Heiner Theobald thinks there is nothing wrong with eating horse meat – that it contains less-harmful drugs than animals commonly raised for slaughter. He is sadly mistaken. In Canada, we do not raise horses for human consumption so there is no lifetime traceability on horses.

Horse owners commonly give their horses medication clearly labelled “not for use in animals destined for human consumption.” Of my nine horses, all have been vaccinated annually throughout their lives and all have received medication prescribed by veterinarians for various aches and ailments. Among the drugs: Bute, a known carcinogen that has no withdrawal time that makes it acceptable for use in the food chain.

And I’m only referring to my riding horses. Many of the horses that end up at slaughter are either thoroughbred or standardbred racehorses, often trucked in from the U.S., which has banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption. These horses are even more likely to contain drug residue.

Mr. Theobald correctly states that Canada exports large amounts of horse meat to Europe. This trade is likely to dry up this summer when the EU begins enforcing rules concerning traceability in horses destined for slaughter. The EU is fed up with the positive tests that have frequently occurred in imported meat. The slaughterhouses here have already shut down a few times as they scramble to clean up after a positive drug test or videos of the horrendous cruelty that occurs behind their doors.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Letter+Drug+residue+served+with+horse+meat/8045773/story.html#ixzz2NddI87OR