APHIS Records Confirm: US Horses Shipped to Canada for Slaughter Are Misleadingly Designated“For Breeding” Purposes

Commercial Transportation of Equines for Slaughter Act (CTESA) Violations Avoided as Horses Arrive at Montana Feedlot Dead

Over a three-month period, Canadian meat company Bouvry Exports transported hundreds of US horses for slaughter from its Bar S Feedlot in Shelby, MT, to its horse slaughterhouse in Ft. MacLeod, Alberta, Canada. These horses were intended for slaughter, but were designated "For Breeding/Rearing" purposes on APHIS VS export documents.

This false and misleading designation allows Bouvry Exports to not only avoid CTESA violations, but it also brings into question the USDA’s ability to effectively oversee the equines for slaughter industry and for USDA Marketing Services to accurately document how many US horses are going to Canada for slaughter. Records from 2018 show Bouvry Exports buys at least 8,200 horses per year in the US.

#APHIS VS internal emails confirm that all horses going to the Bouvry feedlot in Shelby, MT are for slaughter, and should fall under CTESA oversight. Yet the Montana Department of Livestock has brokered a deal with Bouvry Exports that classifies the Bouvry feedlot as a quarantine facility, allowing Bouvry to avoid CTESA violations, despite consistent reports of dead and downed horses arriving at the feedlot from livestock auctions around the country, and concerning conditions at the feedlot, including dead horses in pits uncovered. APHIS was unable to provide any clarity on its jurisdiction in the matter.

Most of the horses on the export documents were geldings, between the ages of two and twelve. Many were quarter horses with brands from ranches, including dude ranches with riding programs. Others were draft horses from Kalona and Waverly Midwest auctions in Iowa, and other auctions in the Midwest.