Call for Canvassers for the Toronto Street Cats "Regent Park Project"

Animal Alliance is part of the Toronto Feral Cat TNR Coalition, along with nine other groups, including Toronto Street Cats.

We've been working like stink over the past year to help the cats in Regent Park.  We're making progress but we need some help.

Please see below, from Vanessa of Toronto Street Cats.

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Thank you to all of you who helped out with the last Toronto Street Cats clinic - your hard work has contributed to another positive outcome.

We are preparing for the upcoming clinic on March 13th and we are seeking people to canvass in the Regent Park community. In order to increase the number of participating cats, we really need your help. This week is supposed to be milder in terms of weather so it will be a great chance to head out and talk to people. 

Canvassing is done within the boundaries of the Regent Park community. Teams of two go out to assigned area residences and speak to community members about the project and guide interested caregivers through the registration process. Canvassing is typically done during the day, the week leading up to the clinic day and the times are flexible. Canvassing materials are available at the Toronto Street Cats space housed in the Toronto Humane Society where Bill will meet with you for a brief review on the process and answer any that questions you may have. 

Talking to people about the project is a very rewarding experience and because the clinic services are free, people are generally very open to having a conversation. Canvassing is an essential part of the project and we would so appreciate as much help as we can get to ensure we reach our goal of helping 600 cats overall.

If you are interested in volunteering for canvassing, please email me your availability and we will be in touch shortly with more information about when and where to go. Canvassing is an vital component to the success of the clinics and any time you can dedicate to this task is deeply appreciated.

Also, please note: there will be a Toronto Street Cats volunteer orientation happening this coming Sunday, March 10 at 12pm at the Toronto Humane Society. This is a great opportunity to come together to learn more about the project, meet other volunteers and get answers to  your questions. Please RSVP if you would like to attend - bring a friend, everyone is welcome.

Thank you again for your dedication and support - we couldn't do it without you.

Warmest regards,

Vanessa Rich

Please help Vernon residents secure a ban on the sale of live animals in pet stores

Many dogs sold in Canadian pet stores are brought into Canada through dog brokers in the United States.  Dogs bred and acquired through these brokers often suffer terrible neglect.  The same conditions can be found in many Canadian puppy mills.

 

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

 

Three municipalities in Canada have banned, or severely restricted, the sale of puppies  in pet stores: first was Richmond, BC; then Toronto (which also banned cat sales), followed by Mississauga, ON.

 

So the City of Vernon, BC, would be in good company should Council decide to restrict pet stores to adoptions through rescue groups and shelters.

 

Gina, a resident of Vernon made a presentation to Council last week, asking Council to consider a similar ban.

Vernon City Council is meeting again on January 28, 2013 to examine the impact such a decision would have on the City’s existing bylaws.

Your voice would be much appreciated.  Please phone or send a polite letter or email to Council (an example is below), urging them to take this important step forward – a complete ban on the sale of all live animals.  Let them know that you believe animals should be adopted only through rescue groups and shelters, not purchased in a store like a widget.

 

If you’d like to see Gina’s submission to Council, check out page 39 – 48 via this link: http://www.vernon.ca/images/uploads/council/agendas/packages/130114_1.pdf

 

Thank you for speaking out for the animals!

 

Lia and the AAC crew

 

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Contact Info for the City of Vernon

City Hall: 8:30 am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday
3400 30th Street
Vernon, BC
V1T 5E6

 

250-545-1361
Fax: 250-545-7876

 

Mayor Robert Sawatzky
250-550-3508
mayor@vernon.ca

 

Patrick Nicol:
Cell: 250-550-6823
pnicol@vernon.ca

 

Juliette Cunningham:
Cell: 250-309-2432
jcunningham@vernon.ca

 

Catherine Lord:
Cell: 250-309-1685
clord@vernon.ca

 

Bob Spiers :
250-549-2819
bspiers@vernon.ca

 

Brian Quiring:
Cell: 250-309-2861
bquiring@vernon.ca

 

Mary-Jo O’Keefe :
Cell: 250-540-0634
mokeefe@vernon.ca

 

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Sample letter

 

Dear Mayor and Members of Council,

I write to express my support for the creation of a bylaw in the City of Vernon that will ban the retail sale of live animals on all commercial and public properties.  I strongly urge you take steps to make this issue a priority and make this bylaw a reality.

Why?

- To remove an outlet of puppy mill (or kitten factory) sales and curb impulse pet purchases, both of which play significant roles in pet overpopulation; after all, hundreds of pets are euthanized each year in our city alone simply because they are “unwanted”.

- To combat the perception that companion animals are commodities, promoting the responsible procurement and ownership of pets.

- Vernon would not be the first: Richmond, BC’s ban took effect April 2011, and in September 2011 Toronto’s bylaw passed unanimously.  In the United States, more than a dozen cities already have retail pet sale bans in place, including Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Austin, Texas.  In April 2012, the city of Los Angeles passed a ban on the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits. Laguna Beach, CA followed on May 2, 2012 with a ban on the retail sale of dogs and cats.

Benefits

Retail pet sale bans have been shown to contribute to an increase in pet adoptions and a decrease in the euthanization of unwanted pets – two improvements that will directly financially benefit our city’s Animal & Bylaw Services, as well as help ease the burden of the several local rescue agencies that routinely find themselves at capacity.

Retail Pet Sales

The commercial sale of pets is not permitted by breeding organizations such as the Canadian Kennel Club, which explicitly prohibits their members from providing puppies to stores, auctions, or other retail outlets.  Therefore, the question remains: if not from members of established breeding clubs, where do retail stores get their animals? 

Consumers

The point of the bylaw is not to limit one’s ability to obtain a pet, nor to handicap retailers (several pet retailers have been very successful not selling pets), but rather to improve the way residents think and act with respect to pet ownership and care.  Greater visibility of adoptable pets, together with education, benefits both Vernon pets and their owners.  Even with a ban there will still be no shortage of available dogs and cats.

I thank you very much for your consideration of this issue and I look forward to seeing it discussed formally by City Council in the near future.

Best regards,

Name: _____________________________________

Street Address:  ______________________________

The Life and Death of a Racehorse

The Chilling Implications

From Sinikka Crosland, Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

In July 2011, a Standardbred U.S. racehorse named Silky Shark died in a Quebec slaughterhouse.

The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition tracked the evidence, showing that Silky Shark had been administered phenylbutazone (a deadly drug that must never enter the food chain) and subsequently slipped through the system undetected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Jack Rodolico of Latitude News has produced an exemplary account of the fate of this beautiful horse - Silky Shark's life in the racing industry, how he fell through the cracks, and what chilling implications his death holds in terms of animal protection and food safety.

Links to articles and podcasts are below.   

The full magazine feature and podcast: http://www.latitudenews.com/story/the-shady-trade-in-american-horsemeat/

A short version aired on the American radio program Marketplace: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/drugged-american-horsemeat-sold-europe 

A slightly longer version aired on Harvest Public Media's network of public radio stations throughout the American Midwest: http://harvestpublicmedia.org/article/1544/drugged-horsemeat-us-showing-europe/5

A medium-length text version on The Week:  http://theweek.com/article/index/237968/the-shady-trade-in-american-horsemeat 

CHDC's report, Proof of CFIA Failure: http://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/proof-of-cfia-failure/

Last day to oppose brutality towards wolves in BC!

By Sadie Parr

Canadian Wolf Coalition

Hello wolf and wildlife supporters!

Today is the last day to tell the BC government that their barbaric wolf management plan does not represent the future we want for BC.  We demand better!  Please take a stand and use your voice if you have not submitted your concerns already.

 

Top predators are among the most outstanding achievements of wilderness, evolving over hundreds of centuries.  The social structure of wolf packs has evolved with this.  It is the wolf pack that is the top predator, not the individual wolf.  Wolves are more than mere numbers.  Their social bonds and kin-based families define what it means to be a wolf.  Management plans need to take this into account.

 

We have noticed that the on-line comment form limits the amount of feedback you can provide and does not request your name or address.  Please send comments to :

Honourable Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources

FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Premier Christy Clark

Phone: 250-387-1715 / Fax: 250 387-0087

premier@gov.bc.ca

Rob Fleming, MLA (NDP environment critic)

Fax:  250-387-4680

rob.fleming.mla@leg.bc.ca

Many wolf biologists argue that allowing wolves to express their natural social behaviour benefits the wider ecosystem as well as wolves.  The proposed plan does not consider the unique gene pools of wolf populations across the province, nor recognize BC (and Canada) as one of the last places where wolves can still live as nature intended. 

Please include the following in your comments:

1.      Extend the deadline for public input to January 30.

2.      NO helicopter killing or sterilization of wolves.

3.      NO leghold traps, snares or baiting.

4.      Return to former species license, quotas, bag limits, restricted seasons, and mandatory reporting of kills for hunting wolves.

5.      A decision and statement that lethal predator control is NOT an option for the recovery of mountain caribou and a stop to the Quesnel Highland wolf sterilization and removal project.

6.      A provincial management plan for wolves that considers the social stability of packs as well as population size to ensure the long term conservation of the species in its most natural form.

7.      A commitment to reduce wolf-livestock-human conflicts through prevention, and provision of educational initiatives and incentives for responsible husbandry practices.

8.      Protection of large tracts of habitat for wolves and their prey.  Ensure that protected areas are large enough to support multiple wolf families with no hunting/trapping allowed. 

Polls across the province show that the majority of residents are against trophy hunting and killing for sport, yet the proposed management plan supports the continuation of killing wolves for pleasure as well as for hate.  I urge you to revisit the plan and make the amendments that have been put forward in this letter. 

A better BC for all includes recognizing the intrinsic value shared by all creatures in this province; a future where tolerance and coexistence with iconic predators is fostered; natural resources are managed in a sustainable way; and wild spaces large enough to support wide ranging species are protected from human impacts and connected through wildlife corridors.

 

Enough killing!  We seek justice for wolves, wildlife, and intact ecosystems.  Without them, we are much less...

Please cc. sadieparrwolfpact@gmail.com on letters sent.  Thank you for taking a stand and using your voice!

Exciting news for Montreal!

For over 10 years, Animal Alliance has been advocating for a city-run shelter to service the animals and residents of the City of Montreal, QC.  Our last meeting with local rescue groups and supporters was in 2011, after the April airing of Enquête | Radio-Canada's investigative report on Berger Blanc.

We were ecstatic to receive this news, from our Montreal Board Member Anne Streeter:

 

SPCA eager for details about city-wide shelter

 

By Max Harrold, THE GAZETTE October 23, 2012 7:53 AM

 

Volunteers bring rescues puppies into the Montreal SPCA emergency shelter.

Photograph by: Peter Mccabe , THE GAZETTE

MONTREAL - The Montreal SPCA is eager for details about the city of Montreal’s planned new $23-million city-wide animal shelter so it can decide whether it wants to partner with the city and help run it.

The facility, which the city says could be managed by a non-profit group, won’t open until 2014 and it’s not known yet whether a new building will be built or if an existing facility — like the SPCA’s Jean Talon St. shelter — could be adapted.

Nicholas Gilman, executive director of the SPCA in Montreal, said the group is thrilled about the prospect of a city-run facility, whether or not the SPCA is chosen to run it, because pet overpopulation is still an urgent, growing problem.

An estimated 25,000 cats and dogs are abandoned or lost annually in the Montreal region and they generally end up at either the non-profit SPCA or the privately held Berger Blanc in east-end Montreal. Thousands of these pets are euthanized because not enough people want to adopt them. The two reasons often cited as the main causes of pet overpopulation are the lack of low-cost sterilizations and fines for irresponsible pet owners.

The SPCA and Berger Blanc have lucrative contracts with municipalities on Montreal Island and Laval to pick up dead and stray animals and provide adoption services. But the city of Montreal says it wants its one facility to provide shelter and pound services for all 19 boroughs and possibly the 15 other cities on Montreal Island. The city stated last week it prefers that a non-profit be in control, meaning that Berger Blanc — the focus of a highly publicized TV investigation in 2011 showing botched euthanizations there — could see its business nosedive.

Pierre Couture, president of Berger Blanc, did not return phone calls from The Gazette on Monday.

Gilman said the SPCA needs more information before it can say it wants in. He noted there could still be enough work for the SPCA in Montreal even if it does not play a major role in the new facility. It all depends on the division of responsibilities.

“For example, the city might take in all of the animals and the SPCA could commit to taking those animals that the city cannot adopt” out, Gilman said. “We could take animals that need a home but need more time to allow the public to shop for them. There are lots of ways we could work together.”

Eva Demianowicz, of the Humane Society International Canada, said her group would not be interested in ongoing daily operations of an animal shelter but could offer the city advice.

Martine Painchaud, a spokeswoman for Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay, said the city will soon put out a detailed request for bids from non-profit groups to run the new facility. Each of the borough councils should also soon vote on new animal control policies covering things like the maximum number of animals permitted per household (the city says it should be four with no more than two dogs).

This way there will be a “harmonized” set of policies throughout the city, she said. The boroughs will have the choice to send their stray animals to the new facility or not, she said.

Plateau Mont-Royal Borough spokeswoman Catherine Piazzon said the borough’s participation “will come down to the details of what is being offered and how much it costs.” The borough currently pays the SPCA $65,000 a year for animal control in the borough.

Sud-Ouest Borough Mayor Benoit Dorais said “there needs to be a mechanism of accountability” for boroughs to feel comfortable participating in the new citywide facility. Sud-Ouest Borough had to renew its $120,000 annual contract with Berger Blanc in 2010 because the pound was the sole bidder, he noted. The borough “is definitely interested” in a new facilityl but it will depend on the details, Dorais said.

Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau added that his city would also probably be interested. “We all have stray dog and, especially, cat problems,” Rouleau said. “We need to make improvements.”

mharrold@montrealgazette.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

CFIA Fails Again at Enforcing Regulations for Live Horse Exports to Japan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CFIA Fails Again at Enforcing Regulations for Live Horse Exports to Japan

October 18, 2012, Calgary, AB - Footage taken of Alberta horses being shipped live to Japan for slaughter shows that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is violating their own standards set forth in the Health of Animals Regulations. The Regulations prohibit the transportation of all animals under conditions that would expose the animals to undue injury or suffering. 

The 2012 footage shows horses in a feedlot being loaded with electric prods into transport trucks, transported to the Calgary International Airport and being crated in wooden crates so small they cannot stand in their natural position, in violation of Section 142 of the Health of Animals Regulations (“No person shall transport or cause to be transported animals in a railway car, motor vehicle, aircraft or vessel unless each animal is able to stand in its natural position without coming into contact with a deck or roof.”) Some horses were even being crated together, even though it is in violation of Section 141.8 of the Health of Animals Regulations, which states that horses over 14 hands high need to be segregated for air transport. 

Canadian draft horses from various producers are routinely live shipped to Japan for slaughter from the Calgary and Winnipeg International Airports. On arrival in Japan, horses are transported to a feedlot; once they reach desired weight they are slaughtered for horse sashimi, which is considered to be a delicacy in Japan. The meat must be eaten within three days because it is highly perishable; according to the 2008 Alberta Horse Welfare Report, each Canadian horse is worth approximately $20,000.

“Footage shows large horses overcrowded (not segregated) into wooden transport crates, often unable to stand in their natural position for a long journey to Japan, in clear violation of two of the CFIA's own regulations”, says Sinikka Crosland, executive director with the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition. These transport conditions not only are inhumane but also are likely to lead to injuries and potential deaths during transport.

“Once again we see CFIA turn a blind eye and choose to protect industry profits rather than do their job”, says Crosland. “The CFIA's mandate is both to protect human health and monitor animal welfare. We recently have seen them fail to protect the public from contaminated meat and now we have clear evidence of them failing to follow their own regulations when it comes to the live transport of horses for meat.” 

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For further information, please contact: Sinikka Crosland, Executive Director, Canadian Horse Defence Coalition. Tel: 250-681-1408

To see the footage of Alberta horses being shipped live to Japan: http://www.youtube.com/user/defendhorsescanada

To learn more about the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition: http://defendhorsescanada.org

Volunteers needed for October 16th - Feral Cat Awareness Day!

October 16th is International Feral Cat Awareness Day.

The events below are planned and the event will be held at Toronto Animal Services, East Region Animal Centre and Spay/Neuter Clinic - 821 Progress Avenue Toronto.

We could really use some volunteers!

Please let us know if you would be able to help.

• Spay/Neuter event 8:30 a.m. - ~4:00 p.m. or until finished
• scheduled spay/neuter clinic tours - 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
• shelter building event 10:30 a.m. - ~ 6:00 p.m.
• information booth 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• microchip clinic for cats 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Thanks!