Tell the government to take plant-forward action before October 8th
Moving toward a plant-based food system is one of the most significant changes our society can make for animal welfare and environmental protection. If every Canadian who eats animal products switched to plant-based food just one day each week, our nation would save nearly 123 million animal lives per year.
A new federal e-petition calls on the government to:
Educate Canadians on benefits of eating less meat, dairy, eggs and more plant-based foods in keeping with Canada’s Food Guide;
Require federal institutions and federally funded food programs (eg; National School Food Program) to procure more plant-based foods; and
Limit growth of industrial animal agriculture and support small-scale farmers using resilient, humane, sustainable farming practices.
Can you sign the petition before October 8th and help save millions of animals from suffering and slaughter?
Environmentalists hail decision to end practice in five years but aquaculture industry warns of 6,000 jobs at risk
The Canadian government has announced a decision to ban open-net pen salmon farming in British Columbia coastal waters in five years!
Fish farms keep fishes in crowded conditions that can lead to stress, disease, and the spread of parasites, which farms combat by relying heavily on antibiotics. Open-net fish farms pose a major problem for wild fishes because they allow waste, disease, and chemicals to seep out into the surrounding ecosystem.
Polling shows a majority of residents in British Columbia support ending open-net salmon farming, as have 120 First Nations.
In a bid to draw attention to the ongoing and dangerous problem of keeping exotic wildlife in captivity, either in zoos or as house pets, World Animal Protection Canada is building a new database and interactive online map to document all the events it can find.
“In a bid to draw attention to the ongoing and dangerous problem of keeping exotic wildlife in captivity, either in zoos or as house pets, World Animal Protection Canada is building a new database and interactive online map to document all the events it can find.”
Michèle Hamers, wildlife campaign manager for World Animal Protection Canada, hopes that the database will “compel people to ask for more comprehensive laws to protect animals and people.”
Typically, bylaws and provincial laws around wild and exotic animals include a prohibited animals list. These lists can leave gaps that allow many wild and exotic species who do not thrive in captivity to be kept as pets, while even more can be kept in facilities such as zoos and aquariums.
The VHS is calling on the B.C. government to introduce better protections for wild and exotic animals in captivity, including adopting a positive list approach, which allows only those species that meet certain evidence-based suitability criteria to be kept, bred and transported.
Portrait of young woman holding cute siberian cat with green eyes. Female hugging her cute long hair kitty. Background, copy space, close up. Adorable domestic pet concept.
Content warning: This article describes a case of intimate partner control and various forms of abuse.
Members of Parliament have voted unanimously to criminalize coercive control, a pattern of behaviour that can perpetuate domestic abuse.
A new bill to criminalize coercive control has passed unanimously at the House of Commons and will move onto the next stage at Senate. Thanks to the advocacy of Humane Canada, this animals are recognized in the new legislation.
Coercive control often involves abusers threatening, manipulating, or harming companion animals to exert control over their human victims. The new bill would criminalize these behaviours, including:
Attempted and threatened violence toward an intimate partner’s animal
Controlling or attempting to control the manner in which an intimate partner cares for their companion animal
Thank you to everyone who advocated for animals to be included in this bill!
P.S. Did you know that the VHS offers a free trauma-informed training for people working in animal services, which includes stories from survivors of coercive control involving their companion animals? This training can help animal service providers to better understand the varied experiences of animal guardians in the community and to create safer, happier outcomes for animals and humans alike.
Bill 159 from Parliament 43 Session 1 of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, 2024.
A new law in Ontario has made puppy mills illegal in the province and introduced greater protections against the unethical breeding and sales of puppies. The Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales (PUPS) Act received Royal Assent in Ontario on June 6.
Advocates from Ontario including Laurie Ristmae, the founder of ARF Ontario and the executive director of the East London Animal Hospital, called this bill “a huge step in the right direction” when it was tabled in December. Ristmae noted that enforcement of the law will be key.
Other advocates like Camille Labchuk from Animal Justice are calling for the law to be strengthened, with proposed changes including requiring breeders in Ontario be registered and licensed.
The Ministry of Forests says the new scale of fines effective Tuesday under the Wildlife Act ranges from $345 to $1,495, up from the current range of $115 to $575.
“Fines for illegal hunting and fishing in British Columbia are more than doubling as the province cracks down on offences against wildlife.”
“The ministry says in a news release the new penalties ‘better reflect the serious nature’ of wildlife offences and acknowledge the importance of wildlife to B.C.”
Jesse Zeman, Executive Director of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, says the organization “applauds tougher penalties.”
Retired tennis player and coach, Bud, is “terribly passionate about animals,” and his great love is dogs. “I have an electric scooter that I put everyone’s lives in danger with driving down the streets of Steveston,” Bud explained, “but I also carry dog biscuits with me for the dogs I meet.”
As you can imagine, Bud is very popular with the dogs in his neighbourhood and known for taking good care of them. He’s leaving a legacy gift to the VHS that will ensure dogs and all animals continue to be cared for well into the future.
Bud explained that the VHS has been “centerfold” in his Will for 25 years. It was around that time that Bud took in a yellow lab from a family that was struggling with taking care of their puppy. Bud named his new companion Buddy.
Bud and Buddy quickly became family, and “everyone knew it,” Bud said. “He was with me through thick and thin.” Buddy was with Bud for 12 years and 8 months. “He helped me understand the love of animals.”
Bud and Buddy in their home
Bud empathizes with folks reeling from the effects of COVID-19 and struggling to afford sudden vet bills. The VHS’s work to fund emergency veterinary care for pets of low-income guardians through the McVitie Fund is very important to Bud.
Aside from dogs, Bud is appalled by rodeo cruelty, and let us know that he’s been pleased to read of recent successes in the VHS’s work to curtail these inhumane events.
Bud generously donates what he can to the VHS, his “number one charity.” But he has to “watch [his] nickels and dimes like most people do.” Like all gifts in Wills, Bud’s legacy gift to the VHS will cost him nothing in his lifetime.
By leaving a legacy gift to the VHS, Bud and his late companion Buddy ensure a kinder world for animals for years to come.
Would you consider making a legacy gift to help animals?
The District of North Vancouver has passed another plant-forward motion!
Thanks to the support of advocates in the District of North Vancouver, a recent motion to prioritize climate-friendly, healthy and humane plant-based food purchasing successfully passed at the May 6th council meeting!
The motion, put forward by Councillor Jim Hanson, calls on the District to ensure plant-based options are included and prioritized at municipal events, meetings and other gatherings where the District purchases food.
The motion was supported by local advocates, members of the Plant-Based Cities Movement (PBCM), and VHS supporters who live in the District. The VHS and the PBCM have been working together to advocate for plant-based municipal policies and will continue to support the District of North Vancouver in the implementation of this successful motion.
This important step forward follows a previous motion in the District passed in March 2022 to grow awareness throughout the community of the health and environmental benefits of increasing the intake of plant-based foods. That motion, championed by Councillor Megan Curren, cited VHS’s report entitled “Increasing Plant-Based Purchasing at the Municipal Level”.
Watch for plant-based bus ads in Vancouver
Bus ad run by the Vancouver Humane Society in 2023
Bus ad run by the Vancouver Humane Society in 2023
Vancouver residents will soon be able to see new messages from the Vancouver Humane Society’s Plant University platform on buses across the city.
The ads will encourage people to eat more plants by highlighting the heart health benefits of a plant-forward diet.
If every person in Vancouver swapped just one day a week of animal-based foods for plant-based, they could save more than 37 million animals every year!
Find more reasons to eat more plants, recipes, tips, and a map of plant-based businesses on the VHS’s plant-based resource website, Plant University.
With the 2024 rodeo season underway, the VHS continues to campaign for an end to inhumane rodeo events. This includes reaching out to decision-makers at various levels about growing public opposition to rodeo and the harms of roping, wrestling, and bucking events.
Last year, the VHS shared footage from harmful rodeo events across B.C. and encouraged supporters to reach out to their local decision-makers to ban these events. An opinion piece published in the Daily Hive in November entitled “A stressful and fear-filled glimpse into an animal’s first rodeo” outlined the welfare concerns around rodeo, highlighting recent footage from a steer riding event in Merritt.
Newly released footage from several B.C. rodeos reveals recurring animal welfare issues, including animals being hit, kicked, and having their tail and ears twisted and pulled.
To date, around 6,000 people have used the VHS’s quick action tool to share footage from recent rodeos with their local city council and to call for a bylaw to prohibit inhumane rodeo events in their community.
Meanwhile, the VHS is working with concerned Calgarians to call for an end to the controversial rodeo and deadly chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede. In May, the VHS launched a new billboard campaign to raise awareness of how animals suffer when used in rodeo events. The billboards will run across Calgary leading up to, during, and after the Calgary Stampede. The billboards have been shared by major Calgary media including CTV News Calgary, Global News, and the Daily Hive.
The billboards also draw attention to new polling conducted by Research Co., commissioned by the VHS, which found that more than half of Calgarians oppose government funding of rodeo events. The poll also found that more than half of Albertans disagree with the use of animals in steer wrestling (54%), calf roping (51%), and bronc riding (51%). When presented with photos of calf roping, 60% of Albertans and 62% of Calgarians said they would “probably” or “definitely” not watch the event.
Nationally, more than half of Canadians disagree with the use of animals in the five rodeo events surveyed: steer wrestling (61%), calf roping (60%), bull riding (55%), bronc riding (also 55%) and chuckwagon racing (53%). In terms of the use of taxpayer dollars to fund rodeo events, almost two thirds of Canadians (65%) disagree with the government providing such funding.
Legislation ending exports of livestock for slaughter and fattening receives Royal Assent
Congratulations to animal allies across the pond! After years of advocacy, a law was passed in the UK banning the live export of farmed animals like cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and goats for slaughter and fattening abroad.
Farmed animals suffer greatly on long transport journeys, enduring long periods of time without food, water, or rest. They are packed together in overcrowded conditions and can face extreme temperatures, leading to injuries, illness, and deaths.
The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act in the UK was met with cross party support and passed into law on May 20 when it received Royal Assent. This new legislation marks enormous progress for the well-being of farmed animals.
Here in Canada, a similar bill to ban the live export of horses for slaughter is currently in Senate after being passed at the House of Commons.
