Media Advisory
October 7, 2025
OTTAWA—On Wednesday, October 8, Animal Justice and Soi Dog Canada—a rescue group helping stray dogs suffering from wars and other disasters in Asia—will be in Federal Court to challenge Canada’s sweeping ban on international dog rescue. In their lawsuit, the groups argue that the ban is unlawful, unfair, and that it causes needless suffering for countless dogs abroad.
In 2022, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) abruptly banned the import of rescue dogs from most countries in a misguided effort to safeguard against dog rabies. The ban was billed as temporary to protect against rabies, but rabies is 100% vaccine-preventable, and the ban has yet to be lifted. Dozens of groups focused on international dog rescue have had to cease their operations in that time, leaving dogs to suffer in countries that often do not have animal welfare infrastructure.
Prior to the ban, Canadian dog rescue organizations and their international partners rescued countless dogs each year from war-torn countries, the dog meat trade, and natural disasters, bringing them to Canada to find loving homes. These groups were rescuing dogs from countries embroiled in conflict, and nations where dogs are abused and killed in the brutal dog meat trade.
Although the CFIA has claimed the ban is necessary to prevent the spread of dog rabies, no other Western countries have a similar ban. Instead, other countries rely on science-based safeguards recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health, including rabies vaccinations, antibody tests, and quarantine.
“Due to the CFIA commercial dog import ban, Soi Dog Canada, and other responsible animal rescues, have been unable to welcome healthy dogs to Canada for three years,” said Lisa Wagner
President and Adoptions Manager of Soi Dog Canada. “Our hope is for the CFIA to utilize tried and true methods to make adoption a possibility for helpless and suffering dogs in need.”
“This excessive ban is absolutely unnecessary, and it runs contrary to Canada’s reputation as a compassionate country,” said lawyer Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice. “Rescue groups were not consulted in the decision-making process, and dogs who could have found safety and families here are instead being left to suffer and die abroad. It’s doubly unacceptable is that the CFIA has made no effort to lift this heartless ban, despite its billing as a temporary measure.”
The hearing will get underway at 9:30 am on October 8 at the Federal Court in Ottawa, in the Thomas D’Arcy McGee Building at 90 Sparks Street. Following the hearing, a peaceful rally will take place outside the courthouse from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m., calling on the government to end the ban and adopt modern, science-based rabies prevention measures. Participants are invited to bring their dogs to the rally.
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Contact:
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director, Animal Justice
[email protected]
Lisa Wagner
President and Adoptions Manager, Soi Dog Canada
[email protected]