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.
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:
Company has not addressed the issue in its response to concerned citizens
Thank you to everyone who emailed Rogers Foods to ask them to urge the Chilliwack Fair to drop cruel rodeo events. More than 2000 of you did so!
Rogers Foods has not responded to VHS directly but sent this response to members of the public who contacted them:
Rogers Foods is a community minded organization that is proud to support local events.
We have long been a sponsor of the Rogers Foods Kitchen at the Chilliwack Fair. There are a number of baking contests associated with the Rogers Foods Kitchen.
During that time we’ve had hundreds of our customers enjoy entering their baked goods in these contests.
We believe that many customers look forward to this annually.
Many of our customers come from rural communities that participate in other activities at the fair.
Rogers Foods likes to keep in mind that our product has agricultural roots.
Unfortunately, Rogers Foods has been identified by Vancouver Humane Society supporters as being associated with other activities at the Chilliwack Fair. Our preference is those individuals take their concerns up directly with the organization that manages those activities.
Rogers Foods continues to appreciate the people that derive enjoyment of participating in the baking activities of the Chilliwack Fair and look forward to their continued participation.
Unfortunately, this response does not address the request that we, and all of you who emailed Rogers Foods, made to the company, which was: “Please ask the Fair to eliminate the calf-roping, steer-wrestling and team-roping events, all of which subject animals to fear, stress and pain for the sake of entertainment.”
We’re disappointed that Rogers Foods hasn’t called on the Chilliwack Fair to discontinue inhumane rodeo events (or at least is not willing to reveal if it has done so). If you’ve received the email reply above from Rogers Foods, we suggest you politely reply with these key points:
As a key sponsor of the Fair, Rogers Foods has a voice that the Fair will listen to. Rogers Foods needs to have a conversation with the Fair about the inclusion of cruel rodeo events in its program. It should urge an end to calf-roping, steer-wrestling and team-roping.
If Rogers Foods took a stand against rodeo cruelty at the Fair, it would be widely welcomed by compassionate British Columbians.
Rogers states they are a community-minded organization. As such, they should be taking into consideration the feedback from 2000+ members of the public that have raised this as an issue that’s important to them.
You can reply to Rogers Foods’ original email or reach them at: info@rogersfoods.com
Thanks to everyone who is supporting our campaign against rodeo cruelty in Chilliwack. We will be increasing campaign activities and actions as we approach the start of the rodeo on August 10.
On March 27, VHS hosted a presentation in Vancouver by Rob Laidaw, executive director of Zoocheck, on animals in captivity.
Titled Nature in a box: the paradoxical and dangerous world of zoos and aquariums, Laidlaw’s talk was a compelling indictment of the captive animal industry. Drawn from his own research and long experience of monitoring the industry, including visiting hundreds of zoos and aquariums around the world, the case against captivity was overwhelming. Below are some of the key points from the presentation.
Space, freedom and family
A major criticism of captive animal facilities concerns lack of space for animals, which Laidlaw explained is often not obvious to visitors:
“Space is a core consideration for nearly all captive animals, yet it’s something that is often overlooked, ignored or even dismissed by many animal caretakers. Some claim that animals don’t need a lot of space because they only travel when they are looking for food. Therefore, they say that if food is provided, the animals don’t bother traveling. That’s a myopic and unscientific perspective because animals are known to move around for a diversity of reasons, not just to find food. And when adequate space isn’t provided, there can be detrimental physical, psychological and social consequences to the animals. All animals should be provided with the largest living spaces possible. There’s no such thing as a cage that is too big.”
VHS hosted Rob Laidlaw’s March 27 talk, which drew a crowd eager to hear about the plight of captive animals. Photo: Emily Pickett.
Captive animals also lose the ability to make choices because of their restricted and often barren environments, which are damaging to their welfare. Laidlaw described how they’re also deprived of their natural social context, such as being part of a family or larger social grouping.
“In addition to space, additional critical quality of life considerations include freedom of choice, proper social context and stimulation and activity, but these too are often given short shrift. When that happens animals suffer physically and they also suffer psychologically, as they can experience negative emotional states, like boredom, frustration, anxiety, fear and anger. All aspects of animal welfare should be considered if the interests and wellbeing of the animals are a priority.”
Laidlaw recounted an experience that perfectly contrasted the lives animals have in nature versus the deprivation they experience in captivity. While visiting a zoo he noticed a non-captive lizard roaming the facility’s grounds, later finding the same species on display.
“After observing that changeable lizard moving about freely, running, climbing and foraging, and then seeing it’s captive counterpart in a tiny, glass-fronted exhibit unable to engage in any natural movements or behaviours, I realized just how abnormal the situation of the captive was. Nature should be what’s considered normal, not the animal in the cage.”
Zoos’ claims about “education” lack evidence
It’s common for zoos and aquariums to claim that they provide “education” about the animals they display, but Laidlaw said there was little evidence this was true and cited research that clearly contradicts such claims.
“There have been a number of studies examining how long zoo visitors look at animals. The results show that for some animals, particularly if they are not active, observation times can vary from about eight seconds to 90 seconds. There’s not much that can be learned about an animal in that length of time.”
He gave a sad example to illustrate the point:
“My colleague was visiting a large Canadian zoo to see a bittern, a relatively small wading bird, in one of the zoo’s indoor pavilions. He decided to time how long people actually looked at the bittern. While he expected visitor observation times to be short since the bittern wasn’t one of the zoo’s popular, charismatic mega-vertebrates, like lions, bears and elephants, he was still astounded when the average length of time the bittern was observed turned out to be less than one second. In fact, most people just glanced as they walked by, even when the bird was pointed out to them.”
The future: alternatives to traditional zoo model
Laidlaw ended his presentation with a description of some alternative concepts to zoos and aquariums and a call for change.
“The traditional zoo model, with its relatively unfettered viewing of animals and mass-market entertainment approach is outdated and no longer makes sense. There are many new exciting kinds of facilities and technologies that should replace traditional zoos. They include regionally-focused wildlife facilities, multi-disciplinary centers, sanctuaries, specialist education and conservation facilities, virtual zoos and innovative interactive film technologies.”
The nearly 100 people attending the talk, judging by their enthusiastic applause, left with new insights into what life is like for captive animals, and, perhaps, a new-found desire to work for an end to the places where they are incarcerated.
VHS has long fought for animals in captivity, exposing poor treatment of animals at the Greater Vancouver Zoo and opposing cetacean captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium, including publishing this joint report with Zoocheck.
A coalition of animal protection organizations and experts have issued an open letter to the federal Ministry of Agriculture, urging the government to strengthen regulations pertaining to the domestic transportation of animals. The coalition is comprised of humane societies, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and other animal advocates, all of whom wish to see these regulations – last updated in 1977 – improved swiftly and significantly.
The Vancouver Humane Society, along with 19 other animal protection agencies and advocates, is calling for the new regulations to be based on scientific evidence and international best practices, including standards established by the World Organisation for Animal Health. The open letter also recommends that said regulations outline clear, specific and measurable welfare requirements for the animal agriculture industry.
Current regulations allow animals to be transported for up to three days without food, water or rest, or adequate protection from inclement weather. The result is that approximately 14 million farm animals arrive dead, dying or injured at federally inspected slaughterhouses each year. Canadians are increasingly concerned about the treatment of farmed animals and Canada must take this opportunity to be a leader, rather than a laggard, in animal care.
TAKE ACTION:
Join us in calling on the federal government to prioritize the release of improved, evidence-based transport regulations that reflect Canadian societal values that oppose the needless suffering of animals.
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 our coalition’sletterto the Minister as a reference.
VHS will continue fighting rodeo cruelty this year, with a significant public awareness campaign planned to address animal abuse at the Chilliwack Fair rodeo (Aug 10-12, 2018). We’ll need your help.
In 2017, the Fair’s board agreed to review two events, steer-wrestling and calf-roping, but sadly decided to retain both events, with some minor rule changes. The board ignored representations from VHS, the BC SPCA, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and Animal Justice, which called for the events to be dropped.
VHS will be working hard in 2018 to draw public attention to rodeo cruelty at the Fair and will be seeking the elimination of calf-roping, steer-wrestling and team-roping. As the photos on this page show, these events clearly cause animal suffering and distress.
Steer wrestling, Chilliwack Fair rodeo 2016
We plan to engage with sponsors of the Fair and the wider Chilliwack business community, urging them to press the Fair for an end to rodeo cruelty. We will be encouraging the public to engage with sponsors and express their concerns about the Fair’s continued support for rodeo.
We’ll also continue to draw attention to animal welfare other rodeos, especially the Calgary Stampede’s rodeo and chuckwagon races.
We hope animal lovers here and across Canada will support our work against the abuse of rodeo animals. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on our campaigns and on actions you can take to help. You can also sign up for VHS alerts and updates.
Team-roping, Chilliwack Fair rodeo 2016
In the meantime, donations to our fight against rodeo cruelty will help make our campaigns more effective.
Our past campaigns helped put an end to rodeos in Victoria and Abbotsford, eliminated several cruel events at Surrey’s Cloverdale Rodeo and convinced the City of Vancouver to ban rodeos.
With your help, we’ll gain more victories against this cruel spectacle of animal abuse.
Garth is one of the newest (and youngest!) animals at The Happy Herd Farm Sancturary. He’s someone, not something. That’s why VHS promotes a plant-based diet and cruelty-free living.
Making life better for animals now and in the future
On November 28, the Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) and The Happy Herd partnered for Giving Tuesday to raise $10,000 to help rescued farmed animals and to fight factory farming by promoting cruelty-free living.
Thank you to everyone who donated toward our campaign, to our generous matching gift sponsors, Lisa Kramer and Mark Kamstra, and for each of the partner businesses who supported us by raising funds for this campaign. Be sure to check out our complete list of Giving Tuesday partners and show your support for these compassionate businesses that give back to our community!
At The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary in Aldergrove, B.C., animals are treated with compassion, not as the exploitable commodities we see on industrialized farms. When animals are seen as valued, sentient beings it’s clear each one is “someone, not something.” So shouldn’t we treat them accordingly?
That’s the question that underpins VHS’s campaigns for cruelty-free living. VHS volunteers are out on the streets and at events distributing our Go Veg booklet to thousands of people who want to live more compassionately. More people are joining our Go Veg Campaign and our Meatless Monday program every day and we’re helping schools, hospitals and businesses increase their offering of humane, sustainable and healthy plant-based dishes. Every year our bus ads prod the consciences of Vancouverites, asking why we treat some animals as friends and others as food. Together we are changing hearts and minds. Thank you for your support!
Calf-roping and steer-wrestling are two of the worst rodeo events
In response to VHS’s campaign and the release of photos raising concerns about steer-wrestling and calf-roping at the Chilliwack Fair rodeo, the Fair has agreed to review the two rodeo events, including potentially cancelling them for the 2018 rodeo.
VHS has issued the following news release in response to the Fair’s announcement:
Media release
July 31, 2017
Vancouver Humane Society welcomes Chilliwack Fair decision to review rodeo events
Review to determine whether calf-roping and steer-wrestling should be canceled
Vancouver – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) has welcomed a statement issued today by the Chilliwack Fair that it will review the calf-roping and steer-wrestling events at its annual rodeo “to determine whether such events are suitable to continue in the 2018 Chilliwack Fair.”
“We are pleased that the Chilliwack Fair has listened to our concerns and the concerns of many people who object to these inhumane events,” said VHS spokesperson Peter Fricker. “We urge the Fair’s board to cancel these events when it votes on this matter in September. “It would be a major step forward in the evolution of rodeo toward a more acceptable form of entertainment.”
Fricker said VHS remains opposed to rodeo in principle but welcomes the Chilliwack Fair’s willingness to at least address concerns over these highly controversial events.
This is the ad the Williams Lake Tribune refused to print.
So much for freedom of speech in Williams Lake
Earlier this year, a tiny community newspaper in Iowa won a Pulitzer Prize for taking on big agriculture companies over factory farm pollution.
The Storm Lake Times, which investigated the effects of nitrogen from farm drainage on drinking water in the state, was praised for its “editorials fuelled by tenacious reporting, impressive expertise and engaging writing that successfully challenged powerful corporate agricultural interests in Iowa.”
The family that owns the newspaper reportedly lost a few friends and a few advertisers, but never doubted they were doing the right thing.
“We’re here to challenge people’s assumptions and I think that’s what every good newspaper should do,” said one family member.
It’s a great example of a community newspaper showing courage and tenacity in seeking the truth. Some newspapers still uphold the highest standards and values of a free press.
Then there’s the Williams Lake Tribune. In May, VHS tried to book a full-page ad in the Tribune. The ad, as we informed the Tribune’s publisher via email, would express VHS’s opposition to the Williams Lake Stampede rodeo.
After a couple of days of silence from the publisher, we emailed again and received this reply from an executive at Black Press, the Tribune’s corporate owner:
“In consultation with our lawyer we have determined that we are entitled to decline advertising in the circumstances.
“The Williams Lake Tribune is a sponsor of the Stampede because it is a significant community event that the paper supports. We appreciate that your society opposes the event and we respect your right to that opinion. You were wise to check with us before commissioning artwork and design.
“While we cannot say definitively that we will decline all possible advertising, we can say, from experience, that anti-Stampede type display advertising that suggests or argues gratuitous cruelty to animals by image or text is unlikely to be accepted by the Williams Lake Tribune at this time.”
Since the words “unlikely to be accepted” seemed to leave the door slightly open, we sent the executive the planned content of the ad to see if it would be acceptable. This included a photograph of the steer-wrestling event taken at last year’s Williams Lake Stampede, accompanied by text stating: “You know in your heart this is not right. Stop cruel rodeo events at the Williams Lake Stampede.”
The executive replied that this would not be accepted.
This is not the first time a Black Press newspaper has refused one of VHS’s anti-rodeo ads. In 2015, the Abbotsford News rejected a full-page ad opposing the Abbotsford Rodeo (which was ultimately cancelled in 2016). No reason was given for the rejection.
It’s perfectly legal for a newspaper to refuse an ad for any number of reasons. The ad might be libelous or gratuitously offensive or misleading to readers. VHS’s ad did contain a graphic image of a steer being wrestled to ground, but it only showed what a rodeo-goer would typically see at the Stampede – the very activity that the Williams Lake Tribune says it promotes and supports. If the Tribune finds a photo of steer-wrestling offensive and unacceptable, how can it support the event?
It’s also perfectly normal for a newspaper not to agree with an ad it might carry. The Tribune could have made this clear with a disclaimer on the VHS ad or it could have run an editorial explaining its contrary position on rodeo.
But the Tribune chose instead to simply suppress a legitimate point of view on a matter of public interest. It didn’t trust its readers to make up their own minds about rodeo. Unlike the Storm Lake Times, it didn’t challenge assumptions, “like every good newspaper should do.”
The B.C. Community Newspaper Association, of which the Williams Lake Tribune is a member, says part of its mission is to: “Improve standards in the practice of the profession of journalism, and to promote a high standard of conduct and professional ethics in the business of newspaper publishing.”
The Canadian Association of Journalists’ ethics guidelines state that “Defending the public’s interest includes promoting the free flow of information, exposing crime or wrongdoing, protecting public health and safety, and preventing the public from being misled.”
Clearly, ethics matter to journalists and to the public they serve. People still believe that a free press is vital to democracy, that diversity of opinion matters, that newspapers should be courageous defenders of free speech.
What isn’t clear is whether those things matter to the Williams Lake Tribune, which, to our knowledge, has not been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
The circus is coming to the PNE. And we need to stop it.
VHS supporters will recall that the Royal Canadian Circus was scheduled to appear at Concord Pacific Place in Vancouver from May 12th to 14th, but after VHS encouraged the public to complain to Concord Pacific about the circus’s questionable animal welfare record, the venue was switched to the PNE. It’s not too late to let the PNE know how you feel about its decision to host this performance.
This circus is put on by the U.S.-based Tarzan Zerbini Circus, which has a reportedly poor animal welfare record with regard to its treatment of elephants, as detailed in this 2016 article in the Ottawa Citizen and in this report by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This gives us concerns about the welfare of other animals in its care.
The article in the Citizen, by the Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Fellow, reveals that the Zerbini Circus has been cited for animal welfare violations in the U.S. and states that it “has featured elephants who are kept chained and forced to perform under threat of punishment.”
The PETA report says the circus failed to “meet minimum federal standards for the care of animals” used in exhibition, as established in the Animal Welfare Act in the U.S. It states that in 2011 the USDA “cited Tarzan Zerbini for failure to prevent elephants from being exposed to tuberculosis (TB).”
While it is VHS’s understanding that the Vancouver performance of the Royal Canadian Circus will feature only domestic animals and not exotic animals (which is prohibited by City of Vancouver bylaw), its parent company’s animal welfare record raises serious concerns. Consequently, we are urging the public not to attend the Royal Canadian Circus’s performances.
We are also asking the public to complain to the PNE about hosting this circus.
Please email the PNE and politely ask them to cancel the performance of the Royal Canadian Circus.
