News from the animal advocacy group ZooCheck Canada
Posted January 8th, 2015 on Niagara At Large
Toronto, Ontario – The Ontario government received thousands of letters, including testimony from many world renowned experts, and a 115,000 person petition calling for substantive action to protect marine mammals in captivity in Ontario.
The Government knew about the large, high profile, protests taking place outside of Marineland in Niagara Falls and of the hundreds of media stories, including a lengthy front page series in The Toronto Star (which generated a number of SLAPP suits against former Marineland employees as well as the TO Star) that were featured in print, radio, television and online media everywhere.
The Government had numerous meetings with various stakeholders, Canadian and international experts, and organizations (including Zoocheck), on captive marine mammal issues and expended a great deal of staff time and taxpayer dollars developing new captive marine mammal regulations. During that time Ontario Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Yasir Naqvi repeatedly promised decisive action to protect marine mammals in captivity.
So after all this, what was the result?
In late December, just days before the holidays, the Ontario government quietly released Ontario SPCA Act Reg. 60/09 – Part III Additional Standards of Care and Administrative Requirements for Marine Mammals, which came into effect on January 1, 2016.
Sadly, the standards pay lip service to many core animal welfare concerns faced by marine mammals in captivity and many of the provisions contained in the standards are unenforceable. After the repeated promises of Minister Naqvi and substantial efforts on the part of Zoocheck and other animal welfare groups to achieve something meaningful, the result is disappointing.
What is particularly concerning is that the standards delegate a great deal of authority to determine what is, or is not, required for marine mammals in captivity to a Committee set up by the marine mammal facilities themselves. And the Committee will operate behind closed doors in secret, so there will be no public transparency or accountability.
Many of the problematic provisions of the new Ontario captive marine mammal standards can be lumped into three categories:
- 1. Provisions that are non-specific and therefore difficult or impossible to enforce.
- 2. Provisions where interpretation and implementation are left to the discretion of the internal Animal Welfare Committee or facility (self regulation).
- 3. Provisions that are vague and/or contain loopholes with wording that allow them to be ignored.
Will the new captive marine mammals standards actually change anything at all? We doubt it. From our perspective, it looks like things will remain pretty much the way they were before. See what you think by reviewing some sample provisions excerpted from the standards, followed by a brief commentary regarding our concerns.
Zoocheck is a Canadian-based international wildlife protection charity (#13150 2072 RR0001) established in 1984 to promote and protect the interests and well-being of wild animals. Zoocheck works with a broad range of collaborating partners around the world.
Zoocheck endeavors to promote animal protection in specific situations and strive to bring about a new respect for all living things and the world in which they live.
For more information on Zoocheck Canada, visit its website at www.zoocheck.com .
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.
Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.
Niagara At Large 