If the price was on the basis of an animal, then you knew it was a riding horse. If the price was per pound, then you understood it was headed for a feedlot, where the horse would grow, put on some weight and eventually be sold to an off-shore market. When a quote for horses was given, we always heard from listeners. They did not want to know that horses were being sold for food anywhere in the world.

Horse meat is a part of a human diet in many parts of the world. Because horses are also pets that many people have close relationships with, they don’t want to know that other people don’t share their views. Meat from horses can be a delicacy, part of a regular routine, or an emergency diet in times of shortage. Meat that comes from horses is never called horse meat. In France, it carries the name chevaline. In Japan, it is a delicacy called sashimi.

Most of the horses sold for food are the larger horses, what we call ‘heavy horses’ such as Percherons and Clydesdales. In days past, these were the horses used in farm work before tractors came along. Another phrase used was draft horses, and they were widely used in delivering parcels in urban areas.

Horses, like cattle and pigs, begin in a feeding yard. Here they grow and put on weight until they reach the desired weight. Then the live horses are exported through large air terminals. They go to a variety of markets in Asia and Europe. There are also markets in Canada. Quebec is this country’s biggest market. But there are supplies available to those who want to know in nearly every region.

Canada is one of the largest suppliers of horses to the world market. It is said that our country exports up to five thousand head per year. In the past ten years that export has been about 40,000 head.

Exporting horses for food has become quite controversial. Those opposed to that trade have tried to make it political. They indicate they will never stop fighting the issue until the practice is ended. But the consumption of horse meat is a very old practice that won’t end if Canada stops exporting. The multi-million dollar business will simply go elsewhere.

Jim Rae is the former host of Information Radio on CBC Radio.