‘Say neigh to live horse export’: Why Jann Arden is busking in Vancouver this week
A Canadian icon is busking on the streets of Vancouver to protest live horse exports from Canada to foreign countries.
Musician, actor, author and activist Jann Arden launched her musical awareness campaign on Sunday with a pop-up performance at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, and plans to continue in the downtown core on Monday, according to her social media posts.
“I want to thank everyone in North Vancouver for coming to hear me busking down at the Quay,” Arden wrote on Twitter Monday.
Her efforts on the North Shore managed to raise more than $400 for the campaign “Horsesh*t.”
The goal, according to initiative’s website, is to “end legislation allowing Canada to export live horses under conditions of duress for human consumption.”
In December 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a mandate to ban this practice to the agriculture minister, which has yet to be fulfilled.
The latest data by Statistics Canada suggests more than 2,000 horses have been shipped from Canada to Japan, where raw horse meat is a delicacy, since 2021.
That same year, Toronto MP Nathanial Erskine-Smith and Arden launched a petition calling for the end of live horse exports, which amassed 36,715 signatures by the time it closed this past February.
“Horses have shaped this country. They have carried us on their backs and plowed our fields. Like dogs and cats, they are our companions. We don’t need to treat them this way,” Arden wrote on her campaign’s website.
She says many of the horses that are exported out of Canada die before reaching the location where their destined to be slaughtered, after being crammed into wooden crates and deprived of food and water for up to 28 hours.
Arden plans to campaign in Vancouver until June 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.