Emily Pickett from the Vancouver Humane Society discusses the tragic life and death of Jenga the giraffe, who died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on October 23rd, as well as ongoing welfare concerns at the zoo. Originally aired on The Early Edition from CBC News; shared on The Informed Animal Ally podcast.
On October 23rd, Jenga the giraffe died in his enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
The Vancouver Humane Society’s Emily Pickett sat down with Stephen Quinn from The Early Edition on CBC Radio to share the heartbreaking story of Jenga, a giraffe who died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Interview shared with permission.
Stephen: Another animal has died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. This time, an eight year old giraffe called Jenga. Now the zoo called him an iconic member of the Greater Vancouver Zoo family. According to the zoo, Jenga was found dead in his barn stall on Wednesday afternoon.
Jenga is one of four young giraffes to die at the facility since 2006. And for more on this, we’re joined by Emily Pickett. She’s the Campaign Director for the Vancouver Humane Society. Good morning to you, Emily.
Emily: Good morning.
Stephen: We don’t know all of the details yet. The zoo says it is still awaiting the results of a necropsy.
But what has been your reaction to this news? This was an eight year old giraffe.
Emily: Well, we at the Vancouver Humane Society are deeply saddened to learn of the death of yet another animal at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. And certainly we were surprised. The giraffe Jenga was only eight years old when he died, which is really a fraction of the lifespan for giraffes in the wild where they can live for up to 25 years.
The lives of captive giraffes
Stephen: Right. And tell me more about Jenga’s life in the zoo, or I guess the lives of giraffes generally there, because this is one of four young giraffes to die at that facility since 2006.
Emily: Giraffes are very sensitive animals that we know do not fare well in captivity. In fact, they can have shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts.
The life of Jenga was very different than the life of a wild giraffe, and I think that really points out the concerns that we at the Humane Society have.
In the wild, giraffes live in large herds, they have a large home range. Their natural habitat is typically arid and dry. They’re browsing animals that are adapted to foraging and feeding predominantly on on leaves and stems of trees and shrubs.
But at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Jenga lived a very different life. He lived with only a couple of other giraffes in a pretty small and barren enclosure, with little to no opportunity to engage in many of those natural behaviours, and certainly in a very different climate than what his wild counterparts would be in.
Stephen: And when you’re talking about that warm, arid climate, it’s exactly the opposite here, especially through the wintertime, I would imagine.
Emily: Yes, absolutely. And that’s a big problem for giraffes, too. They struggle as a species to regulate their body temperatures. And so the colder winter months can be a real problem for them in these environments.
Ongoing welfare concerns at the zoo
Stephen: Tell me about the Vancouver Humane Society and the reports that you have commissioned by Zoocheck. I guess the last one would have been in 2019. Is that right?
Emily: That’s correct. Yeah, the Vancouver Humane Society has had longstanding concerns around the welfare and conditions of animals at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
And we’ve commissioned reports by Zoocheck as experts in this area for a number of years now. I think our first report on the Vancouver Zoo was back in 1997, and the most recent one, as you mentioned, was in 2019.
The report found a number of key issues overall.
A lot of the issues zoo-wide were about a lack of environmental and behavioural enrichment for the animals, which we know is very important for wild animals. They need to engage in these natural behaviours.
Another concern was inappropriate housing for social animals and indoor enclosures that were really basic and barren.
There were water issues, issues with groundwater and waterlogging of their enclosures, specifically for the giraffes.
Our 2019 report found similar issues as well.
Zoo accreditation doesn’t reflect welfare
Stephen: The zoo is an accredited zoo. Is it not?
Emily: It is, yes, through CAZA. The concern is that it is really a private industry association of zoos and aquariums. They represent their members and the accreditation is really kind of the zoos and aquariums accrediting themselves.
So, that’s a bit problematic for us. It certainly sounds good on the surface, but it isn’t necessarily an indicator of best practices or high animal welfare standards. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the animals are doing well.
And as you mentioned, the number of deaths and incidents, including in recent years, we think really illustrates the issues.
Calling for change
Stephen: And Emily, is the Humane Society calling for any particular action right now as a result of this?
Emily: We’ve been asking the zoo for many years to take action on its own. We obviously have not seen the changes we would like to see, over the number of years and the number of reports that we’ve drafted and shared with them.
We are still calling on the zoo to do more, but also urging the B. C. government to do more. They are responsible for issuing the permits to the zoo to be able to keep these animals.
So, what we would like to see is the zoo stop keeping exotic animals entirely – as illustrated, they’re not appropriate for these conditions and these environments – and to shift to a sanctuary model where they can focus on rescue, rehab, and release of native species from B.C. and to provide sanctuary for those animals that can’t be released.
Stephen: Emily, thank you for the time this morning. We appreciate it.
Emily: Thank you so much.
Next episode
Please join us next month as we hear perspectives from people who operate farm sanctuaries.
The sudden death of a two-year-old gorilla at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has prompted some conservation experts to push for change.
The sudden death of a two-year-old gorilla at the Calgary Zoo has prompted conservation experts to push for change.
According to CTV News Calgary, “The zoo said on Tuesday that Eyare, a female western lowland gorilla, had been injured while moving between back-of-house spaces.”
“The zoo declined to share any further details about the gorilla’s fatal injuries or what caused them, saying an investigation is underway and a necropsy will be completed.”
Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, called the lack of transparency about the incident “disturbing”.
The Calgary Zoo previously underwent a review from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for unusual and frequent animal deaths between 2005 and 2010, with fatal incidents continuing throughout the next decade.
Zoocheck founder Rob Laidlaw said, “If you’re trying to say you’re breeding animals or keeping animals for conservation and they’re dying from all these mishaps and other things … that’s counter to what you’re telling the public that you want to do.”
Multiple tragic animal deaths at zoos across North America and around the world have been brought to the public’s attention this year, including:
Jenga the giraffe, who was found dead in his enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on October 23rd;
Sakura the red panda, who had recently given birth after being transferred from the Greater Vancouver Zoo to the Toronto Zoo, and one of her two cubs;
Roxie the red panda, who died due to noise stress from fireworks in Edinburgh;
Baffin the polar bear, who drowned in the Calgary Zoo’s new exhibit after he sustained a bite to the throat;
Twelve monkeys who died from a bacterial outbreak at a zoo in Hong Kong.
Tragic deaths at zoos are typically followed by a necropsy to determine the cause, such as illness or injury. Physical and psychological stressors can contribute to premature death in captive animals.
Wild and exotic animals’ needs are not being met in zoos and aquariums
In addition to deadly incidents, wild and exotic animals regularly suffer when kept in captivity in zoos and aquariums.
Wild and exotic animals are living out their entire lives thousands of kilometres away from their home climates, in enclosures that cannot replicate the size and complexity of their natural habitats. They are unable to engage in many natural behaviours that are crucial to their physical, social and psychological well-being.
Take action
Here in B.C., the Vancouver Humane Society has been engaging with provincial decision-makers to call for changes to captivity regulations, including prohibiting the breeding and import of exotic animals for permanent captivity.
Can you sign the petition to help protect animals from suffering in captivity?
The owner of Holly Hill Farm said on Facebook that each of their approximately 50 chickens and ducks were put down after they learned avian flu, also known as H5N1, was spreading through the flock.
Vancouver Island’s health authority is warning the public after an avian flu outbreak at a petting farm resulted in the euthanasia of 50 animals and possible human exposure.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been killing animals around the world, and British Columbia is a major hub for the disease. More than half of birds killed due to the virus spread over the past few years – 6 million of 11 million – have been in B.C.
The disease has also been seen in mammals, including wild mammals, marine mammals, cows, and pigs. There have been 44 reported human cases in the U.S. and one in Canada. “So far, the people who are contracting the disease have gotten it from cows or chickens.”
The spread and mutation of avian flu is accelerated by commercial poultry farms, where birds such as chickens and turkeys are often raised in crowded, stressful conditions. Earlier this year, an article by Eleanor Boyle discussed the avian flu outbreak and the need to transition away from industrial animal agriculture to address disease spread.
Ends November 8: Share your top 3 welfare concerns for chickens & turkeys
The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Chicken and Turkey Code of Practice, which serves as a guideline for on-farm care and handling of birds raised for meat, is coming up for review. The current code allows for many inhumane practices that compromise the welfare of chickens and turkeys in the poultry industry, such as overcrowding and painful procedures.
By taking the quick survey, you can help determine the top priorities for the code review and speak up for hundreds of millions of individual animals.
What is the most common argument you’ve heard against going vegan?
As a vegan organization, the Vancouver Humane Society regularly advocates to make plant-based eating more accessible and reduce the demand for industrial animal agriculture. Plant-based advocates often hear arguments from people who disagree with veganism. This episode will delve into some of those arguments and ways to respond to them in a manner that is reasoned, thoughtful, and kind.
Amy: The first argument is that plant-based foods are overly processed.
Chantelle: Yeah, I hear this one a lot. I think sometimes people mistake the term plant-based foods for commercial plant-based meat substitutes or dairy substitutes.
But when we use the term plant-based, we’re really just referring to any foods that are made from plants without animal products. That includes things like vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds.
Of course, you can also find processed plant-based foods, just as you can find processed animal-based foods.
Why do people eat processed plant-based foods?
Chantelle: Processed foods also have their place. Some people enjoy them as a treat or as a quick option. Some people use them as they’re transitioning from an omnivore diet to make the shift easier.
I personally really enjoy some of the meat alternatives; they’re one of the proteins in my meal rotation. And so are lentils, and so are beans, and tofu, and nuts, and seitan, and soy curls, and all those other whole foods.
I basically eat how I ate before I went vegan, but thinking a little more now about getting all my nutrients. I also have a little bit more variety in my diet, just because there’s more plants out there than there are animals that humans eat.
I find that generally when someone shifts to a plant-based diet, if they ate processed foods made from animals, generally they’ll also have some processed foods made from plants in their diet. And if they ate mostly whole foods as an omnivore, they’ll do the same as a vegan.
Switching to a plant-based diet almost never looks like switching from an organic chicken breast and steamed vegetables and organic brown rice on a plate to like a plate of imitation meat and Oreos.
“Processed” doesn’t mean “bad”
Chantelle: I think it’s important to note that processed foods are not bad foods. There are some foods that feed your soul more than they feed your body, but also a lot of imitation meats have a nutrition profile that’s comparable to the meat that they’re imitating.
We have a really good blog post about understanding meat alternatives on our Plant University website that looks at a nutrition profile breakdown of meat alternatives.
Amy: Personally, I like to think of food as a spectrum. So from eating raw vegetables to a processed plant-based burger, they all have a place in our diet.
There’s a few things that I’ve been surprised to learn as a vegan. There’s just myths out there about food.
Microwaving vegetables has been tested as keeping more nutrients in them than boiling them. Cooking method and ingredients in food can impact the amount of nutrients your body gets from the foods.
Focus on a variety of foods you enjoy
Amy: Variety really makes the biggest impact on nutrient intake. I try to think of that in terms of how I eat.
In one day, I might eat cereal and oat milk that’s fortified with vitamins and minerals. I might have a smoothie with fresh frozen fruits, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, maybe even a plant-based collagen booster powder to strengthen my tendons that has greens and probiotics in it. I might have chips with pre-made salsa, an avocado, and then homemade cashew queso made with raw ingredients like nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, chili powder, and then maybe some vegan chocolate to make sure I get all my iron.
Half of that is processed, half of it isn’t, but my focus is on foods that taste good, promote muscle and tendon strength, are really easy, and promote brain and blood health.
The other day I had a microwavable vegan gluten free lasagna from Amy’s Kitchen, and another day I bought vegan pizza and pre-prepared samosas, and another day Daiya vegan pizza because I don’t necessarily have a lot of time in my day.
They’re all quick, they tasted good, and that’s what keeps me enjoying plant-based foods. So as long as I’m not eating the same thing every day and I try to switch it up and include fruits and veggies here and there, I know I’m doing alright on nutrients.
Make plant-based eating fun
Amy: When folks are thinking about this and talking about this, I think it’s about acceptance. I think it’s about making eating plant-based foods fun and enjoyable and easy and having less judgement on like what that looks like for an individual person; because that’s going to change over their lifetime, given their mental health, time capacity, energy levels, activity levels, all of those things.
Chantelle: Yeah, I think that’s a really good way of looking at it.
Does plant-based eating drive monoculture crops?
It takes more crops to feed animals than humans
Chantelle: We talk about how plant-based eating is better for the environment, but sometimes we hear from people that they believe veganism is bad for the environment, particularly because it drives monoculture crops.
A lot of people talk about the impact of growing things like soy as monoculture crops. We know that’s a key protein that you can eat on a plant-based diet, but more crops are needed to feed animals for human consumption than would be needed to feed humans directly.
The demand for meat and animal products is actually a driving factor in the use of monoculture crops because the vast majority of animals grown for food spend some or all of their lives in an industrial farming environment or a feedlot. It’s not all grazing on pastures.
In Canada, corn is mainly used for animal feed and ethanol.
In the United States, 12% of corn is used to feed people, but 60% goes to feeding animals raised for foods.
About 77% of the world’s soy is used for animal feed.
So we’re seeing that by and large, more of these proteins and grains are being used to feed animals than if they were feeding humans directly.
Amy: It’s amazing how much farmland is being used to grow food to feed animals, which in any kind of logical way of thinking is a huge inefficiency when it comes to feeding a population of more than 7 billion people.
We’d be doing a lot better for the environment if all those fields grew food directly to feed people.
Approach with curiosity
Amy: I think if this is brought up and someone is talking about it, the best way to meet them is with compassion, kind of sharing, I hear that you care for the environment and you’re concerned about monoculture crops. And I’d love to learn more about this alongside you because I’m not an expert in it.
And then going someplace you can trust the output of it and research it together and come at it with that idea of learning and growing alongside them, rather than trying to prove that they’re wrong or make it seem like they have no idea what they’re talking about.
It’s okay to walk away
Chantelle: There’s two different sides of this coin of people using these arguments. There’s people you might be talking to in real life who often are speaking in good faith using arguments where they really feel they’re making the best decision for the environment or for what they really care about.
Sometimes there’s people on the internet saying these things who are really just going to throw whatever spaghetti at the wall they can to dispute your point. And sometimes you just have to walk away from arguments like that as well.
Shouldn’t I just eat local instead?
Eating local helps, but pair it with other changes
Amy: This next one, I think it’s a really good argument. I’m really curious to hear what you have to say about it, Chantelle. The argument is that shipping plant-based foods from far away is bad for the environment. You should just eat local, humanely raised, animal-based foods.
So I imagine this is things like palm oil and coconut coming on planes from places far away.
Chantelle: One thing people talk about is the impact of shipping plant-based foods a long distance as opposed to eating local animal based foods. And they’ve done a lot of research on this.
It’s certainly important to prioritize local, sustainable plant agriculture. I think we can all agree on that.
But, the research shows that ending all international food transport would only cut food miles emissions by 9% worldwide. Researchers have said that other choices like eating seasonal produce and reducing meat consumption could have a greater impact in reducing the climate impact of your food.
We can’t move to local, more “humane” animal foods while meeting current demand
Chantelle: Another thing is that eating local the way that some people talk about isn’t possible for most people. A lot of people who use this argument are talking about rural communities where they’re picturing a small scale animal farm with animals out on the pasture, and you can walk over to meet your local farmer, and then you can buy some meat from your local butcher, and that’s not what’s really happening.
The reality of the world we live in is the vast majority of people are living in cities, and we don’t have the space to be raising animals like that to feed all those people.
If we go farther out into nearby rural communities, we don’t have the space to have every animal roaming the pasture to meet a really high demand for animal products for every person who lives in the world right now.
That’s why industrial animal agriculture developed: to fit more animals into a smaller space for a lower cost and meet that really high demand for our growing population.
We don’t have a world of Old McDonald farms. We have a world where about 90% of farmed animals and 74% of farmed land animals are being raised in factory farms.
Locally raised animals can still be transported long distances to slaughter
Amy: With how few slaughterhouses there are, animals, even ones that are raised locally, are being transported huge distances to be killed.
For example, something I learned when I lived on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is that animals have to travel in vehicles, on a ferry, and then on the highway again, going to the Lower Mainland.
Then the meat, after the animals are killed and processed, goes back on the highway, on the ferry, on the highway again.
And that’s a short distance compared to some of the really long distances animals are being shipped. That uses just so many greenhouse gases, not to mention the suffering of the animals.
Plant-based foods skip the slaughterhouse
Amy: So the benefit of plant-based products is they skip that in between step. They’re going to on farm or nearby processing facilities and then they’re getting to the consumer more directly.
This is an argument that can be shared and at the same time it’s something that can be researched together, discussed together, and making sure that you hear where someone’s coming from.
Absolutely, coconuts are shipped from far away, but what are some other things we can consider? It’s all about having that conversation and building trust with the other person who’s putting that argument forward that you understand where they’re coming from.
Chantelle: Yeah, that’s a really great point. The animals are shipped from the pasture to the feedlot to the slaughterhouse and the crops to feed the animals are shipped from wherever they’re grown to the feedlot. There’s a lot more steps involved in animal agriculture than there are in plant-based.
Does veganism cause more animal deaths than animal agriculture?
True: Wild animals die as a result of agriculture
Chantelle: Another argument that we hear is veganism causes more animal deaths than animal agriculture.
I have a really hard time with this one, but I think a way to approach it compassionately is just to kind of lay out the facts.
First of all, do animals die from growing plants? Yes. Some animals die unintentionally from the machinery that’s used to grow and harvest crops, and some animals are killed intentionally to protect crops.
Some animals are also killed intentionally to protect farmed animals raised for food; that’s just across the entire farming system.
More crops are needed to feed animals than to feed humans directly
Chantelle: First of all, it’s not just vegans eating plants. Every human needs plants to meet their nutrition requirements.
But it’s not just humans eating crops; crops are used for animal feed.
About 36% of the world’s crop calories are used for animal feed compared to 55% feeding humans directly. If we look at the calories consumed globally, about 17% of the global calorie supply comes from animal foods, and then plant-based foods make up the other 83%.
When you look at the fact that animals are eating almost as many crops as all humans, you see that it takes far more crops to feed animals for humans to eat than it would to feed humans directly.
So while it’s not possible to eliminate all animal suffering entirely, plant-based diets are the best option to dramatically reduce it.
Respond with understanding and empathy
Amy: Yeah, this one’s interesting. I mean, animals die from all aspects of human existence.
With the need to protect crops, pesticides and rodenticides are being used.
Going to a restaurant, there’s likely rat and mouse traps set up all over the place. Grocery stores as well.
These are existing with any kind of food. It’s not a problem specific to veganism.
The best thing to do when someone brings this up is not to deny it, but to acknowledge it. It’s sad. It sucks a lot that animals are dying so that humans can live and can consume plants, but eating a vegan diet still has a far less impact on animals in the environment overall.
Can plant-based foods meet your nutritional needs?
You can get all the nutrients you need from plant-based foods
Amy: This next one I think is a really common one that comes up, and it’s that plant-based foods won’t meet all your nutritional needs.
Chantelle: Yeah, I think that we’re getting to a place where there’s a broader scientific consensus that eating more plant-based foods is healthier for you.
When we look at the specific nutrients, you can get all the nutrients you need from plant-based foods.
There are a few that are more difficult to get or that only come in fortified plant-based foods. If you don’t want to keep track of all the nutrients you’re consuming directly from foods every day, you can take a supplement. I personally take iron pill and a B12 gummy every day. I sometimes also take omega 3 gummies.
But I get plenty of protein and calcium and iron from plants. And those are the ones that I see people worry about the most often.
You can’t get all the nutrients you need from animal foods alone
Chantelle: Another thing to note is I see carnivore only diets popping up sometimes where people are just eating animal-based foods. And you cannot get all the nutrients you need from that.
You can only get fibre from plant-based foods. So people on a carnivore only diet are getting zero fibre.
Nutrition is no mystery
Chantelle: One of the first things you learn as a kid is you’ll be healthier if you eat your veggies, and it holds true.
There’s this impression that nutrition is such a mystery, and everything is just a trend. But really, the vast majority of nutrition experts have reached a consensus that eating a wide variety of whole plant-based foods is good for your health, and it’s a good idea to limit red meat intake.
Amy: Absolutely. And just to add to some of those things you said, Chantelle, oat milk has a lot of B12 added into it already. Dark chocolate is so full of iron. Beans have a lot of calcium, but so do fortified plant milks, figs, leafy greens. Potatoes have a bunch of potassium and vitamin C.
Nutrition education has been influenced by industry
Amy: I’ve realized that most of what I’ve learned about nutrition growing up was influenced by food manufacturers and producers such as the dairy industry.
We know now that kids can thrive on plant-based diets.
The beauty of scientific research means that we understand it isn’t dairy milk that’s preventing osteoarthritis. It’s the combination of consuming calcium and a magnesium together in good quantities. You can get those in combination together from greens, seeds, beans, brown rice, quinoa. The list goes on and on.
So this is one of those myths that I find really fun to chat about with people because they start to realize how much what they grew up with is not the reality and how much opportunity there is to learn about what a body needs to thrive and be well.
And again, the most important part is to approach it with excitement and intrigue and compassion.
Talking about these topics with a judgment or know it all attitude will just sour someone’s experience and have the opposite impact.
Chantelle: Absolutely. That is always something really important to keep in mind.
Is soy bad for you?
Soy does not increase estrogen levels
Chantelle: We’re keeping in the trend of health related topics; sometimes you hear that soy is bad for you because it increases estrogen.
Soy gets a bad reputation because it has something in it called phytoestrogen, which is a naturally occurring compound in plant foods that has a similar chemical structure to our body’s natural estrogen, but it behaves differently and it’s about a thousand times weaker.
According to research, phytoestrogens don’t increase our body’s estrogen, and some experts have suggested they may have a balancing effect on our body’s natural hormone levels.
But if you are worried about extra estrogen in your diet, your real concern should be dairy, which is the source of about 60 to 80 percent of estrogens consumed in Western diets.
Soy is does not increase estrogen or decrease testosterone levels
Amy: This was actually a really big one that came up when I was dating someone who was concerned about veganism. The bottom line that I figured out after researching it is that soy foods are a good source of protein and a healthy part of a balanced diet.
The concerns I heard most are related to men and children. So I’ll speak more to that.
As far as men, research has shown that eating soy foods does not lead to increased estrogen levels or decreased testosterone levels in men. Some studies have even shown that soy consumption may have a significant health benefit for men, such as lowering the risk of prostate cancer and improving heart health.
Soy has many nutrients for healthy development in children
Amy: As far as children goes, soy is a really great source of protein, providing all the essential amino acids required for growth and development. Soy foods contain fiber, vitamin K, folate, some B vitamins, iron, calcium, and magnesium. It also contains polyunsaturated fats, including omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which are important for brain development.
So knowing these facts and more about plant-based nutrients can really help when those challenging questions come up from parents who think a vegan diet is abusive to children.
Are dairy cows dangerous to their calves?
A calf and mother at Sanctuaire pour animaux de ferme de l’Estrie in Quebec. Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media.
Dairy calves are removed so their mothers’ milk can be used and sold
Amy: The next argument is that the dairy industry takes calves from their mothers so that the mother cow doesn’t accidentally kill them.
Chantelle: Dairy farmers and sanctuary owners have spoken out against this myth, but it’s still one that persists.
Dairy is produced by impregnating cows and then the baby calf is typically removed within a few hours so the milk can be used by humans.
And then the calves are fed milk, which is sometimes waste milk from the dairy industry or a milk replacer. And then they go on to be killed for veal if they’re male or raised as dairy cows if they’re female.
Are the calves removed for their own safety? No. They’re removed because the human animal agriculture industry wants to use the milk. They would be removed regardless, because we have a dairy industry and humans want to use milk for their own consumption.
Dairy cows and calves suffer when separated
Chantelle: But even if dairy cows had lost some of their maternal instincts through the years, through generations of having their babies removed, it wouldn’t be an excuse to continue breeding them and continuing the cycle.
We see that cows mourn when their babies are taken away. They cry. They chase after them. They try to stop the farmers from taking the calves.
The dairy industry continues to do this so the milk can be used and sold for humans, and it doesn’t need to be. We have plant-based alternatives for this.
Cows and calves form a close bond
Amy: I’ve spent quite a bit of time with mama and baby cows. And it’s so incredibly far from reality, I’m not even sure how it got spread as a myth.
The bond between cows and their babies is one of the most beautiful motherhood bonds I personally have ever experienced.
I’ve noticed that cow moms are just so protective of their little ones. I got to be around just a couple day old calf and mama put her horns around me. I was providing some supplemental milk to the calf to make sure that he was getting enough and she watched me every second of the time I was there with him.
They feed calves from their udders for years, not just one year, but sometimes more. Past the point where the calves start to be painful and annoying and they bother their mums. Their mums still keep feeding them and giving them love. It’s pretty special.
The dairy industry is emotionally painful for animals
Amy: I’ve heard the call of calves and their mums calling for each other on multiple different farms who are separated from each other. And it’s really sad.
If you really think about the dairy industry and how it’s all set up, to me, this is in a way the most emotionally painful and complex animal industry.
And yet it’s the one that people love cheese and they have a really hard time giving up milk because they just like how it tastes and it’s addictive.
And yet this is the one that has such a massive emotional burden on so many. It’s something that we can move away from and, and take a stand for the mamas and the babies and what they deserve.
Chantelle: I hear a lot from people who say they would have a hard time giving up cheese. I was one of them once, and I think a lot of people who are vegan now were once that person.
And once I gave it up, I honestly didn’t find it difficult. But I find it really difficult to see the realities of the dairy industry.
If we stopped farming animals, would they go extinct?
Selective breeding in modern farmed animals poses welfare concerns
Chantelle: So this next argument is when I have a really hard time believing that people are making it in good faith, but maybe they are. The idea is if we stopped farming animals, those animals would go extinct.
I don’t know where this idea came from, that animal agriculture is some sort of conservation movement. Keeping animals alive so that we can use and slaughter them at a fraction of their natural lifespan is not about conservation.
Modern farmed animals have also been selectively bred for the maximum meat production or byproduct production, like eggs or dairy, and that has been detrimental to their health. It leads to so much suffering.
Broiler chickens raised for meat grow so large that their legs cannot support their bodies.
Egg laying hens lay eggs far more often than they would in the wild, which uses up the calcium they need in their bodies, and it leads to bone fractures.
There are genetic defects in cattle and sheep and pigs from selective breeding for growth and from inbreeding.
Animal agriculture is harmful to wildlife conservation
Chantelle: If we’re talking about conservation, industrial animal agriculture has also been extremely harmful for wildlife.
Wild animals are killed to protect farmed animals.
We see habitat loss for raising and feeding animals.
Agricultural runoff is harmful to waterways and to animals who live in them and depend on them for drinking water.
When we look at all of the mammals on earth, farmed animals make up 62% of the world’s mammal biomass, whereas wild animals are just 4%. Farmed animals are really not struggling to be conserved right now.
How grazing impacts conservation
Amy: I appreciate this one because I think it comes up really commonly with the beef industry. Particularly it’s one I’ve seen the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association put forward a specific version of it, which is that there’s areas of the North American plains that only cows are able to graze to maintain, and that it would be problematic if these areas were not grazed.
There’s truth to this statement. And I think that’s important to acknowledge. It’s true that there are benefits to grazing. There used to be huge amounts of bison ranging the land and grazing.
Well managed grazing mimics the natural processes that once involved those wild herbivores. It maintains plant diversity, supports soil health, and regulates species composition.
But on the flip side, we’re talking about well managed grazing. And when it comes to the volume of animals being produced for farming, there’s often overgrazing or poor management of that land, which can degrade the ecosystems.
So, if cows were to stop grazing in many of these areas, there’s benefits that could be experienced such as without the pressure of domestic livestock, the ecosystems could be more natural. There could be new plant diversity and more wild animals coming back into the spaces. And then it can also improve the soil structure, reduce erosion, and increase soil carbon sequestration, which benefits the ecosystem and climate change mitigation.
So, there’s sort of this, this nuance and this balance, but when it comes to wild animals, they move differently than farmed animals over sections of land and these areas were really intended for wild herbivores to travel across them.
What would happen to farmed animals if everyone went vegan?
The shift to a plant-based world is gradual
Chantelle: I think this one is kind of a different side of the same coin, which is if we all go vegan, the farmed animals would all be killed, or would take over, or would have nowhere to go.
And first of all, a lot of these questions come from the idea that everyone on earth will somehow go vegan all at the same time and that all farmed animals will suddenly be rendered economically redundant. I do not see that happening.
I think it’s much more realistic that people are going to gradually shift toward a plant based food system and fewer animals will be bred for food over time.
A compassionate world would not make life worse for animals
Chantelle: But even if we did have this suddenly vegan world, farmed animals are already headed to slaughter. Farmed animals are already regularly being culled because of things like shifts in the economy or disease spread.
So a world where all people suddenly care very deeply about animal welfare and are doing our best for the animals can’t be worse than the system we have in place right now.
Animal consumption continues to grow
Amy: This myth sounds like it’s coming from someone who was on their last limits of trying to have an argument against veganism.
The consumption of animals is continuing to grow on our planet. Which makes me really sad, as someone who spends my life trying to advocate for these animals.
Even with the number of people going vegan and vegetarian growing, it isn’t enough to match the population growth. The volume of animals being killed and consumed is still larger than ever.
It’s remarkable how much change is going to be needed to make a drop in the bucket when it comes to reducing animal consumption.
That degree of gradual change is not going to have any of the suggested impacts listed in this myth.
If we all go vegan, what will cats and dogs eat?
As the food system shifts for humans, we work on solutions for pets
Amy: And we’ve got one more. If we all go vegan, what will dogs and cats eat?
Chantelle: I think that’s a good question. I think as we move toward a plant-based food system for humans, we’ll also be working toward a similar shift for animals.
And it’s an important question to ask what our companion animals who eat an omnivore or carnivore diet can eat besides other animals.
If our goal is to end farmed animal suffering, two important steps are shifting human diets toward plant based foods and then working on solutions for non-human animals who eat meat to not be relying on food from other animals.
Some ways we can do that is to support researching nutrition needs and developing cultured or lab grown meat. We talk more about what pet food looks like in a vegan future in our episode, Is my pet happy.
Cultured meat (lab-grown meat) and plant-based options
Amy: I would love to see cultured meat become affordable and available for pet food. I think that is the absolute way of the future. It’s unfortunate that we’re just in a time right now where it’s still in development, but I think it’s going to become the norm very soon.
And there’s also vegan pet foods. Which many animals right now are thriving on and enjoying. I just think how great would it be to lower our impact and consumption of animal products because of continued technological innovation. And to me, that seems like something everyone can get on board with.
Next episode
Please join us next month as we hear perspectives from people who operate farm sanctuaries.
Jenga the giraffe tragically died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on October 23rd at just eight years old – a fraction of the natural lifespan of giraffes in the wild. He lived his life in a small, cold enclosure, nothing like the natural habitat of his wild counterparts.
The Vancouver Humane Society is calling for provincial decision-makers to immediately address the outdated regulations around the keeping, breeding, and transport of wild and exotic animals. Please sign the petition to help prevent further suffering of wild and exotic animals in captivity.
Scroll down to learn more about Jenga’s sad death and ongoing welfare concerns at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the peaceful passing of Jenga, our beloved eight-year-old giraffe,” the zoo said in a statement.
“Giraffes are reported to have a median life expectancy of between 14 to 20 years, with some living up to 25 years in the wild. According to conservation groups, there are about 117,000 giraffes left worldwide.”
“Jenga is not the first animal death at the zoo. Between 2003 and 2015, the deaths of four giraffes, four zebras, two hippos and two Siberian tigers were reported, according to the Vancouver Humane Society.”
Vancouver Humane Society Campaign Director Emily Pickett shares animal welfare concerns over the Greater Vancouver Zoo after its latest resident death.
“In the wild, giraffes live in large herds; they have a large home range. Their natural habitat is typically arid and dry. They’re browsing animals that are adapted to foraging and feeding predominantly on leaves and stems of trees and shrubs.”
“But at the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Jenga lived a very different life. He lived with only a couple of other giraffes in a small and barren enclosure with little to no opportunity to engage in many of those natural behaviours.”
Sparked by the death of a giraffe, some are sharing their concerns for the welfare of the animals at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
“The Vancouver Humane Society calls the death tragic and suggests that Jenga’s life was not the life a giraffe deserves. It adds that while Jenga died at eight years old, giraffes generally live up to 25 years in the wild.”
“The Vancouver Humane Society is reminding the public of several incidents since 2019 regarding the well-being of animals at the Greater Vancouver Zoo.”
Caretakers and fans of the Greater Vancouver Zoo are mourning the sudden passing of the beloved giraffe Jenga this week.
“Vancouver Humane Society issued a statement on the ‘tragic life and death of Jenga the giraffe,’ urging the zoo to address ‘ongoing welfare issues.'”
“‘We’re saddened to learn of the death of another animal at the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Jenga the giraffe was only eight years old, which is a fraction of the lifespan for giraffes in the wild,’ said campaign director Emily Pickett in a release. ‘The Vancouver Humane Society has been calling on the zoo for many years to address long-standing animal welfare issues and to move away from keeping animals in permanent captivity.'”
It has been three years since the federal government promised to ban the shipping of gentle draft horses overseas for slaughter, an industry that causes unimaginable fear and suffering to these sensitive animals.
Bill C-355, which would ban the cruel practice, got through the House of Commons but has been stalled in the Senate since May.
Recent investigations and Japanese government data show the suffering far exceeds what the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) claims.
While the Senate delays action, horses continue to suffer and die as shipments continue.
Join animal protection organizations across Canada in urging the Senate to stop the deadly delay.
Take the quick action to email Canadian Senators
Use the email template below to send a message to Canadian Senators in your province, calling on them to move forward with bill C-355 without further delay.
Tip: For added impact, edit the template message below to personalize your email.
Note: Click here for individual contact info of Canadian Senators.
Most Canadians would be surprised to learn that Canada is one of the top exporters of live horses for slaughter. Every year, approximately 3,000-5,000 live draft horses are loaded onto planes, packed tightly with 3-4 horses per crate, and flown on lengthy journeys abroad where they will be slaughtered for meat.
Horses’ journeys to slaughter are long, dangerous and stressful
As sensitive prey animals with strong fight or flight instincts, horses suffer greatly on long, loud, crowded trips.
Deaths and injuries are commonplace, with a recent exposé showing that 21 horses died in 13 months, between May 2023-June 2024. A Canadian Food Inspection Agency representative had previously reported they were only aware of five deaths since 2013.
Causes of death included dehydration, serious injuries incurred during flights, and painful miscarriages.
The industry has long been opposed by organizations across Canada, including the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition and prominent animal advocates like singer-songwriter Jann Arden.
A federal parliamentary e-petition garnered more than 77,000 public signatures in support of a ban, making it one of the most popular animal-related federal petitions on record.
Horses continue to suffer due to delay of bill C-355
In December 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directed the Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau, to ban the live export of horses for slaughter. Three years later, horses continue to be shipped to their death as a result of delay in passing Bill C-355, which would end the practice of exporting live horses for slaughter.
Can you help protect horses from suffering through long journeys to slaughter?
Another horse has died after being seriously injured during the final weekend of the racing season at Hastings Racecourse. Her tragic loss was the fourth fatality of this year’s racing season, with the first occurring less than a month after the season began.
On May 25, a 3-year-old horse named Lizzie’s Rayne sustained a complete fracture of her left hind leg and was euthanized, less than one month into the racing season.
On August 9, a 2-year-old horse named Kiki’s Song of Life sustained a compound fracture in his left front leg during a timed workout and was subsequently euthanized.
On September 6, a 4-year-old horse named Lucky Cowboy suffered a compound fracture to his front leg during a race and was euthanized.
On October 12, a 2-year-old horse named Anstruther suffered a compound fracture to her right hind leg and was euthanized. Her death occurred during the final weekend of the racing season at Hastings.
Last year, eleven horses died at B.C.’s two racecourses –eight at Hastingsand three at Fraser Downs.
The pattern of regular deaths is not the only threat to horses’ well-being in the racing industry. Horses also suffer stress and pain as a result of aversive training and the use of painful tools like whips and bits to tightly control their movements in these risky, fast-paced events.
The VHS continues to encourage the public to not attend horse races and to take the pledge to reflect their concern for horses.
This summer, the VHS and supporters were hard at work advocating to end the suffering of animals in rodeos.
Calgary Stampede
This year’s Calgary Stampede rodeo and chuckwagon races were the deadliest of the past five years, resulting in the deaths of four animals: three horses used in chuckwagon racing and a cow used in steer wrestling.
Media coverage of tragic incidents ensures public transparency
The VHS team closely monitored events to ensure these tragic incidents were tracked and shared with media. Stampede organizers only shared information about animal deaths after the VHS’s team and media contacts made inquiries.
The VHS’s Calgary Stampede campaign ran throughout the summer, reaching millions of people through online messaging, billboards across Calgary, and 43 media broadcasts and articles including on Global News, CTV News, CityNews Calgary, and the CBC.
Sharp increase in opposition to rodeo events in Calgary and across Canada
With the shift in public opinion comes an important opportunity for meaningful change. Decision-makers have previously pushed back on calls to end the rodeo and chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede, citing public support. The new survey results show that support is rapidly dwindling, marking a turning point for the increasingly controversial animal events.
Calling for action from Calgary City Council
The VHS has delivered a report to Calgary City Council outlining welfare concerns, growing public opposition to rodeo events and chuckwagon races, and a recommendation that the City support removing inhumane events from the Stampede program.
Here in B.C., the rodeo season once again saw many concerning incidents of animal suffering. The VHS monitored these events, where video footage revealed animals being dragged around the arena by a rope, thrashing in chutes and becoming trapped in unnatural positions, and being agitated through stressful practices like ear pulling.
The VHS submits cruelty reports for inhumane treatment and apparent rule violations
Videos from the 2024 Bulls Broncs & Barrels in Coombs, British Columbia show a number of serious welfare concerns, including: – Improper use of electric prods – A horse falling and being kicked in the head – Rough handling and deliberate agitation of animals – Visible signs of stress Footage: Jordan Rivers We Animals Media
In one particularly concerning clip from a rodeo in Clinton, a stressed bull resists handlers’ attempts to move him in the pens next to the arena. The clip goes on to show handlers kicking the bull, twisting his tail and using an electric prod on the animal repeatedly, including prodding the animal on the anus.
The VHS submitted an animal cruelty report in response to the incident, which appears to violate rules around electric prod use. The VHS also submitted a cruelty report regarding harsh handling of horses and inhumane use of electric prods at a rodeo in Coombs this August.
B.C. government continues to fund rodeo events
The B.C. government continues to fund the suffering of animals in rodeo, with more than $680,000 in taxpayer dollars awarded to events that include rodeos this year alone. The VHS is calling for an end to provincial funding of rodeo events and for legal protections to prevent animal suffering in rodeo. You can send a pre-written, editable email to provincial decision-makers using the quick action tool.
The feedback period for transparent labelling on egg products is now closed. Thank you to all who spoke up for transparency for egg-laying hens!
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is looking for public feedback on proposed guidelines for how plant-based egg products can be labelled.
While the intention is to prevent false or misleading advertising of plant-based products, research shows that consumers find labelling of eggs from chickens confusing.
TAKE ACTION: Your input is needed to help advocate for fair and transparent labelling standards among all egg products in Canada. Share your feedback in a quick email before the consultation deadline of October 28th.
Terms such as free-range, free-run, cage-free and enriched colony housing have no legal definitions. These terms, along with marketing tactics such as labels with images of happy hens frolicking in the grass, are misleading when compared to the on-farm conditions and methods of production.
Tip: Share your own experience with chicken egg labelling. Have you found it confusing to understand the welfare information and method of production (caged vs. cage-free eggs) of eggs at your grocery store?
Egg product labelling should include welfare information and method of production
Research shows that a majority of Canadian consumers think about animal welfare when deciding what eggs to purchase. The majority are willing to spend more when they believe the hens’ welfare is higher.
Consumers and advocates are increasingly calling for in-store egg labelling that includes animal welfare and method of production (e.g. caged vs. cage-free) information.
Fairness in labelling for ALL egg products
Guidelines for plant-based egg labelling must be fair and not put plant-based products at a disadvantage to animal-based products. Efforts to prevent misleading advertising and improve transparency must apply to ALL egg products.
Have more time? You can learn more about the proposed guidance on plant-based egg labelling and submit your feedback via the online feedback questionnaire, which includes more questions.
Update: The online questionnaire is now closed. Thank you to all who participated.
The National Farm Animal Care Council’s (NFACC) Chicken and Turkey Code of Practice, which serves as a guideline for on-farm care and handling of birds raised for meat, is coming up for review for the first time since 2016.
A short public survey will help determine the top priorities for the code review.
The current code allows for many inhumane practices that compromise the welfare of chickens and turkeys in the poultry industry.
In 2023, more than 780 million chickens were raised and killed for meat in Canada, representing the vast majority of animals farmed for food nationwide.
TAKE ACTION: Take the 5-minute survey to speak up for hundreds of millions of individual animals.
Share your top welfare concerns for chickens and turkeys
Take the short survey to share your top 3 welfare concerns for chickens and turkeys raised for meat in Canada. The deadline to participate has been extended to November 8, 2024.
Lower the stocking density of birds on poultry farms and provide them with more space to move freely and exhibit natural behaviors.
Overcrowding in chicken and turkey farms in Canada presents significant welfare and health concerns for the birds. Intensive farming practices, driven by the demand for low-cost poultry, often result in large numbers of birds confined to limited spaces.
For example, the average chicken farm in Canada houses 36,000 birds.
This high-density environment can lead to increased stress, aggressive behaviours, and the spread of diseases, which may necessitate the use of antibiotics and other interventions.
Furthermore, overcrowding compromises the birds’ ability to engage in natural behaviors, such as movement and foraging. This impacts their overall well-being.
Fast-growing breeds
Prohibit fast-growing breeds, in favour of higher-welfare breeds that grow more naturally.
Breeding practices have led to fast-growing chicken and turkey breeds that amount to higher profits for producers but come at significant health and welfare costs for the birds. In 1950, it took 84 days for a chicken raised for meat to reach market weight. Today it takes 38 to 40 days.
The accelerated growth has been linked to skeletal deformities, heart problems, and reduced mobility, as these birds may struggle to support their own weight.
Barren on-farm environments
Improve on-farm conditions by requiring:
access to outdoors;
enrichment opportunities and materials, such as perches, pecking and foraging materials;
natural light and darkness; and healthy air quality and litter.
Intensive farming practices have increasingly led to chickens and turkeys being housed in barren barns, without access to natural light, outdoors, and enrichment opportunities that allow them to engage in important natural behaviours, such as perching, pecking, and foraging. They spend much of their short lives surrounded by their own waste, contributing to unhealthy conditions.
Painful procedures
Prohibit painful physical procedures, including beak and toe “trimming” and snood removal.
Common physical procedures on poultry farms, including beak and toe “trimming” and snood (fleshy area on a turkey’s beak) removal, are done to prevent feather pecking and other injuries in flocks. These invasive procedures are performed without pain control, which can lead to chronic pain and stress.
Feather pecking and other injuries are often a result of intensive farming practices, including overcrowding, barren environments and lack of enrichment opportunities that allow birds to engage in natural behaviours.
