Government abandons animal protection, again. Early adjournment of the house kills animal cruelty legislation.
Ontario SPCA
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
NEWMARKET, ON, (June 6, 2007) – School’s out with the Ontario legislature closed for the summer, destroying two animal protection bills that would have been a positive and important step in bringing Ontario animal welfare laws up to the standard of other province’s legislation. Failure to pass the bills before the house rose for the next session demonstrates the McGuinty government’s fourth year of failing to honour their promise to offer animals in the province greater protection that they so deserve.
GONE: Bill 154, ‘The Regulation of Zoos Act’, the legislation Liberal MPP David Zimmer introduced to address the deplorable conditions animals are kept in at Ontario’s roadside zoos.
If passed, Bill 154, ‘The Regulation of Zoos Act’, would have required all Ontario zoos to comply with professional animal welfare and public safety standards. The proposed legislation would have ensured that every zoo animal would receive appropriate care and housing and that zoo visitors, staff and surrounding communities would be safe.
Recently, Tyson, the kangaroo at Lickety-Split Ranch and Zoo, grabbed media headlines internationally and raised many questions about Ontario’s commitment to animal welfare when it was discovered the Ontario SPCA didn’t even have a legal right to check on the animal’s health status.
GONE: Bill 232, the Private Member’s Bill presented in the legislature on May 31 by Leeds-Grenville MPP Bob Runciman that would amend the Ontario SPCA Act to offer more significant and widespread protection for cats and dogs in Ontario.
The amendments put forth by Mr. Runciman would have addressed investigative challenges in cases like that of AK, the six-month old pup in Windsor who had his ears cut off.
Despite the government’s broken promises, the Society is continuing its efforts to hold the government up to its promise to conduct a comprehensive review of the Ontario SPCA Act with the goal of revamping many other sections of the legislation in order to bring it to the standard of other province’s legislation, and to offer all animals in the province protection.
Take Action:
Write: The Honourable Monte Kwinter
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
18th Floor
25 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1Y6
Fax: (416) 325-6067
Phone: (416) 325-0408
Visit www.gov.on.ca and click on Contacts – MPPs to find the contact info for your MPP.
Media Contact:
Hugh Coghill
A/Chief Inspector
(905) 898-7122 ext. 342
hcoghill@ospca.on.ca
To report suspected animal abuse call the Ontario SPCA at 1-888-ONT-SPCA (668-7722) extension 1, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), your local Ontario SPCA Branch, affiliated humane society or police.
————————————————————————————————————————The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Ontario SPCA): Protecting animals since 1873, the Ontario SPCA is a registered charity comprised of over 50 branches and affiliated humane societies relying primarily on donations to fund animal protection, care and rehabilitation for all animals, government and industry advocacy, and public education. The Ontario SPCA Act mandates the Society to enforce animal cruelty laws and provides Society investigators with police powers to do so – making the Ontario SPCA unique among animal welfare organizations in the province. The Ontario SPCA is a member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and is affiliated with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Ontario SPCA Provincial Office, 16586 Woodbine Avenue, RR3 Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 4W1 • 1 888 ONT-SPCA (688-7722) • www.ontariospca.ca • info@ospca.on.ca
Charitable Business Number 88969 1044 RR0002
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