At approximately 3:13 a.m. on March 3, 2025 another Korean Air flight left the Edmonton airport with 99 young horses on board, destined for the Kitakyushu airport in Japan. The horses were Belgian crosses born in 2022 with an average weight of 827.6 kg (1825 lbs). Six trucks were used to transport them to the airport and once there, 3 horses were loaded in each crate.

During the aircraft loading process, one crate was returned to the holding building due to 2 horses sitting while in the crate. With encouragement, the horses were reportedly able to stand. No abnormalities were reported and they were standing when the crate was loaded back on the aircraft.

This flight included a stop lasting approximately 1 ½ hours in Anchorage for refuelling. The horses were reported to be standing when the plane departed at approximately 6 a.m. for the final leg of the journey.

At approximately 12 p.m., one horse was found down in a crate. Efforts to coax the horse up were unsuccessful but notes indicate they would be monitored every half hour and the other horses in the crate would be repositioned, if necessary. How this would be accomplished is not included.

The aircraft landed at 7:55 a.m. and the horse was still down at 8 a.m. (JST). An email sent on March 6 stated it was expected that “the horse had got up in Japan as the airline reported there were no deaths or injuries.

Food, Water, and Rest

The horses are denied access to food, water, and rest from when they are loaded on trailers at the feedlot until their arrival at the quarantine facility in Japan.

The Humane Transportation of Animals records states the horses on this flight were without these basic necessities for 27.92 hours (27 hours and 55 minutes), barely under the 28 hours allowed under Canadian regulations.  Comments indicate the form was completed based on information collected during onsite inspection and the exporter.

January 2025 flight – another instance of horses ‘’sitting’’

Information obtained through Access to Information regarding a January 16, 2025 flight revealed two horses were found ‘’sitting’’ in crates.

Before being loaded on the aircraft, one horse was found to be ‘’sitting”. The exporter returned the crate to the handling pen where the horses were unloaded and then loaded back into the crate when no problems were found. However, at the time of loading, a horse was found to be in the sitting position in another crate. This crate was returned to the handling pen, the horse was unloaded and then reloaded into the crate. The horse sat again. “Out of an abundance of caution” the horse was removed from the shipment and returned to the feedlot.  We later learned that three horses on this flight died during the quarantine period in Japan:

• One horse fell in flight and was unable to stand from the day of arrival and remained in a recumbent state, dying on the third day of quarantine (January 20).
• One horse experienced a miscarriage and uterine prolapse on the fifth day of quarantine period (January 22) becoming unable to stand.
• One horse experienced a miscarriage during the quarantine period (January 28) and died the same day.