Horse meat gained widespread acceptance in French cuisine during the later years of the Second French Empire. The high cost of living in Paris prevented many working-class citizens from buying meat such as pork or beef, so in 1866, the French government legalized the eating of horse meat, and the first butcher's shop specializing in horse meat opened in eastern Paris, providing quality meat at lower prices. During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), horse meat, along with the meat from donkeys and mules, was eaten by anyone who could afford it, partly because of a shortage of fresh meat in the blockaded
Horse meat founding, although large numbers of horses are slaughtered for meat in Fort MacLeod, and certain butchers in Calgary do sell it. The consumer protection show "Kassensturz" of Swiss television SRF together with Tier Schutz Bund, Zürich, reported on 19 February 2013 the bad treatment and brutal animal husbandry in Canadian horse meat farms in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, consequently the import from such farms has been boycotted. CBC News reported on March 10, 2013, that horse meat was also popular among some segments of Toronto's population. Horse meat is generally not eaten in the United States and holds a taboo in