THANK YOU FROM ZOOCHECK – June 15, 2024
Thank you for your ongoing support of Zoocheck’s wildlife protection work through the CanadaHelps website. We appreciate it.
In past correspondence, I’ve mentioned some of our ongoing and new activities aimed at improving protections for wild animals in captivity and in the wild. The volume of issues out there is sometimes overwhelming but we’ve remained focused on our long-standing core issues and continue to make progress in many areas.
This year, our ongoing zoo investigative work is in full swing with more than a dozen site visits made already and many more in the works. Not only are the results of these investigations used as the basis for expert complaints to relevant enforcement agencies, they also provide the information required for our broader effort to change provincial wildlife in captivity laws.
At the federal level I’ve mentioned that Zoocheck, in association with a collective of other animal protection organizations, is lobbying for passage of Bill S-15, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act that would make it illegal to keep elephants or Great Apes in captivity in Canada, except in some very limited, exceptional circumstances. The clause by clause Committee study was recently completed (the Committee recommended the Bill move forward and approved a number of significant, positive amendments), so the bill should be going to a vote by the full Senate of Canada in the early fall. Once that happens, it moves to House of Commons for additional steps. The chances of Bill S-15 being passed look good at this point, so we’ll be doing everything we can to keep pushing it along. I’ll have more news as the Bill progresses.
Our lengthy effort to address the Reptilia zoo issue is also still in play. The City of London legal action against Reptilia continues, for now. While the City stated there was an “offer to settle” and that they had accepted it, the offer and City discussions have all been done behind closed doors in secret, so we have no idea what they discussed or what the offer is. So far, there have been five court hearing adjournments as the City and Reptilia try to come to agreement on the settlement terms, so it’s clear that there is a difference of opinion between the two parties.
Zoocheck has vehemently opposed any kind of settlement as we believe the City should be defending its animal control by-law and not capitulating to businesses who ignore it. We have applied for intervenor status in the legal action but the fact that there’s a “tentative” agreement between the City and Reptilia may result in our views and evidence not being considered. We’ll have more on the Reptilia issue in the coming weeks.
There’s also a lot going on with our initiatives to help save Alberta’s wild horses and bears in several provinces. We’ll be letting everyone know more about these (and other) issues soon.
To stay in the loop I hope you’ll check the Zoocheck website www.zoocheck.com from time to time and sign up for Zoocheck’s monthly newsletter. To subscribe all you have to do is scroll down on the website landing page (or any other page on our website) and you’ll see where you can sign up. You can see past newsletters by clicking the Resources link on any page of our website.
If you have any specific questions about Zoocheck’s campaigns and projects that you can’t find answers to, please don’t hesitate to let us know at zoocheck@zoocheck.com. If you’re moving and your physical address or email has changed, please drop us a line with your new contact information and we’ll adjust your database record accordingly.
In closing, THANK YOU again for making Zoocheck’s work possible. Have an excellent summer.
Sincerely,
Rob Laidlaw
Executive Director