Author: Emily Pickett

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animal welfare compassion ethics News/Blog Promoted Uncategorized wildlife

Coalition calls on government to end wildlife-killing contests in British Columbia

The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) has joined a coalition of 54 environmental and animal protection groups, conservationists and scientists in calling on the government of British Columbia to put a stop to wildlife-killing contests, after learning about three such events currently taking place in the province.

In an open letter sent to the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Doug Donaldson, our coalition expressed significant concern about the existence of contests throughout the province that are encouraging the indiscriminate killing of animals including wolves, coyotes, cougars and raccoons.

In some of these events, participants receive points for the type of animal killed and compete for a cash prize. The coalition is currently aware of three separate events, the first is a “wolf-whacking contest” hosted by Chilcotin Guns in Williams Lake; the second is a “predator tournament” hosted by the Creston Valley Rod and Gun Club; and the third is a wolf bounty being offered by the West Kootenay Outdoorsmen Club.

VHS opposes wildlife-killing contests on the grounds that they are unethical, inhumane and are not supported by science. Contest organizers claim they are protecting ungulate populations (deer, caribou, elk, etc.) by killing predators, but research shows that predator killing contests are ineffective and fail to address any root causes of decline. Instead, wildlife professionals suggest efforts should be invested in habitat protection and restoration.

These contests not only teach disrespect for wildlife through the indiscriminate killing of as many predators as possible, but they also disregard the value of individual animals, both intrinsically and as a part of the larger ecosystem.

We’re encouraging our supporters to contact their MLA and the appropriate government officials and respectfully ask that predator-killing contests be banned. Contact information can be found below. Feel free to use our coalition letter as a template for your own, but be sure to personalize your email!

Find contact information for your MLA

Hon. Doug Donaldson – Minster of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development
Email: FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Telephone: (250) 387-6240

Hon. George Heyman – Minister of Environment & Climate Change Strategy
E-mail: ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Telephone: (250) 387-1187

Fish and Wildlife – Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development
Email: FishandWildlife@gov.bc.ca
Telephone: 1-877-855-3222

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animal welfare compassion cruelty Dairy News/Blog Promoted Uncategorized

New transport regulations don’t go far enough to protect farmed animals

The federal government has finally released the new farmed animal transport regulations, which were last revised in 1977. Alarmingly, the new rules fail to address some of the most major animal welfare concerns and offer only minor improvements to the existing, outdated regulations.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) own statistics indicate that approximately 14 million animals suffer injuries during transportation annually in Canada and almost 1.6 million are reported dead on arrival each year. The agency also noted that the existing regulations did not reflect the current science regarding the care and handling of animals and failed to align with the standards of Canada’s international trading partners.

Yet the new regulations still fall significantly short of meeting the best available science and still do not reflect other international standards. Transport is a stressful process for farmed animals and internal CFIA documents revealed that the CFIA’s original intention was to drastically reduce transport times under the new regulations. Officials also indicated in briefing notes that transport times between eight and 12 hours were ideal. But under pressure from industry lobbyists, the CFIA abandoned its own recommendations.

For example, the CFIA initially proposed a maximum of 24 hours in transport for day-old chicks, but lobbying by the meat industry led to the maximum time being changed to 72 hours under the new regulations. Similarly, maximum times for cattle changed from a proposed 28 hours to 36 and spent hens, who are deemed no longer productive for the egg industry and are incredibly vulnerable, went from a proposed maximum of 12 hours to up to 28 hours.

Meanwhile, the European Union has a maximum transport time of eight hours for most animals, while in New Zealand and Australia it ranges from 12 to 24 hours.

Shockingly, animals can still be transported in all types of weather without protection from the elements – a situation that has been increasingly making headlines in recent years, when the public encounters transported animals in distress during heat waves and cold snaps.

These “new” regulations will lead to the continued suffering of millions of animals every year across Canada. Join us in telling the federal Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, that the revised transport laws are unacceptable and fail to meet not only the best available science, but also the expectations of the Canadian public.

Read the recent coalition letter from 30 animal protection organizations, advocates, experts and Members of Parliament calling for stronger federal transport regulations

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animal welfare compassion Cruelty-free ethics News/Blog Promoted Uncategorized wildlife

It’s time to ban inhumane predacides in Canada

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is currently consulting Canadians on how the humaneness of pesticides to control predators (predacides) could be considered during their approval and use.

There are currently three active ingredients registered to control large vertebrate predators in Canada: sodium fluoroacetate (Compound 1080), sodium cyanide and strychnine. For the purpose of this consultation, the focus is limited to large vertebrate predators, for example, wolves, coyotes and bears.

Consultation Questions:

  1. Should PMRA include humaneness considerations as part of the pesticide registration process for products intended to control large vertebrate predators? If so, what would be the best options and approaches for doing so?
  2. Should PMRA develop public information, such as best practices / standards on humaneness considerations, that pesticide users could take into account when deciding whether to use a pesticide for controlling large vertebrate predators?  If so, what kind of information would be most useful?
  3. In either case, what should be the parameters to measure humaneness?

For more background information, please visit the PMRA’s homepage for the consultation. 

The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) has made a submission calling for humaneness to be considered in the pesticide registration process. VHS opposes the use of predacides, including sodium fluoroacetate (Compound 1080), sodium cyanide and strychnine, on the grounds that they are not only inhumane and violate animal welfare guidelines, but that they also pose an unacceptable risk to biodiversity, the environment and public safety. Therefore, we are calling on the Minister of Health and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) to prohibit predacides under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Read our complete submission here.

We are encouraging our supporters to participate in this public consultation before the April18th deadline. Please feel free to use our submission as a guide, but be sure to personalize your own (duplicate submissions are discouraged).

 

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News/Blog Uncategorized

Animal advocates, experts and Members of Parliament call for stronger federal transport regulations

Every winter the issue of farmed animal transport makes news headlines across the country and this winter is no exception.

Last week, during the extreme cold that hit parts of the country, CTV Toronto reported (CTV News at Noon, Jan.31, 2019, story starts at 2:45 minutes) on concerns from Toronto Pig Save advocates about the welfare of pigs being transported to Fearmans Pork slaughterhouse in Burlington in -35 degree Celsius weather.

The reality is that Canada’s federal regulations permit farmed animals to be transported for long periods of time without food, water, rest or adequate protection from extreme weather. The result is that approximately 14 million farmed animals arrive dead, dying or injured at federally inspected slaughterhouses each year. 

The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) and other animal protection organizations, advocates and experts have long called on the federal Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen Canada’s archaic transport regulations, which were last updated in 1977. Finally, in December of 2016 the Ministry released draft amendments to the regulations, but these offered only minor improvements and investigations revealed the amendments were directly influenced by the livestock industry, which strongly opposes any changes.

Meanwhile, the regulations have still not been finalized and animals continue to suffer during transport.

Join us in calling on the federal government to prioritize the release of significantly improved, evidence-based transport regulations.

Contact your Member of Parliament and the federal Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, and let them know this issue is important to you! See the coalition letter to the Minister as a reference (please be sure to personalize your letter) and for a complete list of signatories.

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animal welfare compassion Cruelty-free Dairy Food and Drink News/Blog plant-based diet Promoted vegan vegetarianism

Wild Trails Coffee in North Vancouver goes vegan

Wild Trails Coffee is a family-run coffee shop based in North Vancouver. VHS spoke with this mother-daughter team about their decision to make the coffee shop fully vegan and their commitment to helping protect animal welfare, the environment and public health. 

What inspired you to open Wild Trails Coffee and what do you think sets you apart from other coffee shops? 

We’re a mother-daughter team and my mom opened this shop about 30 years ago. It used to be called Mothers Herbs. When I became involved about five years ago I wanted to focus on coffees and a lot of inspiration came from my love of hiking. I spent a year working on our coffee syrups, perfecting them using real organic ingredients and no chemicals or fake added sugars.

As a business owner I didn’t want to cut corners and care only about profit. You can be a business that does well while caring about the Earth, animals and people, and that’s what we do at Wild Trails Coffee and what we’re about. We are a business that cares about doing our part to make the world a better place and will go the extra mile for people, animals and the planet.

You recently posted online about the shop’s decision to ditch dairy and go fully vegan – can you tell us about the motivation behind that decision?

I’ve been vegan for a long time now and it just never felt right using dairy, so my mom and I decided to replace it with dairy-free alternatives in the shop and now our shop is 100% vegan! We didn’t think so many people would care, but we were blown away by the support and we knew we made the right choice.

You also talk about the shop’s commitment to sustainability on your website – can you tell us about that?

We work hard to reduce our environmental footprint. All of our cups, straws and lids are compostable and we also compost everything we can within the shop. We work with a company to recycle the rest and even go through our garbage at the end of the day to make sure everything that can be recycled is.

What are your most popular items?

Our specialty coffee drinks, like our Wedgemount Lake Vanilla Latte and Elsay Lake Pumpkin Spice Latte are among our most popular items. We use real pumpkin and vanilla bean for our syrups. Our smoothies are very popular as well and we don’t use any ice, just frozen organic fruit. We also use water kefir as the base for our smoothies, which is a dairy-free probiotic that’s made in-house with spring water collected weekly from a local spring.

Elsay Lake Pumpkin Spice Latte
Wedgemount Lake Vanilla Latte

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Do you have any helpful advice for other restaurants and businesses who might be considering going vegan?

Go for it! We need more businesses to stand up for animals and as business owners who care about these issues we recognized we were in a position to do more. There’s growing support and more people are embracing veganism every day! It’s also a great way to educate people about the impact of our food choices and to lead by example.

Wild Trails Coffee is located at 134 East 14th Street, North Vancouver. You can reach them at 604-988-4372 or follow them on facebook and instagram. 

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animal welfare compassion cruelty News/Blog Promoted Uncategorized

CFIA releases “What we heard” report from transport regulations consultation

Canada’s farmed animal transport regulations are extremely archaic (dating back to 1977) and VHS, along with other animal protection organizations and concerned citizens, have long advocated for stronger regulations to better protect animal welfare.

It’s been almost a year and half since the federal government held a public consultation on its proposed amendments to the transport regulations. Disappointingly, not only were the improvements being proposed very minor, but to date the final regulations still haven’t been released.

Just recently, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) finally released its “What We Heard” report, summarizing the feedback from the public consultation. This report will be used to inform the development of the final amendments.

As heat waves continue across the country, so do the trucks transporting farmed animals long distances with no protection from the weather. This issue has made headlines this summer, with footage of overcrowded and overheated pigs in transport trucks making recent news in British Columbia and Manitoba. Shockingly, in the Manitoba case the CFIA said the load was in compliance with the regulations, and that the animals were not overcrowded for the weather conditions at the time. This despite a thermometer reading of nearly 40 C and evidence of overcrowding and heat stress.

As efforts to finalize the amended transport regulations are underway, please join us in keeping the pressure on the federal government to prioritize the release of significantly stronger transport regulations that are evidence-based, free from industry influence and that will prevent the senseless suffering showcased time and time again in transport investigations.

Take action by sending an email to:

Lawrence MacAulay, Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food – lawrence.macaulay@parl.gc.ca

Your Member of Parliament – www.ourcommons.ca/parliamentarians/en/constituencies/FindMP

Dr. Cornelius Kiley, National Manager, CFIA – cornelius.kiley@canada.ca

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compassion Cruelty-free Food and Drink News/Blog plant-based diet Promoted school Uncategorized vegan vegetarianism

Handsworth student wins award for Meatless Monday efforts

Handsworth Secondary student, Meghan Little, was recently presented with a Student Recognition Award for her efforts to bring Meatless Monday to her school. Meghan’s peers and teachers nominated her for the award and even put together a video highlighting her work. The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) was honoured to be in attendance at the awards ceremony to celebrate Meghan’s success.

VHS Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett, first met Meghan at Handsworth’s Be Aware Fair, where VHS was tabling and talking to students about our Meatless Monday program. Meghan was keen to bring the initiative to Handsworth and so she worked with VHS, the school’s Environmental Club (of which she was a member) and the food service provider to get more veg options on the menu.

Handsworth’s Meatless Monday initiative was successfully launched on November 20, 2017 and Meghan and fellow Environmental Club members have been raising awareness of the benefits of going meatless and encouraging students and staff to opt for the Meatless Monday special ever since!

Meghan’s leadership and dedication to protecting animal welfare, the environment and public health were instrumental in improving student access to plant-based foods at multiple North Vancouver secondary schools. Meghan’s efforts inspired students at other schools to get involved and ultimately helped contribute to the recent commitment by local food service provider, Amaga Food, to expand on Meatless Monday by transitioning 20 per cent of the regular menu to plant-based at five North Vancouver secondary schools (Handsworth, Sutherland, Argyle, Windsor and Seycove secondary), starting this fall. This means students and staff will have access to humane, healthy and sustainable plant-based options every day!

“It’s exciting to see all the positive changes at Handsworth,” said Meghan. “The 20 per cent increase in plant-based options shows how open our community is to change and progress. I’m hoping our efforts for Meatless Monday will inspire other students to follow their passions and to make positive changes as well.”

This achievement would not have been possible without the help of Meghan, Handsworth’s Environmental Club and the incredibly dedicated students involved at the other participating North Vancouver secondary schools. As a grade 12 graduate, Meghan leaves behind a meaningful and inspirational legacy at Handsworth and is excited to attend the University of British Columbia in the fall, where we look forward to continuing to support her efforts to spread the “go veg” message!

Learn more about Meatless Monday and donate today to help us improve access to plant-based options at more schools and institutions.

You can also check out a recent feature on Meghan’s efforts in the North Shore News!

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animal welfare compassion cruelty Cruelty-free Dairy Food and Drink News/Blog plant-based diet Promoted Uncategorized vegan vegetarianism

Ditch dairy for these great alternatives

In an effort to promote the consumption of dairy products, the dairy industry has dubbed June “National Dairy Month”. But with milk consumption steadily declining in Canada and more people embracing healthier, humane and less resource-intensive dairy alternatives, we prefer to celebrate June as “National Dairy-Free Month”.

In the last few years the variety of dairy-free products on grocery store shelves has grown significantly, including almond, soy, coconut, pea and oat milks and creamers and dairy-free butters, sour cream, cheeses, ice creams and yogurts.

A number of factors have contributed to the growing demand for dairy alternatives, including increased public awareness of both animal welfare and environmental issues related to the dairy industry, as well as a growing body of scientific evidence that questions the industry’s health claims.

Take the Chilliwack Cattle Sales cruelty case as an example. Chilliwack Cattle Sales is one of Canada’s largest dairy farms and a major supplier to Dairyland. In 2014 an undercover investigation revealed horrendous acts of animal cruelty taking place on the farm. While the farm’s owners claimed to have no knowledge of the abuse and suggested it was not reflective of their company’s standards, the undercover investigator repeatedly reported concerns to the owners and no corrective action was taken. In addition, a lawyer for one of the workers charged painted a picture of a “toxic” work culture at Chilliwack Cattle Sales and the same farm had also previously been investigated for animal welfare issues back in 2008.

Time and again, undercover investigations have shed light on what is a systemic culture of cruelty within today’s animal agriculture industry.  Meanwhile, animal welfare is routinely compromised through standard practices in dairy farming. B.C. Milk Marketing Board inspection documents over an 18-month period revealed that one in four farms in the province failed to comply with the provincial animal-welfare Code of Practice. Starting in January, 2015, the inspections revealed cases of overcrowding, lame or soiled cattle, tails torn off by machinery, branding and dehorning of calves without pain medication, and cows lying on concrete. 20 of 73 farms, or 27 per cent, required “corrective action” after on-site inspections. About 10 per cent were still not compliant on a follow-up inspection. Another inherent issue with this industry is the separation of dairy calves from their mothers in order to collect the milk for human consumption.

It’s no wonder that consumers are increasingly dropping dairy and instead opting for alternatives. So, in honour of “National Dairy-Free Month”, we’d like to highlight just a few of our favourite dairy alternatives:

Milks & Creamers

Cheese

Ice Cream

Yogurt

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advertising animal welfare compassion Cruelty-free Food and Drink News/Blog plant-based diet Promoted Recipes Uncategorized vegan vegetarianism

New bus ad reminds us that animals are friends, not food

VHS’s new Translink bus ad highlighting our Go Veg campaign recently hit the streets of Vancouver. The ad, which features a young girl petting a pig, aims to remind us that when we were children we instinctively saw animals as friends and not food.

VHS’s Go Veg campaign works to help people rediscover that innate love for animals and to raise awareness of the power behind what we put on our plate.
In 2017, over 800 million land animals were killed for food in Canada. They are crammed, shackled and caged in filthy conditions that don’t permit them to perform the most basic natural behaviours. Most will never feel the sun on their backs or grass under their feet and their transport and slaughter conditions are equally horrific.

Every time we sit down to eat, we have an opportunity to stand up for a kinder world for animals. By choosing to leave animal products off our plates we’re helping to reduce the demand for meat that drives factory farming and we’re setting a positive example for others. You can download our Live Well booklet to learn more and get free vegan recipes.

French Toast Coffee Cake, Mac & Cheese Onion Rings, and Stuffed Crust Pizza – sound delicious?! These are just a few of the 101 recipes featured in Lauren Toyota’s new “Vegan Comfort Classics” cookbook. Help us spread the “go veg” message and you’ll be entered for a chance to win Lauren’s new cookbook! Keep an eye out for our bus ad, take a photo and post it to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and tag VHS. Use the hashtag #govegvancouver and we’ll select a winner at random.

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Media Release

Civic election candidates surveyed on animal welfare issues

Vancouver – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is asking civic election candidates to state their position on a range of animal welfare issues. VHS surveyed candidates in Metro Vancouver who are running for mayor, city council, school board and Vancouver park board and is publishing their responses on its website.

The survey asked candidates their positions on issues such as factory farming; keeping cetaceans in captivity; plant-based diets; using animals in entertainment; pet-friendly housing; and Meatless Mondays.

“Our survey will give candidates an opportunity to state their views on animal issues and will allow voters to evaluate those views,” said VHS program coordinator Emily Pickett.  “We’ll update the survey responses on our website to ensure voters have the latest information.”

Pickett said VHS will not be telling voters to favour any particular candidate, as this is prohibited by charity regulations, but will encourage voters to respond to the candidates’ views and to engage them in conversation about animal welfare.

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