Search Articles

Showing 1-10 of 524

Federal Bill to End Elephant and Great Ape Captivity Referred to Committee

Bill S-15, sponsored by Senator Marty Klyne, has advanced to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs after completing second reading. During the debate on March 19, Senator Chantal Petitclerc voiced her support for the bill, stressing the importance of updating our laws to reflect current scientific understanding of animal suffering in captivity, and changing societal attitudes towards such practices. Critics of the bill, including Senator Claude Carignan and Senator Donald Neil Plett, Leader of the Opposition, criticized the bill as frivolous, arguing that it diverts attention from pressing national issues, such as economic struggles, crime rates, healthcare, and infrastructure. Plett also raised concerns that the bill's constraints could impede conservation efforts, despite ample evidence suggesting most zoos contribute minimally to conservation endeavours. Despite opposition, Plett supported sending the bill to committee for further study.

UN Climate Crisis Roadmap Criticized for Ignoring Meat Reduction

In a critique published in the journal Nature Food, academic experts are challenging the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) new climate crisis roadmap for neglecting meat reduction strategies and alternative proteins like plant-based meat. They express concern over the roadmap's lack of transparency in selecting the list of supported actions, arguing that it hampers any assessment of the roadmap's recommendations against existing scientific evidence which consistently highlights the benefits of reducing meat consumption. This follows several allegations of censorship regarding livestock's climate impact by former FAO officials. Cleo Verkuijl, one of the authors of the critique, stated: “It’s very striking: the FAO doesn’t include one of the clearest interventions that would help meet both environmental and health targets.”

Hearing Postponed in City of London’s Legal Action Against Reptilia Zoo

Reptilia Zoo appeared in court on March 18 for a hearing about whether provincial licensing rules exempt the facility from the City of London’s Animal Control By-Law, which prohibits the display of exotic animals. Scheduled for five hours, the hearing lasted mere minutes as the City's lawyer requested an adjournment until April 12 due to delays in receiving necessary documents from Reptilia. Despite making three unsuccessful attempts to secure an exemption from the Animal Control By-Law through city council, Reptilia now contends that its provincial license grants it operational authority, regardless of the lack of a specific by-law exemption. The City is seeking an order to prevent Reptilia from operating in contravention of the by-law, along with a declaration affirming their non-exempt status.

Environment Minister Threatens Federal Action to Protect Quebec's Endangered Caribou

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has once again issued a warning, threatening to invoke federal powers to protect Quebec's endangered woodland caribou. Guilbeault said in a letter that Quebec has until May 1st to release its long-delayed caribou protection strategy or face potential federal intervention under the Species at Risk Act. Initially slated for release in June 2023, the Quebec government deferred the deadline for its strategy until the year's end. However, as of now, the plan has still not been released. The delay, attributed to ongoing assessment of the impact of recent forest fires on caribou, exacerbates concerns for the species already facing habitat destruction and industrial threats. Guilbeault's letter marks the third such warning to Quebec in two years.

BC Government Announces Plan to Kill Twenty-Five Deer to Test for Chronic Wasting Disease

The British Columbia (BC) government plans to cull 25 deer in the Kootenay region following two positive cases of chronic wasting disease. The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship will focus on a ten-kilometre radius around where the infected deer were discovered. According to the Ministry, samples collected from the cull will help determine the extent of the disease's spread. Chronic wasting disease, caused by abnormal prion proteins, poses serious health risks to both humans and animals. The province also recently begun mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease of any deer, moose, elk, and caribou killed on BC roads, and it has restricted how carcasses can be transported and disposed of around the area where the disease was first detected.

Conservation Group Releases Report, Finds Salmon Farms Impact Wildlife

Conservation group Watershed Watch Salmon Society (WWSS) has released a new report revealing the longstanding impacts of salmon farms on wildlife. The report compiles numbers of various species of wildlife in British Columbia that have been killed by open net-pen salmon farms since the 1990s, and according to WWSS, demonstrates how the federal government has been “languishing” with respect to their promise to transition away from open net-pen salmon farms by 2025. All 85 provincial aquaculture licenses are set to expire on June 30, an event that the WWSS sees as a “prime opportunity” for fisheries to fulfill the government’s promise by opting not to renew their licenses.

Federal Bill to Ban Air Export of Horses for Slaughter Considered by Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food met to consider Bill C-355, the Prohibition of the Export of Horses by Air for Slaughter Act, sponsored by Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Tim Louis. The bill aims to ban the export of live horses from Canada by air for the purpose of being slaughtered or fattened for slaughter. Louis emphasized the bill targets only this specific practice, not impacting other livestock sectors. He cited the humane concerns of transporting horses in cramped conditions for slaughter. Ontario Liberal MP Leah Taylor Roy said: “There is great support for banning the export of horses. Very specifically, the concern is about how these animals suffer when they are being transported.”

Ontario Bill Aims to Improve Access to Veterinary Services

The Ontario Government introduced Bill 171, the Enhancing Professional Care for Animals Act, which aims to formalize a broad scope of practice for veterinary technicians to expand access to veterinary services. The bill, if passed, would modernize the 35-year-old legislation currently regulating the profession. It will also streamline complaint resolution and impose harsher penalties for deliberate animal cruelty. Additionally, funding has been allocated to increase seats at the Ontario Veterinary College and incentivize veterinarians to serve underserved areas.

Study Reveals Industry Influence on Climate Research at US Universities

A new study in the journal Climatic Change scrutinizes University of California, Davis (UC Davis) and Colorado State University's agricultural research centres, which, despite focusing on livestock emissions, rely heavily on industry funding. Authors Viveca Morris and Jennifer Jacquet suggest these centres function more as industry advocates, promoting meat and dairy consumption, rather than conducting independent research. UC Davis' CLEAR Center, led by Frank Mitloehner, and Colorado State's AgNext, led by Kimberly Stackhouse-Lawson, maintain strong ties to the livestock industry and have received significant industry donations. The authors argue such ties compromise research integrity and mislead climate policy discussions, raising concerns about industry influence on academic research and its implications for climate action.

Canada Bans Strychnine Poison for Wildlife Control

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has banned the use of strychnine poison to kill wild animals like wolves, coyotes, and black bears. This decision marks a reversal of PMRA's previous proposal, which would have allowed the continued use of both strychnine and Compound 1080. Strychnine has faced criticism for its cruel effects, including agonizing muscular convulsions that can last for hours or days. The ban will be phased out over six months, with strychnine no longer permitted after September 7, 2024. Leading animal welfare and conservation groups, including Animal Justice, Humane Society International/Canada, We Howl, and Wolf Awareness, have applauded the decision following years of advocacy. According to the re-evaluation decision, Health Canada will continue to register Compound 1080.