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rules fail to address some of the most major animal welfare concerns and offer only minor improvements to the existing, outdated regulations.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
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:
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?
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?
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).
Grant will help campaigns to fight rodeo cruelty and factory farming
A generous anonymous donor is offering to match donations to support our fight against rodeo cruelty and to help our Go Veg campaign. The matching grants mean your donation will be doubled, up to $10,000 for each program!
Our campaign against cruelty at the Chilliwack Fair rodeo, the Calgary Stampede and other rodeos will continue this year and your contributions, aided by the matching grant, will allow us to draw greater attention to the plight of rodeo animals.
Last year, Vancouver Humane exposed the use of electric shock devices at the Chilliwack Fair rodeo, which received considerable media coverage. We’ll put the spotlight on the rodeo again this year and keep up the pressure on sponsors.
Your doubled donation will also help our Go Veg campaign, allowing us to educate the public about the suffering of farmed animals, promote a plant-based diet and reduce the overall consumption of animal-based foods. We’re also supporting a growing number of institutions, from food service providers, schools and hospitals to corporate cafeterias, in reducing their offering of animal products on menus in favour of more plant-based foods.
Your gift will allow us to expand this important campaign and go even further to help farmed animals. The funds raised will help us run more Go Veg bus ads, attend more public events and distribute more Go Veg leaflets. We will be able to offer additional culinary support for institutions looking to transition more of their menus to plant-based and we will advocate for policies that prioritize plant-based foods, as well as stronger regulations to protect animal welfare.
Together we can create a kinder and more humane society for all animals!
To donate just click here. From the drop-down menu choose the Rodeo or Go Veg funds to ensure your donation is doubled.
At Vancouver Humane we think every animal deserves to be happy. In 2018, with your support, we helped sick and injured animals to get better; spoke out against animal cruelty and urged people to see animals as friends, not food.
Generous donors ensured our McVitie fund helped 130 animals get emergency medical help or be spayed/neutered. Their families, many on low incomes, appreciated that someone was there to help in a crisis and that their companions would come home safe and healthy.We hope to help even more animals in the new year – with more happy endings!
We continued to expose cruelty at rodeos, including the use of an electric shock device at the Chilliwack Fair rodeoand the abuse of bulls at local bull-riding events.
We’re determined to keep fighting for these animals and put an end to rodeo cruelty.
We also worked on the root causes of animal suffering, especially factory farming and the demand for the animal products that fuel this cruel industry.
During the year, we took a number of actions to promote a plant-based diet, reduce meat and dairy consumption and educate the public about the suffering of farmed animals, including:
Supported more schools (now 16!) in increasing their offering of plant-based options through initiatives like Meatless Monday.
Held our first plant-based culinary workshop at the secondary school level, training food service staff on new recipes, cooking skills and techniques.
Ran a new Go Veg bus ad, aimed at reminding viewers that when we were children we instinctively saw animals as friends and not food.
Helped spread the Go Veg message by distributing over 19,000 of our Live Well booklets to local advocates, at events and through our Outreach Team.
We also:
Launched a new speakers series called Animals & Ethics in the 21st Century to engage the community in animal issues (Our first speaker of 2019 will be registered dietitian Desiree Nielson on Jan. 10th.)
Called on candidates to declare their positions on animal welfare issues in a local election survey.
Advocated for stronger farmed animal transport regulations.
Called for action on delayed farm animal cruelty charges
With your help, we’ll do even more to help animals in 2019. Please donate to ensure this work continues. Your support means more animals will be helped, giving them the chance to live the happy lives they deserve.
Thank you and Happy New Year
from all of us at the Vancouver Humane Society!
Earlier this year, we were dismayed to see two events staged in Abbotsford that saw bulls tormented and taunted for the sake of entertainment.
One was an “extreme rodeo” event held at Abbotsford’s Exhibition Park, some of which can be seen in this video. It’s clear that the bulls want no part of this sad spectacle. VHS complained to Abbotsford City Council, which owns the venue, but received no response.
The other was a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) event at the Abbotsford Centre, a venue also owned by the City of Abbotsford. Again, bulls were exploited for human amusement, obviously distressed as they bucked wildly to get unwanted riders off their backs. In addition, they were exposed to loud fireworks despite the fact that sudden noise is known to cause distress in cattle.
Bull-riding has become popular in recent years, as fans see it as a sensational contest between “man and beast.” Few people feel empathy for the bulls, as they weigh us much as 2000 pounds and are seen as ferocious and powerful. PBR and rodeo promoters say the bulls are star “athletes” and are born to buck, even though they have no choice but to participate.
Why do bulls buck?
The truth is that the bulls are selectively bred for a predisposition to buck, which means they are especially sensitive to any negative stimulus, such as the riders they are trying to buck off. This is thought to be an evolutionary response to a predator jumping on the bull’s back. In other words, the bull feels it is under attack and is fighting for its life. The wild bucking seen at these events does not occur outside the arena.
In addition to being mounted by the unwanted rider, a “flank strap” is cinched tight around the bull’s torso just before it is released into the arena. This causes the bull discomfort, creating yet further negative stimulus to induce the bull to buck harder. One study on bucking bulls puts it very clearly: “The purpose of the flank rope is to produce an annoyance to the bull.”
A bull showing “eye white” – a sign of fear and stress
. While the rodeo and bull-riding industries deny bulls are suffering, it is clear to any objective observer that the bulls’ wild bucking is an unnatural, negative experience. One indicator of the bulls’ distress is the presence “eye white” (an increase in the size of the white of the eye surrounding the pupil), which can be seen in photos of bull-riding events. Eye white has been identified as sign of fear and distress in cattle. One 2017 study states: “The work to date suggests that eye white percentage is a meaningful indicator of emotion, with more eye whites indicating fear and frustration and less eye white associated with positive feelings.”
Although it is difficult to see what happens behind the scenes in the chutes before a bull is released, there have been instances at rodeos where bulls have been kicked, had their tails twisted or have been electrically shocked – all to ensure bulls leave the chutes angry, fearful and bucking wildly. VHS exposed the use of an electric shock device at the Chilliwack rodeo’s bull-riding event in 2018.
While bulls can exhibit aggressive behaviour, they are not the inherently “mean” or “ornery” animals described by PBR promoters. Their levels of aggressive behaviour are determined by a mix of breeding and environment. For example, if they are isolated from the herd and put in an unfamiliar setting they are likely to be more aggressive. Otherwise, aggressive behaviour is manifested when bulls are provoked – such as being mounted by an unwanted rider or stressed by a flank strap.
Bucking bulls are also “trained” through the use of dummies, which are metal weights placed on their backs and released when they buck their hardest, thus conditioning the bull to buck harder to gain relief from the distress caused by the weight.
Physical harm to bulls
There is evidence that bucking bulls may suffer physical damage from the events they are forced to participate in. A 2017 study states that: “Results indicated bucking bulls were more likely than nonbucking bulls to develop horn and sinus disorders and musculoskeletal disorders of the vertebral region and pelvic limbs.”
While there are no independent statistics on bull injuries, there are certainly instances of bucking bulls suffering catastrophic injuries, such as in this video.
Injuries to humans
Although not an animal welfare issue, it is well known that bull-riding causes numerous injuries to human participants. A 2007 research paper comparing injury rates in various sports found that bull-riding had an injury rate 10 times greater than American football. The report concluded: “As a result of these analyses, it is a simple matter to conclude that there is a universal difference in the injury rates between bull riding and most other sports; and these authors, therefore, are compelled to declare the sport of bull riding to be the most dangerous organised sport in the world.” An earlier study suggests about 10 per cent of bull-riding injuries are concussions.
The PBR glorifies the danger of bull-riding, even producing a videos of the worst “wrecks” at its events. Many boys and young men are drawn to the macho culture, money and adrenalin rush of bull-riding, despite the high risk of long-term physical harm, including potential brain damage.
Take action
Despite being inhumane to bulls, as well as unduly dangerous to humans, bull-riding has grown in popularity. VHS is urging the public to complain to the venues that host PBR and rodeo bull-riding events.
Donate to protect animals
Tell the Calgary Stampede to end inhumane rodeo events
Article originally published in the Daily Hive. Bring up animal welfare to a rodeo supporter, and you’ll often hear the same set of arguments: these animals are trained. They’re used to it. They’re athletes akin to other rough sports, like football or boxing. While these arguments are easily unravelled, new footage from this year’s rodeo in Merritt kicks…
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. New polling shows growing public opposition to the use of animals in rodeo events. 65% of B.C. residents and 67% of Canadians are opposed to the practice. Use the…
The Vancouver Humane Society and The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary are partnering to raise funds to help animals now and in the future
Every year in Canada, more than 800 million animals are raised on cruel factory farms before they are sent for slaughter. They suffer from confinement and from being denied the chance to live and behave naturally. Yet science has shown that each animal, just like your pet cat or dog, has his or her own unique personality. That’s why we say every animal is someone, not something.
This year, on Giving Tuesday, November 27th, we are again partnering with The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary to make life better for farmed animals. Giving Tuesday is the annual opportunity to put your dollars toward a cause that’s near and dear to your heart – this year, we hope you’ll make it the plight of animals on factory farms. All donations will be split between both charities.
At VHS, we work year-round to draw public and media attention to the treatment of farmed animals. Our Go Veg campaign encourages people to try a plant-based diet, which reduces the demand that drives factory farming. We’ve launched our Meatless Monday initiative in 17 Metro Vancouver secondary and post-secondary schools, helping to introduce a compassionate, healthy and sustainable diet to the next generation. And our rodeo campaign is exposing cruelty and showing that “livestock” are not just commodities to be brutalized for entertainment, but sentient animals capable of feeling physical and emotional pain.
Our partners at The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary have shown how rescued farmed animals, free of cruelty and confinement, can flourish as individuals. The sanctuary provides a forever home for all types of animals where they can live out their entire lives in a beautiful, natural setting where they are treated with kindness and respect. Visiting Happy Herd and meeting the animals can be a life-changing experience. You will quickly see them as “friends, not food.”
On November 27th, you can donate directly to our joint appeal, but you can also help by supporting the generous (and cruelty-free) local businesses who are partnering with VHS and Happy Herd. On Giving Tuesday, they will be launching a variety of special offers and promotions, all raising funds to help us help animals. Watch our website and social media channels for updates as we get closer to November 27th – or sign up for our action alerts.
Giving Tuesday is your chance to make life better for farmed animals. Don’t miss it!
Halloween is a time for fun but it can be a difficult time for animals. Here are some things you can do that will help ensure animals enjoy the occasion too.
Keep animals inside – The noise from fireworks, trick-or-treaters and parties can be stressful for animals, so please ensure they are kept inside on Halloween. It’s also a good idea to ensure pets are wearing identification at all times in case they get out. Pets should also be kept away from the front door, as they may find a constant stream of noisy visitors threatening.
In Vancouver, the City makes a family fireworks permit available from October 25 to 31, to discharge fireworks on Halloween. VHS would like to see a complete ban on fireworks in the city, which not only adversely affects pets, but also urban wildlife. You can sign a petition for a ban here.
Keep Halloween treats away from pets – Candy should be kept secure and away from pets, especially chocolate, which is very toxic to dogs. Sugary candy, raisins and some nuts are also toxic, as are some artificial sweeteners such as Xylitol. Even ingested wrappers can cause bowel obstructions.
Be careful with decorations – Materials like tinsel, ribbon and string are dangerous for pets, as they may cause severe injury to the intestinal tract if swallowed, so keep decorations away from them. Be careful with strings of lights and extension cords to avoid risk of pets getting an electric shock. Remember that pets can knock things over, so keep Jack-O-Lanterns and other decorations with candles out of their way.
Don’t go overboard with pet costumes – While pets in costumes can be adorable, they can also make animals uncomfortable and stressed. Watch for signs of anxiety or distress and don’t force anything on a reluctant pet. If your pet doesn’t mind a costume, make sure it doesn’t significantly limit movement, hearing, eyesight, or the ability to eat food or drink water.
Remember that not every animal likes to party – Keep an eye on your pets at parties, or better yet, keep them in a separate room. Noisy crowds, strangers, loud music, drugs & alcohol, food falling on the floor – all can present risks and create a stressful environment for animals.
Avoid “pumpkin patches” that display animals – In recent years, pumpkin patches and corn mazes on local farms have become Halloween attractions. Some incorporate petting zoos, putting farmed animals on display and allowing the public to interact with them. This can be stressful for farmed animals, as they cannot escape unwanted attention. It’s worth remembering that these animals are not pets, are being displayed for profit and may later be sent for slaughter like all farmed animals. It’s a good idea to call the venue first and ask whether animals are part of the attraction and under what circumstances.
Try a plant-based Halloween – There are lots of ideas and recipes online to make your Halloween plant-based and cruelty-free. Here are a few helpful links:
Halloween items at Vegan Supply
Recipes from Choose Veg
Recipes from VNutrition
Vegan Halloween candy guide from Cooking Light
The Food Empowerment Project has a free app listing vegan chocolate suppliers
Give your leftover pumpkins to an animal sanctuary – Sanctuaries for farmed animals can often use leftover produce, including pumpkins, for feed. The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary and the Little Oink Bank Pig Sanctuary are two local groups you can contact to see what their hungry animals need.
Try these plant-based ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner
Every year in Canada, 20 million turkeys are slaughtered, with many ending up on dinner tables for Thanksgiving.
Most turkeys are bred for fast growth, which causes them to be top-heavy, leading to painful bone deformities and lameness. Most are raised in cramped conditions on factory farms, where they suffer boredom and frustration because they lack the space to express natural behaviours. They are also subjected to painful beak trimming and toe trimming without pain medication.
A plant-based Thanksgiving is a compassionate alternative to eating turkeys or other animals for the celebration. The good news is that there are plenty of cruelty-free options and resources for a meat-free holiday. Here are our suggestions on how to enjoy a compassionate Thanksgiving dinner in Vancouver.
If your budget allows some fine dining, Vancouver’s upscale plant-based restaurant, The Acorn, is offering an ‘Everything but the Bird Thanksgiving Feast’ on October 7th and 8th, which it says will be an “indulgent, wildly seasonal” three-course dinner for $45 per person with optional wine pairings.
But if, like most people, you plan to prepare your own holiday dinner, there’s no shortage of alternatives to turkey. There are a number of great meatless roasts available from Vancouver’s Vegan Supply, including offerings from Gardein, Field Roast and Tofurky.
And, of course, there are plenty of online recipes and suggestions for a plant-based Thanksgiving. The Oh She Glows recipe website offers lots of ideas, as does The Food Network and even this Toronto yoga centre’s site.
Plant-based choices for special celebrations are increasingly common, making it easy to enjoy a cruelty-free holiday feast.
Great plant-based food. New vegan products. Compelling speakers.
Delicious plant-based food is just one of the reasons not to miss the first ever Capilano VegFest on September 27 at Capilano University. You’ll also find amazing cruelty-free, vegan products and services – and you’ll have an opportunity to learn more about living a compassionate lifestyle from expert speakers.
The event will feature 20 vendors, including some of Vancouver’s favourite vegan hotspots like Blue Heron Cheese, Nora’s ice cream, Willow’s Wax Bar, and Herbaland.
There will also be 10 presentations throughout the day on intriguing topics such as how the animal agriculture industry markets itself; what it’s like to be a professional vegan athlete; and how to raise a healthy, vegan family. Speakers include notable content creators, athletes, and other local vegan personalities, such as Anna Pippus, an animal rights lawyer and vegan mother; Geoff Regier, a former undercover investigator for Mercy for Animals; and even a 12-year-old passionate vegan advocate, Zoom the Vegan Kid.
You’ll have the chance to win several door prizes including a variety of vegan snacks and other foods from local vendors; gift-cards to vegan restaurants in Vancouver such as Meet, Chickpea, Virtuous Pie, and Heirloom; a signed copy of television host Lauren Toyota’s cookbook “Vegan Comfort Classics”; and several cruelty-free beauty and self-care items.
The VegFest is being organized by the Capilano Vegan Club, whose president, Maclayne Simone, hopes the idea spreads: “There was all this culture surrounding sustainability and kindness at Capilano, but close to no initiatives involving veganism,” Simone says. “We wanted to change that. All summer, a group of a few women have worked so hard to bring this event to life and really kickstart the vegan community at Capilano and motivate others to host similar events at their schools. Our goal is to approach veganism in a way that is inspiring and to demonstrate how easy it is to make such a huge difference in the world!”
The Vancouver Humane Society is honoured to sponsor Capilano VegFest because we know it will make difference. Make sure you’re there so you can too!
The meat and livestock industry has been under sustained pressure to improve animal welfare but sometimes their responses to that pressure, even when genuine, can create complicated new problems.
Recently, the Globe & Mail published an article on the challenges of producing “slow growth” chickens. It described the efforts by producers to address the consequences of selective breeding in the poultry industry, which has led to fast-growing chickens with horrific health problems.
Chickens raised in the 1950s weighed about two pounds when full grown. Now chickens weigh more than nine pounds. Breeding for unnatural fast growth and more breast meat has created birds that suffer from painful broken bones, lameness, and heart disease.
The Globe piece details how industry, agricultural scientists and animal welfare experts are trying to produce a “better bird” that will appeal to consumers, have better health, be profitable to raise and be environmentally sustainable. This is proving to be challenging, as slower-growth birds require substantially more water and feed (because they live longer), which means more impact on the environment and higher production costs. Considerable resources are now being devoted to solving this conundrum.
While any effort to improve animal welfare is laudable, it’s hard to avoid the obvious question: Why not just stop eating chicken? The advantages of switching to a plant-based diet are clear and well-documented. For animals, lower demand for meat means less factory farming and slaughter. For the environment it means less deforestation, lower greenhouse gas emissions and less demand for land, water and other resources. For human health, it means fewer chronic health problems linked to meat consumption.
The resources currently being devoted to producing “better” factory-farmed animals could be devoted to developing a new, plant-based food system. Science funding could be applied to research into alternatives to animal protein, improvements to protein crops such as pulses and ways to use these crops in new food products. Government could support public information campaigns to promote a plant-based diet, help plant-based start-ups and invest in research and development to underpin a new agricultural economy that no longer depends on inhumanely incarcerating and slaughtering billions of animals.
To a small degree, this is already happening. The new Canada Food Guide is expected to put more emphasis on the benefits of a plant-based diet. The federal government has started to fund major initiatives to develop plant-based foods. And polls show many Canadians are open to reducing meat consumption. The opportunity is there, but is the political will?
While a transition to a plant-based food system faces many barriers and will take time, it is the simplest and most effective way to address the unacceptable consequences of our current cruel, unhealthy and environmentally disastrous food system.
