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Thank you for helping us help animals in 2019!

It’s been another amazing year here at the Vancouver Humane Society and we have achieved so much for animals this year, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, like you!

We wanted to take moment to show you some of the highlights and achievements of our work here at VHS throughout 2019, thanks to your support:

 

McVitie Fund emergency veterinary help

During the year, we’ve helped over 45 animals through our McVitie Fund, providing emergency medical help and spay/neuter to the animal companions of people on limited incomes.

Rodeo

Our Calgary Stampede campaign had coverage in 31 media outlets, many quoting our response to the death of six horses in the chuckwagon races when we called it a “national disgrace.”

Nearly 1000 people participated in our email campaign urging the Stampede to suspend the chuckwagon races to see if it can be made safer. The Stampede says it will conduct a review the race. Another 6500 people joined us in emailing the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association to urge the association to explicitly oppose rodeos.

VHS also exposed the use of electric prods on animals at B.C.’s Quesnel Rodeo after exposing the same contractor using prods at the Chilliwack Fair rodeo. 

We drew public attention to the decision by the Canadian Football League to hold a rodeo at the Grey Cup that resulted in more than 3200 people complaining to the CFL via our website.

Go Veg and Plant-based Plates

We know that the sheer number of animals being raised for food every year in Canada makes it a leading animal protection issue. In response, we’re working hard to help individuals and institutions transition towards more humane plant-based diets and to reduce the high demand for animal products that drives factory farming.

In 2019, this included:

  • Continuing to support Meatless Monday campaigns that introduce meatless options at schools throughout Metro Vancouver.
  • Launching our new Plant-Based Plates initiative, which builds on the success of our Meatless Monday work and aims to transition public menus toward offering more humane plant-based options.

We kicked off the new project with a staff culinary training and guest chef pop-up at the BC Children’s & Women’s Hospital.

We’ve been engaging with policy-makers at the municipal and provincial levels in an effort to raise awareness and support for prioritizing plant-based foods in their policies. This includes a proposal, put forward in partnership with a group of students from Sutherland secondary school, to the District of North Vancouver Council that encourages examining municipal food spending and prioritizing plant-based options.

  • VHS is also participating in the City of Vancouver’s Food Solutions Lab, which aims to research equitable ways in which the City and its partners can help shift diets toward those which are better for people and the planet. 

Outreach and events

As part of our Go Veg campaign, we launched a transit ad urging people to consider the ethics of meat consumption. The ad appeared on 13 Vancouver buses and 12 buses on the Burnaby B-Line. We also attended Vancouver’s Veg Expo, promoting our message to the 15,000 attendees. We attended 25 other public events and distributed 5800 leaflets encouraging people to try a plant-based diet. 

 

Carriage horses

We made complaints to the Yaletown, Commercial Drive and Kerrisdale business associations concerning their Christmas promotions, which included carriage horse rides, expressing our concerns about the welfare and safety of the horses. VHS also reached out to the Victoria City Council, calling for an end to horse carriages in the city.

 

Wildlife

VHS joined a local wildlife coalition working on getting wildlife-killing contests banned throughout the province. We signed a coalition letter to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations’ urging a ban.

Communications

VHS published ten opinion editorials in various news media during the year, making the case for better treatment of animals on a number of issues. We had coverage in more than 50 media outlets, published 46 blog posts and used social media to reach thousands of people to change hearts and minds in favour of compassion toward animals. We also engaged with our supporters and the public via action-alert emails and our own newsletter and e-newsletter.

Thank you for helping us achieve all of this for animals and so much more!

Of course there is still so much more to do in our work for animals in 2020 and despite our efforts, animals continue to suffer everyday. Please consider making an end of year donation, to allow us to continue advocating on behalf of all animals today and for the future.

On behalf of all of us here at the Vancouver Humane Society, thank you, Happy Holidays and we wish you a Happy New Year!

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Are women and young people the best hope for fighting animal cruelty?

A recent poll of Canadians about a range of animal issues is cause for optimism in the animal protection movement.

The poll, by respected polling company Research Co., found that majorities of Canadians are opposed to using animals in rodeos (59%); hunting animals for sport (85%); keeping animals in zoos or aquariums (52%) and killing animals for their fur (75%).

These results are encouraging but they may contain even more positive news when the survey sample is broken down by age and gender.

On a number of these issues, higher percentages of women and younger people oppose the exploitation of animals (which is consistent with other polling on animal issues). For example, while 59% of all Canadians oppose using animals in rodeos, 67% of women and 64% of people aged 18-34 take that position. Similarly, while 52% of Canadians oppose keeping animals in zoos and aquariums, 56% of women and 56% of the 18-34 age group are opposed.

Even on the animal-related issue of eating meat, where a significant minority of Canadians (19%) oppose eating animals, the poll found opposition higher among women (22%) and those aged 18-34 (25%).

On a number of animal welfare issues polling shows greater opposition to animal exploitation among younger people.

All this may bode well for animals in the future, as the younger generation moves up the demographic ladder and replaces the older generation.

The same may be true of the support for animal welfare from women, but this could depend on whether women continue to gain more social power and status in fields such as politics and media. Progress in these areas has been slow.

In October 2019, Canada elected 98 women to the federal House of Commons. Women now represent 29% of the 338 elected Members of Parliament, up from 27% in the last parliament.  However, a recent report found that, based on the rate of change over the last five federal elections, it will take 87 years before gender parity is reached in our national elected chamber. There are currently no female provincial premiers.  Another study found that women accounted for just 29% of all people quoted in major Canadian media, compared to 71% for men.

While polls show women tend to be more supportive of animal welfare, the gender gap in politics and media suggests their voices may not be heard in the public discourse on animal issues. This photo of current provincial premiers illustrates why that might be the case.

If women and younger people gain stronger voices in Canada’s public discourse, it’s possible that animal welfare issues will garner more attention, and the opposition to the abuse and exploitation of animals will grow.  If so, the future for animals might be brighter than we think.

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Larry’s Market: the new vegetarian grocery store with a mission to provide “Healthy Food Conveniently”

Larry’s Market owner Ryan Dennis has brought in chef Haley Parrent to prepare menus for specific dietary needs. Photo by Mike Wakefield/North Shore News 

Since opening it’s doors this July, vegetarian grocery store Larry’s Market, located at North Vancouver Shipyards, has been a big hit with Vancouverites looking to buy healthy food, conveniently!  VHS asked Ryan Dennis, the owner of Larry’s Market, what inspired his new venture, after spending the past 25 years in the grocery industry, before deciding to open his own store. 

What inspired the opening of Larry’s Market?

My wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2017.  We had to make some decisions on what healthy eating looked like for our family after this health scare.  After researching, we decided that a plant-based diet was the way to go.  We weren’t able to find a lot of options in grocery stores, so we decided we would create an option.  We are happy we did and now we successfully serve North Vancouver’s Shipyards District with Vegetarian groceries, coffee and grab and go restaurant food.  My wife is now healthy and is helping me run Larry’s Market.

Why do you think it’s a good time to open a plant-based business?  

We feel that communities are shifting to more plant-based diets.  People are eating less meat and seafood.  The timing is great because people are being educated by the many documentaries and reports that are continually being released that support plant-based diets.

What demographics will you be targeting? 

The demographic is all across the board.  We are seeing young people that are educating themselves and retired folks that are looking for “food as thy medicine”.  The professionals that are on the go and looking for a convenient meal are returning for their favourite salad, sandwich or pizza daily.

What has the response been so far from Vancouver consumers?

Vancouver has accepted us very well.  We are seeing people from all over the Lower Mainland that are making us a destination.  People are always asking us to expand to their neighbourhood so they don’t have to drive over to the North Shore.

Everything in your store is vegetarian or vegan, how will you win over carnivores?

Our store is all vegetarian and our menu is over 75% vegan.  We are accepting of all people.  We want to be the bridge between the vegan and the carnivore.  More people are looking to decrease the amount of meat they eat and we want them at Larry’s. 

What challenges do you think you will face?

Most commonly asked question at Larry’s Market.  How do I get enough protein?  We answer with the solutions that we have in store that have been designed to increase the amount of protein that a person gets in their diet.

What has been the biggest challenge in launching your business?

The biggest challenge in launching is providing the customer with different products than they can get in a regular supermarket.  The product range that we are building is very unique and we continuously get people telling us our products are very cool and unique.

Do you think the market for plant-based food will continue to grow?

We know that the market will continue to grow.  We know that this isn’t a trend it is a way of life that more and more people are taking on.  On the daily we have people coming in saying that they have just started their new plant-based way of life.

What’s on the menu in your store? 

Our store is famous for our salads.  We have teamed up with Brian Skinner, famous for the Acorn Restaurant and now in Kelowna for Frankie we Salute you, to get recipes that are amazing and taste great.  Vegetarian Pizza’s are unique and our best seller is our Spicy Cauliflower pizza.  Sandwiches are led by our Chickpea Tuna which outsells our other sandwiches by quite a bit.

If Larry’s Market North Vancouver is a success would you consider expanding to more locations?

We will be expanding Larry’s in the near future.  Stay tuned.

Larry’s Market is located at: 140-125 Victoria Ship Way, BC V7L 0G5
 (604) 999-0998  https://www.larrysmarket.ca


 

 

 

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Help us build a kinder community for animals on Giving Tuesday!

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, December 3rd, 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 recently launched our new Plant-Based Plates initiative which builds on the success of our Meatless Monday project. Our programs have helped institutions rethink the role of plants on the plate and improve access to climate-friendly, healthy and humane options on menus. Through menu planning and culinary support, we assist institutions, such as schools, businesses and healthcare providers, in incorporating new and trendy plant-based dishes that help them meet client demand and reflect their commitment to protecting the planet, public health and animal welfare.  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 December 3rd (and before!), 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 December 3rd– or sign up for our action alerts.

Giving Tuesday is your chance to make life better for farmed animals.  Don’t miss it!

 

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Spike kept his tail thanks to our generous donors

Spike means a lot to his family. The black and white tom cat was just a kitten when he was adopted by a single mother and her children following a difficult family break-up. Spike’s guardian Allyson said it was a hard time for her children. “I desperately wanted to bring some joy and comfort into their lives,” she says.

Spike was happy to oblige and quickly became “everyone’s friend.” He loves attention, “nudging and pushing against your legs” and even blocking your path until he’s noticed, says Allyson.

Unfortunately, Spike had an altercation with another cat (or possibly local wildlife) and had a bad bite wound on the underside of his tail. The wound became badly infected and required immediate treatment, as there was risk the tail would need to be amputated.

As a single mom on a fixed income, Allyson couldn’t afford the cost of the medical treatment Spike needed so she asked for our help.  We were able to provide financial support through our McVitie Fund and Spike was treated right away.  His infection was addressed and, thankfully, there was no need for an amputation.  Spike recovered well and his grateful family is breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Our McVitie Fund saves lives!

The McVitie Fund is one of our most important projects, which provides emergency medical care for sick or injured animals.

We receive several phone calls a week from worried guardians asking us for financial help. Unfortunately, there are very few options available for low-income guardians in emergencies, that’s where our McVitie Fund comes in. The fund aims to keep beloved animals in their forever home instead of being surrendered to over-burdened shelters or unnecessarily euthanized.

Once again, a wonderful anonymous donor has agreed to match all donations, up to a total of $25,000, received towards the McVitie Fund from now until April 30th 2020. Your donation will be doubled through our challenge grant, meaning we will be able to help even more animals!

You can donate here.

Thank you!

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Celebrate Your Big Day with Vancouver Humane!

You can make your birthday extra special by sharing the day with animals in need! Host your own birthday fundraiser online and you can collect donations directly for Vancouver Humane through either Facebook or CanadaHelps.

 

Sharing your own fundraiser is a great way to get friends and family interested in a cause you hold near and dear to your heart, like the plight of animals today. Whether you’re concerned about animals farmed for food and fur, used in sports like rodeo, or want to ensure that companion animals facing medical emergencies receive the care they need, there are many different ways you can help animals in need!

 

Looking for other fun ways to help animals? Get in touch with us info@vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca, we’d love to hear from you!

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Groups Call For Habitat Protection For Endangered BC Caribou

Photo: Alexandre Buisse

Vancouver Humane joins 21 other animal protection and environmental organizations, along with wildlife biologists, in calling on B.C. Premier John Horgan and federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to protect the province’s endangered caribou herds.

The open letter highlights the groups’ concerns over the lack of habitat protection that the dwindling herds desperately need to avoid extinction. Key caribou habitat is being logged throughout the province, while mining, oil and gas operations, along with high-impact recreational activity (heli-skiing and snowmobiling) are fragmenting the landscape and disrupting caribou.

The provincial and federal governments have known for decades that B.C.’s caribou are in trouble, yet little has been done to address the root causes of habitat destruction. Instead, government has opted to scapegoat other species for the decline in caribou. Since 2015, the provincial government has killed over 700 wolves through its wolf cull program. Now, the province wants to expand the cull and has plans to kill more than 80 per cent of the wolf population in the expanded areas, primarily through a combination of radio collaring and following collared wolves by helicopter to the rest of the pack, who will all be gunned down from helicopter.

Vancouver Humane opposes the misguided and unethical wolf cull program and joins the growing number of organizations and advocates calling for genuine habitat protections for caribou and an end to the cull program.

You can read the groups’ open letter here.

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Vancouver Climate Strike a sign of hope for all of us – including the animals

On September 27th, approximately 100,000 people took the streets of Vancouver for the global Climate Strike.

The Vancouver Humane team joined this inspiring event, which was youth-led and called on governments to take immediate action on climate change.

Organizers had anticipated around 15,000 people would join the strike. Instead, it ended up being the city’s largest protest since the Walk for Peace in 1984, when 115,000 marched in support of nuclear disarmament.

The incredible turnout illustrates the reality that climate change truly impacts all of us and that reality is already being felt across Canada. On average, the country is currently warming at twice the global rate, with Northern Canada warming at almost three times the global average. Across Canada, climate change is leading to increases in precipitation, heat waves, intense forest fires, water supply shortages and an increased risk of coastal flooding. It’s also a major contributor to the planet’s growing biodiversity crisis, which currently threatens over one million species with extinction.

As the widespread support for the Climate Strike reflects, the time for climate action is now and addressing the issue requires that we all do our part. Collectively, we must call on decision-makers for system-level changes that ensure we reduce emissions in order to limit warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius. The upcoming federal election is an important opportunity for calling on candidates to commit to meaningful and science-based measures for tackling climate change. 

At the same time, we can make individual-level changes in our daily lives that can also have a major impact. A growing body of research is calling for a significant reduction in global meat consumption and a transition toward a more sustainable and climate-friendly plant-based diet in order to meet our international climate commitments, avoid the worst impacts of climate change and to help tackle the growing factory farming trend and biodiversity crisis.

So while the climate emergency can seem daunting, there is so much hope in the collective call to action brought forward by the 7.6 million people from around the world who participated in the week of actions surrounding the Global Climate Strike.

Here are a few of our favourite photos from the Climate Strike:

 

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Vancouver Humane Joins Call For A Ban On Horse Carriages in Victoria

It was a May 2018 incident involving Victoria’s horse-drawn carriages that seemed to revive the debate over the controversial practice and has ultimately brought the issue before Victoria City Council.

The traffic incident, in which a horse carriage was bumped by a bus, led to two trolley horses slipping and falling onto the street. Video of the incident, shared by Victoria Horse Alliance, showed the animals struggling to get up for over five minutes, with members of the public attempting to intervene and inadvertently putting themselves at risk of injury. Eventually, the horses’ harnesses were removed and they were able to regain their footing.

The Ogden Point incident made media headlines and led to questions about whether horse-drawn carriages and trolleys should continue to be permitted in increasingly busy and traffic-congested urban environments.

Earlier this year, the debate made its way to Victoria City Council, as Councillor Ben Isitt proposed banning horse carriages by 2023. Council opted to seek further input from the BC SPCA before deciding on any changes to the practice.

As an organization that has advocated for ending the operation of horse-drawn carriages in Vancouver, in particular in Stanley Park and more recently at holiday events in the city, Vancouver Humane has also submitted a letter to Victoria City Council for their consideration. You can read our full letter here.

Vancouver Humane’s primary concerns are for the welfare of the horses, who are subjected to pulling carriages and trollies in urban environments that pose serious safety risks to both the animals and the public. The regular exposure to traffic, noise and pollution; the long hours of standing and walking on hard surfaces; and the hard labour under sometimes extreme weather conditions are not consistent with a horse guardian’s responsibility to provide high-quality, long-term care for horses.

While some suggest increased regulation as a solution, the urban conditions create inherent welfare and public safety issues which cannot be adequately addressed through regulation of the industry.

Vancouver Humane is strongly encouraging Victoria City Council to follow Montreal’s progressive lead in phasing out and banning horse carriages, as well as supporting the industry and workers in transitioning to alternative employment, such as guided bicycle, pedicab or walking tours.

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Montreal SPCA supports call to cancel Grey Cup rodeo

 

Bucking horse at Calgary Stampede. Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur, We Animals

 

UPDATE: Since we first published this post, we’ve received another letter of support, this time from the Ottawa Humane Society, backing our call for the CFL to cancel the Grey Cup rodeo.

The Montreal SPCA has joined Vancouver Humane in calling on the Canadian Football League (CFL) to scrap plans to hold a rodeo at this year’s Grey Cup.

In a letter to CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie, Montreal SPCA executive director Élise Desaulniers said, “Canadians want family-friendly, cruelty-free entertainment to be part of national celebrations, not out-dated spectacles of animal cruelty.”

Vancouver Humane is grateful for this support from one of the leading animal protection agencies in Canada and will be engaging with other animal groups to build wider opposition to the rodeo, which is to be held on November 23, as part of the Grey Cup Festival in Calgary.

Vancouver Humane has launched an e-campaign that allows concerned members of the public to send a message to the CFL and organizers of the Grey Cup Festival, urging them to cancel the rodeo.  If you haven’t already participated in the campaign, you can do so here.

Vancouver Humane recently had an opinion editorial published on the Daily Hive, which explained why holding a rodeo at the Grey Cup is not only wrong because of the suffering caused to animals, but also because it is a marketing blunder to associate the CFL with inhumane rodeo events.

Your donations help our campaigns against rodeo cruelty.