Investigation in the US: Bouvry’s horse assembly centre in Shelby
Success: Bouvry's assembly centre in Shelby (USA) has ceased operations.
In Shelby horses have been abused and neglected for years.
The Bar S Feedlot in Shelby, Montana, can hold up to 1,800 animals. It serves as a horse assembly centre for the Canadian slaughter company Bouvry. Slaughter horses from all over the United States are gathered here before being transported to Bouvry's slaughterhouse in Calgary (Canada). There, the horses destined for the EU market stay in feedlots for another six months before they are slaughtered. We have visited the Bar S Feedlot together with our partner Animals’ Angels USA since 2012. We have found dead, dying, injured or sick horses every single time.
However, when we arrive this morning, we find a completely barren lot with not a single horse in it. The feedlot seems abandoned, the gates locked up and mostof the hay is gone. We observe the feedlot for several hours, but there is no sign of any activity whatsoever.
Later, we are able to confirm that Bouvry’s Bar S Feedlot in Shelby has been permanently closed. It shows that we have every reason to be hopeful that the horse slaughter industry in the US and Canada will continue to decline.
However, our work is not done yet. We have to continue to push for legislation that will ban the slaughter and export of horses for slaughter for good. We also have to continue to expose and monitor those who still profit from shipping horses to slaughter. And we have to continue making pressure on the European importers and the European Commission so that the import of horsemeat from torturous production will finally end.
