Horses 'still dying' after flights from Canada to Japan — and regulator seems unaware

A new investigation by animal rights advocates shows horses being flown for slaughter in Japan continue to suffer injuries, illness and even death, reigniting the call for Canada to ban the shipments.

"Horses are still dying. Horses are still collapsing on the flights," said Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy with Animal Justice, which wrote the report with documents provided by Japan-based Life Investigation Agency (LIA) and the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC).

"You cannot bulk-ship horses from rural Manitoba and rural Alberta to Japan for slaughter and do it in a humane way."

Retired Conservative senator Donald Plett opposes banning shipments but says Ottawa should demand more rigorous reporting requirements and accountability when horses are injured or die.