Brooks Animal Law Digest

The government of British Columbia has introduced Bill 17, the Family Law Amendment Act, 2023, which proposes amendments to the Family Law Act that are intended to provide guidance for people and judges involved in animal custody disputes. If passed, the amendments would require the consideration of factors such as each person's ability and willingness to care for the pet, the relationship between the child and the animal, and the risk of family violence or threat of cruelty. V. Victoria Shroff, animal law specialist at Shroff and Associates, said: “These amendments reflect how pets are valued as unique family members by society rather than as inanimate property like furniture […] Having relevant factors to consider for these difficult decisions will bring more clarity and is a welcome change.” These amendments are the first of their kind in Canada.

Bill C-275, a federal ag-gag style bill sponsored by Conservative Member of Parliament and Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee Member John Barlow, has moved on to second reading in the House of Commons. The bill seeks to punish any person unlawfully on property where animals are kept if they know or are reckless as to whether doing so could result in exposing the animals to a disease or toxic substance. The proposed amendments to the Health of Animals Act were previously introduced as Bill C-205, which died when the 43rd Parliament dissolved before reaching its third reading. Bill C-205 was criticized by organizations such as Animal Justice, which emphasized that animal advocates and protesters have never caused a disease outbreak in Canada. In a speech given on May 1st, 2023, NDP Member of Parliament Alistair MacGregor argued that biosecurity measures should apply to all individuals on farms, not just unauthorized persons, citing a 2021 Animal Justice report that documented hundreds of biosecurity failures by authorized personnel on farms. He questioned: “If we are serious about biosecurity, should we not be concentrating on making it applicable to everyone who is on a farm, to ensure they are following the standard protocols?”

During the House of Commons question period on May 9th, Senator Marty Klyne asked the federal government about the fate of Bill S-241, the Jane Goodall Act. Bill S-241 is the most debated bill in second reading in the Senate this 44th Parliament, spanning over thirteen months with fifteen speeches and over four hours of debate. Senator Klyne emphasized that the bill “would fulfill two government election commitments reflected in Minister Guilbeault’s mandate letter to protect captive wild animals and to curb wild animal trafficking including elephant ivory and rhino horn.” He asked whether the government would move the bill to Committee or introduce their own version of the Jane Goodall Act to save it.

Andrés Fontecilla, MNA for Laurier-Dorion and Québec Solidaire's housing critic, has introduced a bill that would amend the Civil Code to render ineffective “no-pet” clauses in rental housing leases. The proposed legislation, known as Bill 494, aims to address the challenge of finding animal-friendly housing in the midst of a housing crisis. It would apply to both new and existing leases. Fontecilla said: “It’s unacceptable that thousands of Quebecers have to choose between giving up their four-legged friend or finding a place to live, when the solution is simple.”

Bill S-5, the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, has passed a final vote in the House of Commons. Bill S-5 updates the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) for the first time in over twenty years and includes provisions to restrict toxics testing on vertebrate animals and promote the use of alternative, animal-free methods. Bill S-5 will now return to the Senate for one final review before it can be passed into law.

The federal government is being sued by a group called the “Responsible Plastic Use Coalition,” made up of Canada’s biggest plastic manufacturers and distributors, over their decision to list plastic manufactured items as “toxic” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Animal Justice, Environmental Defence, and Oceana were all granted intervenor status in the case and will appear to defend the ban and put forward important information about the harm that pollution causes to wildlife. The hearing in Responsible Plastic Use Coalition et al. v. the Minister of the Environment took place in Federal Court in Toronto March 7th to 9th. A rally to draw public attention to the case was organized by the intervenors outside the courthouse on March 7th.

Truck driver Andrew Blake has pleaded guilty to careless driving causing the death of animal rights activist Regan Russell outside Fearmans Pork slaughterhouse located in Burlington, Ontario in June 2020. Blake pleaded guilty to the single charge under the provincial Highway Traffic Act and was ordered to pay the minimum possible fine of $2,000 while a charge of careless driving causing death could have attracted a maximum $50,000 fine plus two years in jail. Russell, a member of the Animal Save Movement, was killed while protesting the province’s ag-gag law, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020. Camille Labchuk, a lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice, stated: “the leniency shown by police and prosecutors in this case is troubling but not surprising. Industries that farm, transport, and slaughter animals are seldom held to account for causing unlawful animal suffering—despite clear evidence regularly provided to authorities.”

The Divisional Court has dismissed an application for judicial review filed by Animal Justice, The Fur-Bearers, and Coyote Watch Canada against a coyote killing contest put on by Chesher’s Outdoor Store in Belleville, Ontario in 2021 and 2022. The judge found that the store did not have the written authorization required under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. However, it was the store rather than the respondent in the case, the Ontario Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, who was the party in potential violation of the Act. On the question at issue in the case, namely, judicial review of the Minister’s decision to not prosecute the store, the court held that it was within his discretion not to prosecute. The annual contest was held again in February 2023. Animal Justice and Coyote Watch Canada have filed an application for an investigation under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, hoping the province will be open to this way of holding the store accountable.

The British Columbia (BC) Civil Resolution Tribunal considered new factors being proposed under the Family Law Act when determining the custody of a dog named Bentley. Christina McInulty and Jeffrey Wayne Bond had shared custody of Bentley on a rotating three-week cycle for eight years but ended up in court when McInulty refused to let Bentley go when Bond came to pick him up. McInulty alleged that she was no longer comfortable with Bond having Bentley because she had discovered upsetting things about Bond but failed to substantiate the allegation. Vice Chair Andrea Ritchie said: “I find that Ms. McInulty unilaterally removing the dog from one of its owners, Mr. Bond, without any explanation about the allegedly 'upsetting' behaviour or how it may have been dog-related, displays a lack of ability to put Bentley’s best interests above her own personal interests.”

The Superior Court of Quebec has dismissed a lawsuit brought by animal rights group, Droits animalier Québec (DAQ), seeking an injunction to halt calf roping and steer wrestling at the St-Tite Western Festival. The court dismissed the rodeo's claim that the lawsuit was an abuse of process, noting that the possible violation of provincial animal welfare law was a serious and justiciable issue in which the group had a genuine interest. However, the court ultimately concluded that DAQ’s written complaint filed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 2018 constituted an effective remedy “already in progress” and that allowing the continuation of the injunction would not be an appropriate use of judicial resources. DAQ plans to file a Notice of Appeal with the Quebec Court of Appeal within thirty days.

On April 25th, the Quebec Superior Court heard experts' testimonies in the on-going case about how to deal ethically with the overpopulation of deer at Michel-Chartrand park in Longueuil. The deer have tripled in numbers since 2017, and experts say the park can only sustain fifteen animals. The plaintiffs in the case insist that the municipality has not considered all options and that the plan to cull the deer is irrational and unreasonable. The case against the city is being heard for the first time since last fall, when the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered the city to wait before allowing the hunting of the deer.

Animal rights activists, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer, are appealing their convictions and sentences in the continuing fall-out from their April 2019 occupation of a Fraser Valley hog farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia (BC). They were sentenced in October 2022, after being convicted at trial of break-and-enter and mischief. Lawyers for Soranno and Schafer filed an appeal with the BC Court of Appeal, arguing Justice Verhoeven erred in law by preventing them from showing the jury video evidence of what they describe as animal cruelty at the farm, and they claim that the Abbotsford police lost and destroyed crucial evidence central to their case.

Ontario’s Animal Care Review Board (ACRB) upheld a Compliance Order issued to Northern Exotics, an indoor zoo in Sudbury, following an inspection by Animal Welfare Services (AWS) in November 2022. The Order required several improvements in animal care, including more space, enrichment materials, and areas out of view from spectators. The operator of Northern Exotics, Dennis Epp, appealed the Order, claiming that his facility had consistently passed inspections until recently and linking increased scrutiny to an investigation of roadside zoos that was carried out last summer by World Animal Protection. The ACRB dismissed the appeal, noting that that Northern Exotics’ animals were in distress because Epp was “not meeting the test for the provision of proper care.” Epp is considering a further appeal but plans to scale back his work in the future due to various factors, including the pandemic and property prices.

The Ontario Divisional Court denied Windrift Adventures Inc.’s motion to set aside or vary the decision of the motions judge who denied their request to extend a stay of the Animal Care Review Board (ACRB) decision regarding the continued cost of care of over 200 sled dogs seized from their properties in 2021. Windrift has appealed the orders to the ACRB and brought three applications for judicial review in this ongoing situation and was seeking a stay of the costs order pending the result of the judicial review. Windrift argued that the motions judge's decision should be set aside or modified because they had taken new steps to secure the return of the dogs. However, the court ruled that the motions judge had not made an error, and the new evidence did not affect the original question of whether the stay should be extended.

Animal rights activists, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer, are appealing their convictions and sentences in the continuing fall-out from their April 2019 occupation of a Fraser Valley hog farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia (BC). They were sentenced in October 2022, after being convicted at trial of break-and-enter and mischief. Lawyers for Soranno and Schafer filed an appeal with the BC Court of Appeal, arguing Justice Verhoeven erred in law by preventing them from showing the jury video evidence of what they describe as animal cruelty at the farm, and they claim that the Abbotsford police lost and destroyed crucial evidence central to their case.

Marc-Antoine Côté, a man from Montreal, has been sentenced to sixteen months in prison––one of the harshest animal cruelty sentences ever handed down in Quebec. He was charged with throwing a cat off his balcony, causing her death, and for causing injuries to his dog that resulted in the animal's death. The Investigations Division of the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal collaborated on the investigation, resulting in Côté's arrest in October 2022. He pleaded guilty to the charges and is now banned from owning animals for life.

Reptilia, a reptile zoo in London, Ontario, is being investigated by city hall officials after complaints were received about the display of banned reptiles and venomous snakes. The opening of the facility violates the city’s animal control bylaw, and animal welfare group Zoocheck has filed complaints with municipal bylaw officials. Although Reptilia claims that its provincial license exempts it from municipal bylaws concerning animals, Zoocheck argues that the license only applies to animals native to Ontario, not exotic animals. London City Council voted against granting Reptilia a bylaw exemption earlier this year after receiving several submissions from the public expressing concerns over animal welfare and possible threats to public safety,

Andrew Burns, Marineland's lawyer, has been charged with violating the Lobbying Act for failing to file a return with the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying after communicating with a public office holder regarding Bill S-203. The legislation, which passed in 2019, banned whale and dolphin captivity and breeding in Canada. Marineland opposed the bill and fought to prevent it from becoming law. Pro-whale captivity senators in the Senate, led by then-Senate whip Don Plett, engaged in stall tactics and other efforts to delay and kill the bill.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General has charged Marineland, a tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, with three counts of failing to comply with an order related to the care of its American Black Bears. The charges were laid under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, and Marineland must comply with the order or face legal consequences. In the past, the park has faced charges related to animal cruelty, which were later dropped. The ministry declined to provide further details, stating that the matter is now before the court.

The Government of Canada has tabled a response to petition e-4122, which called for an end to the federal government’s ban on importing rescue dogs from over one hundred countries. The response, submitted by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, states that: “This recent measure was implemented in response to the importation of dogs infected with dog rabies, and resulting calls from federal and provincial public health officials to strengthen importation measures in Canada for dogs from countries at high risk for dog rabies.” This rationale has been criticized by animal welfare organizations, who claim the ban is overly broad and argue that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency failed to consider alternative rabies prevention measures, such as vaccines, antibody tests, and quarantines.

The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) have released an updated Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle, replacing the previous 2009 Code. The Code provides guidance for the care and treatment of dairy cattle, including in relation to nutrition, housing, disease and injury prevention, pain control, and more. The updated Code will be come into effect on April 1st, 2024.

Government emails obtained by Animal Justice through a freedom of information request reveal that thousands of turkeys were brutally killed at a Quebec farm during an avian influenza outbreak. According to the emails, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency originally planned to suffocate the birds with carbon dioxide gas but had to use captive bolt guns and a castration tool to kill the birds one-by-one when the gas was unavailable. There was no mention of measures taken to ensure the animals were dead or unconscious, which could have left improperly stunned or killed birds to suffer for extended periods.

The Vancouver Park Board has approved a plan to manage the city's Canada goose population, which includes the option of "lethal removal." The Board has stated that any method used will be humane and approved by regulators, but a permit from the Canadian Wildlife Service is required before implementing it. Animal law lawyer Rebeka Breder said: “What we really should be discussing and focusing on, is dealing with the root of the problem, which is usually human behavior. The Park Board should really be focusing on stronger enforcement of people feeding wildlife in parks, including birds, raccoons, coyotes — fining them to the maximum extent of the bylaws which Vancouver now has.”

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has created a first-of-its-kind interactive map that reveals substantial Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination in wildlife across the globe. PFAS are a class of synthetic chemical compounds widely used in industrial and commercial products. They are known as the “forever chemicals” because they can persist in the environment and in the body for hundreds, even thousands, of years. EWG’s map consolidates more than one hundred recent studies that have documented PFAS chemicals in over 330 species of wildlife around the world, including many types of fish, birds, reptiles, frogs and other amphibians, as well as large and small mammals.

A new report by Animal Environmental Legal Advocacy (AEL Advocacy), in collaboration with World Animal Protection, reveals that environmental protection legislation in most Canadian jurisdictions is insufficient to deal with the environmental impacts of the animal agriculture sector. The report includes a comprehensive review of domestic and international laws dealing with issues like land degradation, biodiversity loss, nutrient pollution, and climate change. The report recommends several legislative and policy reforms, such as restructuring government subsidies for agriculture, mandating best management practices, and imposing a moratorium on the expansion of Intensive Livestock Operations. These measures are aimed at reducing the environmental impact of animal agriculture and promoting sustainable farming practices in Canada.

A new report by World Animal Protection found that antibiotic overuse in factory farming is causing almost one million premature deaths and $400 billion in global economic losses annually. The report highlights how eighty-four percent of antibiotics administered globally on factory farms are not used to treat sick animals but instead are given to healthy animals to prevent disease and ensure productivity in cramped conditions for maximum profit. The report found that four superbugs common in factory farming are linked to 975,000 human deaths and 35 million illnesses annually. The human death toll linked to factory farming superbugs is on course to double by 2050 to 2 million if no immediate action is taken.

The American Medical Association Journal of Ethics has released a special issue aimed at educating readers on the health consequences of meat consumption for humans, animals, and the environment. The issue features papers from a diverse array of contributors exploring how health professionals can respond to the challenges created by meat consumption. The papers aim to inform both clinical practice and institutional responses to the issue.

Hope Bohanec (ed), “The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs” (US: Lantern Publishing & Media, 2023). 

Summary: As consumers become increasingly aware of the animal agriculture industry’s cruelty and environmental devastation, clever industry marketers are adapting with alternative “humane” and “sustainable” labeling and marketing campaigns. In the absence of accurate information, it has never been more important to educate people on the realities behind the industry lies, and people are hungry for the truth. 

The Humane Hoax features a range of engaging and thought-provoking essays from eighteen notable experts who are at the forefront of this marketing and societal shift, chronicling every aspect with in-depth analyses and intellectual rigor. Among other timely topics, we will explore how the humane hoax intersects with feminism, environmentalism, how it is represented in the media, and the affects it has on human and non-human communities alike. The Humane Hoax will leave the reader questioning everything that they have been conditioned to believe as consumers. 

A new study by Faunalytics surveyed thousands of people in the United States to determine their willingness to take pro-animal actions, such as buying cruelty-free products or going vegan. The study examines a broad range of demographics and offers insight into which appeals will most likely resonate with specific groups. The study found that being concerned about climate change could be a more significant factor in someone's openness to many pro-animal actions than being an animal lover. It also found that people are most open to simple actions that result in institutional change, such as Meatless Mondays. Faunalytics has created an interactive graphing tool to make it easier for users to view the study's findings.

Jochen Krattenmacher, “Universities should lead on the plant-based dietary transition” (2023) 7:5 The Lancet Planetary Health 354.

Summary: This comment argues that universities must take steps to reduce their procurement of animal-based foods to meet climate targets and stay within planetary boundaries. While research on this topic has been conducted, universities have been slow to adjust their food procurement practices. The authors suggest several measures, including offering healthy plant-based options, providing information about food choices, and encouraging dietary shifts through small price incentives. They argue that collective deliberation and dedicated institutional frameworks can help facilitate this transition towards a healthier and more sustainable food system.

A recent survey revealed that individuals are increasingly motivated by cost savings and environmental concerns to transition away from meat, dairy, and eggs. Based on these findings, the Vancouver Humane Society has published an impact report highlighting the emissions, cost and animal lives savings potential of transitioning to plant-based alternatives. The report highlights substantial savings: a complete shift to plant-based foods can save individuals up to sixty-eight kilograms of CO2 emissions per month, equivalent to a hybrid vehicle's gas tank, and around $600 per year. Additionally, the report emphasizes that replacing beef with lentils yields even greater emissions savings compared to other animal-based products, nearly doubling the impact. 

A research collaboration between Faunalytics and Sentient Media reveals a lack of media coverage on the connection between animal agriculture and climate change. Researchers found that only seven percent of climate articles mentioned animal agriculture, and its impact on climate change is rarely discussed. Instead, the media often portrays the animal agriculture industry as a victim of climate change rather than a significant cause. Additionally, while topics like energy and transportation are often discussed in climate coverage, the connections between these sectors and animal agriculture are rarely explored. The report provides recommendations for journalists and advocates to address these missed opportunities and highlight the environmental implications of animal agriculture in the context of climate change.

After more than fifteen years of negotiations, United Nations member states have agreed on a legally binding treaty to protect biodiversity in international waters. The treaty includes provisions for establishing and maintaining a network of marine protected areas, facilitating the realization of the “Thirty by Thirty” agreement to safeguard thirty percent of the ocean by 2030. The treaty also includes new standards for conducting environmental impact assessments, though fishing and deep-sea mining will be excluded, as they are currently regulated by other bodies. For the treaty to be implemented, the delegates must adopt the treaty text at a next meeting and a minimum of sixty states must ratify it, which could take months or years.

Two groups, Friends of the Earth and the Stop Financing Factory Farming Campaign, have announced a week of action targeting the World Bank Group (WBG) and its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, during the WBG’s Spring 2023 meetings held April 10th to 16th in Washington, D.C. The groups are calling on World Bank president nominee, Ajay Banga, to end the bank’s financing of industrial livestock due to its climate impact. The WBG has invested $4.6 billion in industrial animal agriculture in countries such as Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, China, Vietnam, and Kenya over the past decade. The campaign is supported by a global civil society coalition, including The Global Forest Coalition, World Animal Protection and Sinergia Animal.

New animal welfare and trespass laws have come into effect in Western Australia, doubling the maximum penalty for individuals who illegally enter commercial animal farming or slaughter premises and expanding the availability of misconduct restraining orders. Those found guilty of aggravated trespass will face a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $24,000. The new laws aim to protect the agricultural sector and strengthen penalties for those who trespass on farms. This decision comes after the High Court of New South Wales upheld an ag-gag law as constitutional in August 2022 despite a challenge by Farm Transparency International Ltd. arguing that it impinged on freedom of communication regarding cruelty to animals, as the court found that farmers' rights and privacy justified such limitations.

New Zealand has completed its last exports of livestock by sea, fully implementing a ban on export shipments of animals on the grounds of their welfare. The government announced in 2021 that shipping animals offshore would be halted but farmers would be given two years to transition out of the profitable export business. The decision to halt live animal exports follows a review of the industry, prompted by the capsizing of a ship bound for China in 2020 that killed nearly 6,000 cows and forty-one of the forty-three crew members.

A Brazilian court has issued a ban on live cattle exports from all of the country’s ports following a lawsuit filed by animal rights group, the National Forum for the Protection and Defense of Animals. The ruling is a national suspension of all cattle from Brazil until export markets can guarantee adequate treatment of livestock. The group praised federal judge Djalma Gomes’ ruling for its recognition that “Animals are not things. They are sentient living beings, that is, individuals who feel hunger, thirst, pain, cold, anguish, fear.” Brazil primarily exports live cattle to developing countries, including those in the Middle East, Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey.

The United States (US) Supreme Court has upheld a California law requiring more space for breeding pigs, ruling that a challenge to the law by pork producers was properly dismissed by lower courts. The law, Proposition 12, was passed in 2018 and requires pork sold in the state to come from pigs whose mothers were raised with at least twenty-four square feet of space, with the ability to lie down and turn around. Pork producers argued that the law would force the industry to change its practices and raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide.

The United States Supreme Court has decided it will not involve itself in a dispute over California’s longstanding ban on foie gras. Canadian duck and goose farmers were seeking review of a 2022 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upholding the ban. The petitioners argued that they followed strict laws in their jurisdictions to protect animal welfare, but California lawyers defended the ban, citing cruel production methods involving enlarging birds’ livers. The case comes on the heels of the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold California’s Proposition Twelve, mandating that pork sold in the state respect space requirements for factory farmed pigs.

After spending over four decades in a tank, Kiska, the last captive killer whale in Canada, has died at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Kiska, also known as "the loneliest whale in the world," spent over a decade in isolation, displaying distressing behavior such as banging her head and gnawing her teeth on the pool's concrete walls. National animal law organization Animal Justice is urging provincial authorities to release the post-mortem results and prosecute Marineland for the unlawful distress Kiska clearly experienced throughout her final years. 

A leaked draft of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has revealed how countries with influential beef industries such as Brazil and Argentina have pushed for the removal of a recommendation for a shift to plant-based diets. The original draft stated that "plant-based diets can reduce GHG emissions by up to 50% compared to the average emission-intensive Western diet," but the published report's wording was changed to "balanced, sustainable healthy diets acknowledging nutritional needs." The report did not directly mention beef and dairy or wealthy countries that should urgently reduce meat consumption.

More than 11,000 Canadians have signed a petition led by the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and sponsored by Green Party leader Elizabeth May, calling on the federal government to ban octopus farming in Canada. The petition seeks to prevent the importation of farmed cephalopod products into Canada and prohibit breeding them in captivity on Canadian soil. While there are not any octopus farms currently operating in Canada, there is concern that they will come to the country.

Lucy, an Asian elephant living alone at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, has been assessed by four experts from the non-profit organization Free The Wild. While two vets with ties to the zoo industry felt she should not be moved, the two other experts disagreed. Dr. Patricia London, an experienced elephant specialist, advocated for Lucy to be moved to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee due to her lack of autonomy, space, socialization opportunities, and natural environment. Ingo Schmidinger from the Global Sanctuary for Elephants noted that the zoo had failed to diagnose a breathing condition plaguing Lucy for the last fourteen years. The assessment also found a previously unknown large uterine tumour that is now being treated.

According to recently released statistics from Animal Justice, over 10.2 billion aquatic animals were killed by Canadian fisheries and fish farms in 2021, over twelve times more than the number of land animals killed each year. Since the government only measures killed aquatic animals by collective weight, the organization calculated a rough estimate of the number of individuals killed by dividing the total landing weight of each species by the average weight of an individual member of that species. Animal Justice’s estimate does not include bycatch—fish and other ocean wildlife who are not the target of a fishery but who are caught and generally discarded in the fishing process––which may nearly double the number of lives lost to the commercial fishing industry. It also excludes “ghost gear,” nets and other fishing gear, which continue to catch aquatic animals after being lost or abandoned.

Rising numbers of mammals infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza have put Canadian wildlife and public health experts on alert as new research by federal scientists warns of a "potentially devastating pandemic" if the virus mutates to spread efficiently between humans. The H5N1 strain was first identified in 1996, with a new type emerging in 2020. There have been hundreds of confirmed cases in wild skunks, foxes, mink, as well as other mammals. On April 4th, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed that a domestic dog in Oshawa, Ontario, tested positive and died. Public health agencies are saying the risk to human health remains low.

A beluga whale and bottlenose dolphin have died at Marineland, according to the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The ministry did not specify when the deaths occurred, and necropsies of both animals were conducted by professionals retained by Marineland. The incident is the latest in a series of animal deaths at the aquarium, with Canada's last living orca in captivity, Kiska, dying in March. Marineland is under investigation, and the ministry said it could not provide further details while compliance inspections are ongoing to determine if the standards of care are being met.

Renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall has called for the phasing out of factory farming due to the “extreme cruelty” it inflicts on animals. Speaking at the Extinction or Regeneration Conference, Dr. Goodall highlighted the negative impacts of agro-industries on human health, climate, and biodiversity. She emphasized the massive contribution of the agro-industry to climate change and biodiversity loss, including the clearing of land, heavy reliance on chemical pesticides, and the confinement of animals in cramped conditions. Dr. Goodall stressed the need to transition to small-scale family farming and regenerative farming practices to restore biodiversity, combat climate change, and ensure sustainable food production.

The Government of Canada has initiated a public consultation to inform the development of a national Biodiversity Strategy. There are several opportunities for Canadians to provide comments and perspectives to shape the strategy, including participating in an online survey that will remain open until July 14th, 2023, and engaging in events and platforms organized by the government in collaboration with partners and stakeholders over the spring and summer of 2023. During the National Biodiversity Symposium on May 15th, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault called for a “whole of government, whole of society approach” and new legislation to meet the government’s goal to protect thirty percent of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030. 

Animal protection organization World Animal Protection is urging the government of Ontario to implement a comprehensive licensing system to restrict the keeping of captive wildlife in under-regulated “roadside” zoos. They call for facilities to meet high animal welfare and human health and safety standards, backed by effective enforcement, highlighting recent concerning incidents, such as animal deaths at Marineland and Reptilia opening in London despite a by-law ban on certain species. The Toronto Zoo, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, and the Municipal Law Enforcement Officers' Association have joined their efforts by writing letters urging the government to address the issue.

During an interview with CBC Hamilton, Jim Diodati, the Mayor of Niagara Falls, Ontario, stated that Marineland has “run its course” and that it is time for them to “move right away from animals.” While the theme park has been a major source of income for the city, it has faced significant public scrutiny for alleged animal cruelty in recent years. Marineland has been searching for a new owner since 2018. However, the park has recently been seeking buyers to “transition” its focus to something that Diodati describes as “a Canada's Wonderland approach or a Six Flags.” The past few months at Marineland have seen the death of Kiska, the last captive killer whale in Canada, as well as a bottlenose dolphin and beluga whale.

Animal rights activists held a protest outside of Marineland during the Niagara park’s opening weekend. Those in attendance were present to condemn Marineland’s years of alleged animal abuse as well as pay tribute to Kiska, the last captive killer whale in Canada, who died there in March. Last Chance for Animals and @UrgentSeas, the two groups organizing the protest, displayed footage of Kiska thrusting her head against the walls of her tank. Phil Demers, former Marineland trainer and co-founder of @UrgentSeas, said he thinks that animal advocates are coming closer to their goal of rehoming Marineland’s animals to wildlife sanctuaries and that this protest was a “powerful expression” of that resolve.