By Jessica Bellamy
O Canada—you’re on the right track! The country made animal rights history earlier this summer with the passage of groundbreaking legislation banning the confinement and breeding of whales, dolphins, and porpoises in captivity, with fines up to $200,000 for aquariums that ignore the law.
Despite attempts to derail this bill by facilities with a vested interest in keeping smart, social marine mammals locked up—such as the notorious Marineland and the Vancouver Aquarium—compassion and Canadian citizens’ advocacy won out. Lawmakers received tens of thousands of e-mails and phone calls from compassionate citizens, and PETA kept the issue in the spotlight by protesting against abuse and persuading sponsors to cut ties with marine parks.
Bill S-203 is a major step forward for Canada, but securing animal rights is a marathon, not a sprint. The law exempts animals already in marine prisons, so their suffering continues. We must persuade the public to avoid all exhibits that include live animals.
Furthermore, progress in one area makes animal-exploiting industries nervous, so they double down on efforts to maintain the cruel status quo.
In Montréal, for example, a group of pet stores and their suppliers have filed a lawsuit to try to overturn a lifesaving bylaw that requires dogs, cats, and rabbits who are sold in their stores to come from local shelters, rather than from breeders or hellish mass-breeding mills, which are notorious for supplying pet stores with animals.
And now, “Canada’s Food Guide,” which was recently revamped to advise Canadians to “[c]hoose protein foods that come from plants more often” and avoid saturated fats (like those found in meat, eggs, and dairy) is under fire from a lawmaker with alleged ties to the dairy industry.
PETA is closely monitoring these attempts to undo vital progress for animals, and we’re working vigilantly to ensure that these hard-won victories remain in place. We hope you’ll help us by keeping the pressure on legislators and businesses in Canada as well as around the world to make animal rights a priority in all their decisions.
