On 6th August, we are informed that a truck with horses has been confiscated by the police on the way to the EU-approved slaughterhouse Infriba in Mar del Plata. The horses had been discovered on a slaughter truck owned by the Onorato family. An AWF|TSB team travels to Argentina to investigate and document this case. Out of the 32 horses on board…

Our team observes the Bouvry slaughterhouse in Alberta during several investigation days in February 2019. The temperatures measured are as low as -22°C. Despite our numerous complaints in the past, the outdoor holding pens still offer no shelter from the elements. The backs of the horses are covered in snow and frost. The straw-bedded areas as…

Our team inspects the Prime Feedlot of the Bouvry slaughterhouse, where thousands of horses are fattened for six months. We want to see if any improvements have been made since our last investigation in 2015. We find that this is not the case. The horses still have no weather protection. They are kept out in the open, with temperatures as cold as…

Together with our partner organisation Animals’ Angels USA, we have been monitoring the horse feedlot in Shelby, Montana, for many years. The feedlot serves as the US assembly centre for Bouvry, the largest Canadian horse slaughterhouse. Our previous investigations have uncovered tremendous abuse and neglect of the animals.

We return to Shelby in…

Together with our partners form Animals’ Angels USA, we return to the horse auction in Billings, Montana. When we arrive at the auction premises in the early morning, the temperature is below zero. 118 horses are present at the auction, including approximately 100 “loose horses” (destined for slaughter). They are kept in outdoor pens, where the…

In December 2018, two weeks after an audit by the EU-Commission, our team returns to Argentina. At both slaughterhouses Lamar and Land L, new shelters have been installed, particularly for the audit. However, they are too small for the large numbers of horses which are usually kept on the premises. Once again, we see a lot of emaciated, injured,…

Our team inspects a horse auction in Artigas, a town in northern Uruguay. The handling of the horses at the entrance of the auction ring is extremely violent. Auction workers hit the frightened animals with sticks and leather whips. All horses go through the sale regardless of their condition. We even see a horse with a broken leg, heavily pregnant…

In September 2018, our team travels to Argentinain order to see if the conditions for slaughter horses have improved after the repeated promises of the Swiss and European importers. We inspect again the two largest horse slaughterhouses in the country: Lamar in the province of Buenos Aires, and Land L in the province of Cordoba, as well as the…

Together with our partner organisation Animals’ Angels USA, we inspect a horse auction in Sugarcreek, Ohio. This is where disused horses are purchased by so-called kill buyers. The closest horse slaughterhouse is located in Québec, Canada, more than 1.100 km away from here.

The auction’s pen area is half empty today, only about 40 horses are…