News broke earlier this week that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) is asking a court to order the execution of 21 dogs who were rescued from an alleged dog fighting operation last October. Meanwhile,…
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Vancouver Aquarium has filed a lawsuit against Gary Charbonneau, the filmmaker behind Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered, which exposed cruelty and corruption at the aquarium. The notice of claim can be viewed here. The lawsuit is for copyright violation. Essentially, Vancouver Aquarium…
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Written by Alex Ciccone* In a recent blog post, Executive Director Camille Labchuk explained how a recent policy issued by the Ontario Human Rights Commission could protect vegans from facing discrimination because of their beliefs about animal use and abuse.…
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Today, the federal government announced that it is giving an additional $1.75 million to the dairy industry, on top of $12 million already provided under the government’s Growing Forward 2 program. The announcement was made by the new Minister of…
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It’s no secret that the meat industry puts animal welfare at the very bottom of its priority list. But a new interview with Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Don McCabe on CBC radio’s As It Happens really takes the cake.…
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Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is preparing to increase the numbers of wolf and coyotes hunted in Ontario. The proposed changes will allow unlimited hunting of coyotes in northern Ontario, remove the game seal requirement for wolves and coyotes in northern Ontario, and…
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Vancouver-based filmmaker Gary Charbonneau has just released Vancouver Aquarium Uncovered, a new documentary that reveals cruelty and corruption at Canada’s most famous marine park. The documentary features interviews with leading experts, examines the suffering endured by whales and dolphins in…
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Canada’s new agriculture minister has announced his chief of staff: Mary Jean McFall, whose family owns one of Canada’s largest egg producers—Burnbrae Farms—and who used to serve as a board member of Egg Farmers of Ontario. In an epic Freudian…
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By Camille Labchuk, Executive Director Does your worldview include a deep respect for animals and their rights? Do you choose to opt out of using and consuming animal products for ethical reasons? Are you vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons?…
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Last November, Taylor Freeman, a Vancouver fur protester, was told by the Vancouver Police Department that if he ever so much as walked past Snowflake Furs again, he would be arrested for criminal harassment. Snowflake Furs is Western Canada’s largest…
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Court documents reveal dozens of reptiles have been kept in appalling conditions at The Reptile Guy in Mission, B.C. The Reptile Guy bills itself as a rescue and education centre. Between 2010 and 2013, four separate animal cruelty complaints were filed…
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Animal advocates had good reason to be optimistic that the new Parliament would start taking animal issues seriously after the strong results in the 2015 federal election. Humane Voters Canada – Animal Justice’s new political wing – endorsed and campaigned…
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B.C.’s Ministry of Forests, Lands and Nature Resource Operations is gearing up to change its regulations to allow unlimited hunting of wolves and to triple the hunting of grizzlies in the Peace Region of B.C. Animal Justice has submitted formal…
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Earlier this year, Animal Justice filed a false advertising complaint with federal regulators against Maple Lodge Farms. Among other false and misleading claims, the complaint cited Maple Lodge’s use of visual imagery that didn’t resemble its actual operations whatsoever. At…
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The federal government is gearing up to hold hearings to determine whether to establish a Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency. The Agency would be funded by levies on Canadian and imported pork. Each pig would be taxed $0.75, generating…
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By Camille Labchuk, Executive Director Animals got their day in court this week, thanks to Animal Justice. On Monday, November 9, law professor Peter Sankoff and I went to the Supreme Court of Canada to intervene in a groundbreaking appeal.…
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As the dust settles on the long and hard-fought Canadian federal election of 2015, it’s a good time to take a closer look at what the results mean for animal protection in Canada. After all, while animal issues often get…
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This month, the Canadian agriculture industry released a draft of its revised code of practice for chickens and turkeys. The public is invited to comment on this draft for consideration before the final is published next year. This code of…
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We are excited to share some big news with you today. For the first time ever, Animal Justice has filed for leave intervene in a Supreme Court of Canada appeal so we can fight to ensure animals continue to be protected from sexual abuse. Why…
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This year at the Calgary Stampede rodeo, four horses were killed during the infamously dangerous chuckwagon racing event. One competitor was disqualified for animal cruelty. Countless animals were subjected to fear, pain, and risk of injury and death. Rodeo is…
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By Peter Sankoff, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta Camille Labchuk, Director of Legal Advocacy, Animal Justice Canada Earlier this month, Quebec tabled new animal protection legislation that makes it the first jurisdiction in Canada to recognize that animals…
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The recent case of Nicolino Camardi is one of those poignant instances of shocking animal cruelty that truly capture the public’s attention. It is also one of the most recent judicial decisions that portrays the continuing willingness on the part…
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Written by Anna Pippus, JD, Director of Farmed Animal Advocacy Animals’ status as property is a central topic of discussion and criticism in animal rights, and correctly so. The authority we have granted our own species to own animals of…
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It is not uncommon for Canadian pet owners to go through a difficult time when looking for a place to rent. Between pet deposits and numerous “no pet” clauses it can take a long time to find landlords that will…
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Moose hunting in Ontario, by both Ontario residents and non-residents – those who come to Ontario specifically to kill animals, is responsible for a tragic and worrying decline in moose populations in recent years.[1] Animal Justice recently submitted comments to…
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Animals are used in biomedical research for everything from basic understanding and exploratory research to drug and vaccine development. The use of animals as models in medical research has existed since the beginnings of medicine and has led to…
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Food labels are intended to enable consumers to make informed food choices. Unfortunately, food labels in Canada are largely unregulated and can be misleading. Thus, the use of food labels such as “cage free”, “organic”, “free range”, “grass fed”, “natural”,…
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There are approximately 35 zoos in Canada, not including aquariums. Within these zoos, there are several different species of wild animals, not native to Canadian climate, living in captivity. There are several arguments commonly used to support the continued existence…
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On the heels of an undercover investigation at a pig assembly yard in Alberta that exposed profound animal suffering and complicit government inspectors, many Canadians are calling for the federal government to update its archaic animal transportation regulations.
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Increasingly, the Canadian public is concerned with not only where our food is coming from, but also how animals of all kinds are being treated. Once at best an afterthought, animals farmed for food in Canada—most of whom are raised…
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After the summer snowstorms that hit Southern Alberta in early September this year, there have been increased sightings of large wildlife in urban centres.[1] On September 18th, a cougar was spotted outside of a hospital in southwest Calgary. Local police…
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It is human nature to anthropomorphize animals. Movies, television, and books give animals human personalities and voices, so we are raised believing or assuming that animals think and feel like humans do. The issues with this way of thinking arise…
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This blog post explores Ontario’s proposed “Invasive Species Act”, introduced early this year. This would be the first of its kind in Canada. However, as it stands, the Act is completely silent on animal welfare issues. The Act will fail…
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The use of animal testing in the cosmetics industry is neither mandatory by law, nor the only approach to the development of safe products. Although testing cosmetic products and their ingredients on animals has been common practice, and remains so…
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This week on the blog, we follow the rescue story of a 4-week-old, orphaned skunk. We learn about rules surrounding keeping wildlife in captivity and the Ministry of Natural Resources licensed wildlife rehabilitation facilities.
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For many, when we reflect on Canada’s history and the economic value provided by the fur trade, we think of French Canadian voyageurs, The Hudson’s Bay Company and inevitably, Canada’s national symbol, Castor Canadensis, the beaver.[i] Largely unconsidered and perhaps seemingly unrelated, is…
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In the past few months, two private member’s bills have been introduced to the House of Commons in an effort to amend Canada’s animal cruelty laws in the Criminal Code of Canada. In April 2014, MP Isabelle Morin introduced bill…
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It’s been three and a half years since the 2010 conviction of puppy mill operator Bud Wheatley exposed serious flaws in how Prince Edward Island protects animals. The case revealed what many people already knew, that animals had been suffering…
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Our trip to meet Sunshine, dubbed the happiest goat ever, started with a question: how can we help Sunshine who since February, has become the target of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency eradication program?
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In August 2005, the Ontario government enacted the Dog Owner’s Liability Act [1] outlawing the possession, breeding, importing and transferring of pit bulls in Ontario. [2] The legislation replaced regulations that permitted pit bulls so long as they were muzzled and leashed in…
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Black bear populations are increasing in most parts of North America and of course, humans are also continuing to expand in both population and territorial reign.1 When areas of sizeable human use overlap bear habitat, conflict can arise. The question…
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Animal Justice Canada has released ‘OSPCA Act: A Better Way Forward’. This comprehensive review provides commentary on and best practice recommendations for Ontario’s primary piece of animal welfare legislation – the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals…
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The WTO has upheld the European Union’s ban on seal products under the trade agreements’ “public morality” clause, agreeing that the EU’s citizens find the killing and skinning methods used by Canadian seal hunters morally reprehensible.
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The hard fought battle to have Iringa, Toka and Thika, the African elephants based at the Toronto Zoo, delivered to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (“PAWS”) sanctuary in California had a happy ending on October 20, 2013 when they arrived…
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Gestation crates, otherwise known as sow stalls, are heavily used in intensive pig farming to confine female breeding pigs (sows) during pregnancy. The confinement is so tight that mother pigs cannot turn around to scratch themselves or even take a…
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If you are from Manitoba you will likely be well aware that the expression “dog days” does not merely refer to those lazy days of summer, but also to the annual dog culls that take place within the province. Dog…
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Context Last year, 82, 175 horses were slaughtered in Canada. That number is not an anomaly; the past five years have seen a similar number of horses killed for profit in Canada.[1] There are currently four federally-registered Canadian slaughterhouses in…
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On 13 June, Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr sentenced three teenagers for having bludgeoned to death 65 nursing seal pups and their mothers on a remote beach in eastern Prince Edward Island. Under s. 445.1(1)(a) of the Criminal Code [1] and s.…
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Gone are the days of Chicken Little and Foghorn Leghorn. Today the only association the Canadian public has with chickens is in the form that comes on a plate. As of the date of this article, nearly 200 million chickens…
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It has been almost a dozen years since Jesse Power, Anthony Wennekers, and Matt Kaczorowski engaged in a now infamous example of animal cruelty for the sake of “art.” In 2001, the three men filmed their brutal torture and killing…
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