Tag: Take action

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animal welfare cruelty Food and Drink News/Blog Promoted

Tell A&W to go cage-free!

enrichedcageiStock_000033264914_Medium
Hens in “enriched” cages.

 

Sign our petition asking A&W Restaurants to stop using eggs from caged hens


Update: More actions you can take 

 

Canadians are familiar with A&W Restaurants’ TV commercials boasting about the company’s vegetarian feed for chickens, but does the company actually care about chickens?  When you realize that A&W uses eggs from hens kept in battery cages and in so-called “enriched cages”, it appears the answer is clearly not very much.

What’s worse, the company appears to have no intention of moving to cage-free eggs, as many food companies are now doing.  We’re calling on A&W to follow the lead of companies like McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, Nestle, General Mills and others, who have announced they are switching to cage-free eggs.

On its website, A&W says that “all of our hens will live in enriched housing by the end of 2016.” However, scientific evidence shows that, in welfare terms, a cage is still a cage, enriched or not, and that the birds will continue to suffer. The space and facilities provided in enriched cages are so inadequate that they deprive the birds of the ability to engage in natural behaviours, leading to frustration, suffering and body degeneration.

VHS’s ChickenOUT! campaign has helped educate consumers about the animal welfare problems created by keeping hens in cages – B.C. has the highest cage-free egg production of any province (17% compared to a national average of 3%).  (Our message has always been:  If you eat eggs please buy certified organic eggs, as they are guaranteed cage-free and have the highest welfare standards. Going egg free is the best option – it’s cruelty-free and alternatives to eggs in baking are widely available.)

Consumers need to let A&W know that enriched cages are still cages.

Sign our petition calling on A&W to do the right thing and switch to cage-free egg suppliers.

Latest: See our article in the Huffington Post!

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animal welfare cruelty News/Blog Promoted

Please support the bill to end cetacean captivity

Senator Wilfred Moore is urging Canadians to sign a petition supporting a bill he introduced in the Senate to end the captivity of whales and dolphins in Canada.

The Senator will present all the petitions together with his Bill to “End The Captivity Of Whales And Dolphins In Canada” to the Senate on January 25th. The bill would end the live capture, breeding, and acquisition of cetaceans in Canada.

Unfortunately, the Senate does not accept any reproductions, so the
petition has to be hand-signed and mailed. No internet petitions accepted.

This petition ended January 14, 2016. Read the latest updates on captivity in aquariums.

Thank you.

More information on the bill.

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News/Blog Promoted Uncategorized

Take action for chickens!

Mother hen with its baby chicken

Our friends at the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals (CCFA) are running a great campaign to help chickens in Canada – and they need your help.

CCFA has launched a new website about chicken farming, transport and slaughter.  It includes an important take action page that enables compassionate Canadians to contact chicken farmers and grocers to raise concerns about the deplorable conditions and treatment that chickens in Canada endure. It’s a quick and easy way to make a difference in the lives of chickens, often described as the most abused animals on the planet.

Both egg-laying hens and chickens raised for meat suffer on factory farms.  VHS recently called attention to the suffering of meat chickens in op-eds in the Vancouver Sun and the Toronto Star.

We support any action that will alleviate the suffering of farmed animals. Through our ChickenOUT! project, we urge consumers who buy eggs to ensure they are certified organic, which are cage-free and have the highest welfare standards.  Better still, consumers can reduce or eliminate egg consumption by taking advantage of egg replacement products.  VHS also encourages switching to a plant-based diet. Reducing or eliminating meat consumption reduces the need for cruel factory farming. Our Meatless Monday initiative is a great way to start.

Categories
animal welfare Cruelty-free News/Blog Promoted

Tell Canadian Tire to stop using cruel glue traps

 

Mouse in glue trap

Please sign our petition

VHS recently contacted Canadian Tire to ask the company to stop selling glue traps for rodents. We explained that many of our supporters have emailed and called us to express their concerns about this product after seeing them on Canadian Tire store shelves.

Glue traps cause extreme animal suffering because they trap mice or rats in a sticky substance from which they can’t escape. The result is that they die a long, slow, horrifying death of starvation, dehydration and exhaustion. One distraught caller related listening to a mouse scream as he tried to escape the glue.

The reply we received from Canadian Tire states: “As the leading seller of indoor pest control products, customers expect to find a complete selection of pest control alternatives at our stores. To this end we offer a complete selection of pest control products for our customers to choose from.” In other words, cruel glue traps will continue to be included in Canadian Tire’s “selection of pest control products.” That’s just not good enough.

We’ve launched an online petition to give people an opportunity to ask Canadian Tire to stop selling glue traps. New Zealand and the state of Victoria in Australia have banned the sale and use of glue traps due to concerns about cruelty. They just aren’t necessary. The BC SPCA and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies are also opposed to glue traps. 

The best way to deal with rodent infestations is to alter the habitat so it’s no longer attractive to them. This means carefully closing off every possible entry point (after you’ve safely removed the animals) so it’s inaccessible. A VHS staff member had to deal with mice in a small cottage. She waited until night when the mice were outside and used fine wire mesh to seal every hole in the crawl space and the entire house. She then installed an inexpensive sonic repeller on each level and hasn’t had mice inside since. These electronic devices are available in hardware stores everywhere.

Mice and rats are social, intelligent creatures and every bit as capable of experiencing pain as the dogs and cats we have in our homes. Excluding wildlife is the kindest way to live alongside them. But as an absolute last resort, a snap-trap is less inhumane than a glue trap or poison (which also causes an excruciatingly painful death). Snap-traps kill instantly. If you use them, you should always identify the species prior to undertaking any control. Mice and rats will require different sizes of trap to be effective, and identifying the species will help guide the appropriate trap to use.

Sign our petition here to let Canadian Tire know what you think.

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Media Release

VHS says public must urge halt to chuckwagonrace

Fourth horse dies at Calgary Stampede

VANCOUVER, July 13, 2015 /CNW/ – The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) is calling on the Canadian public to express its outrage at the death of four horses in the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon races, following the death of yet another horse in the event on Sunday.

“The Stampede has made endless excuses about the continued loss of chuckwagon horses and has failed to stop these deaths,” said VHS spokesperson Peter Fricker.

“The race is fundamentally unsafe and horses just keep dying,” said Fricker. “People need to let the Stampede know that this is unacceptable.”

VHS has repeatedly called on the Stampede to suspend the race and establish an independent panel of experts to determine if anything can be done to make the race safer.

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people have signed a VHS online petition calling for CBC Sports to stop television coverage of the Calgary Stampede rodeo: http://tinyurl.com/pebwa5t

SOURCE Vancouver Humane Society

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News/Blog Uncategorized

Canada’s factory farms exposed

VHS’s contribution to the report concerns Canada’s supply management system and cruelty to caged hens like these ones on an Ontario battery farm.

Report is a must read

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has released some alarming findings about the impacts of Canada’s animal agriculture practices.

What’s On Your Plate? The Hidden Costs of Industrial Animal Agriculture exposes the destructive impacts of intensive livestock operations on our health, the environment, animal welfare and rural Canada.

The report also exposes the real costs of our food, including tax-funded subsidies to agriculture, and the costs borne by our health care system for public safety and food borne illnesses. Our “cheap” food isn’t so cheap after all!

VHS co-wrote a section on supply management and Canada’s egg industry (pages 101-105). Read the report here and take action to help address the issue.