‘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

Threat of U.S. government shutdown ends as Congress passes a temporary funding plan and sends it to Biden
The threat of a U.S. federal government shutdown ended late Saturday, hours before a midnight deadline, as Congress approved a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open and sent the measure to President Joe Biden to sign.
Blue Jays secure playoff berth
The Toronto Blue Jays are returning to the post-season. Toronto secured an American League playoff spot when the visiting Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-1 tonight.
Pierre Poilievre called out for Truth and Reconciliation Day photos with Inuk elder
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre found himself the subject of online criticism after posting photos with an Inuk elder alongside a caption about meeting with Algonquin elders on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Canada marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with events across country
Seas of orange flooded events across the country on Saturday as Canadians gathered to acknowledge systemic oppression of Indigenous people and observe the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Jury acquits delivery driver of main charge in shooting of YouTube prankster
A jury on Thursday found a delivery driver not guilty in the shooting of a YouTube prankster who followed him around a mall food court earlier this year.
W5 Ferraris worth nearly $1M seized from Edmonton men linked to Pivot Airlines drug-smuggling scandal
Two Edmonton men at the centre of an international cocaine-trafficking scandal that led to the detainment of a Canadian airline crew in the Dominican Republic last year are back in the spotlight. They're facing numerous charges after police seized a pair of stolen Ferraris worth roughly $1 million.
Can you watch 'Toy Story Funday Football' in Canada?
The NFL is airing a special animated broadcast featuring 'Toy Story' characters when the Atlanta Falcons play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Scientist rediscover bat that hasn't been seen in 100 years
After first being captured over a century ago, scientists have re-discovered a species of bat that hasn't been seen since 1916.
'Reconciliation is a lifelong experience': Gov. Gen. Mary Simon reflects on Truth and Reconciliation
On the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says that while she acknowledges the time it takes to fulfill calls to action, she also understands the frustrations that progress is too slow, and she feels 'we should speed things up.'