From this evening's CBC News website
100 sick dogs found in Quebec puppy mill
Last Updated: Friday, December 12, 2008 6:23 PM ET CBC News
Authorities have busted yet another puppy mill in Quebec, this one with about 100 dogs living in "appallingly inhumane conditions" in a three-car garage northeast of Montreal, the head of the Montreal SPCA said.
The dogs were living in filthy, cramped cages in the poorly ventilated garage in the town of St-Jacques-de-Montcalm, said Alana Devine, acting executive director of Montreal's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Conditions in the garage were so bad that the smell of ammonia burned the eyes and it was hard to breathe, the CBC's Amanda Margison reported.
Some of the dogs are pregnant and others are young puppies. Several have urgent medical issues including "ear problems, eye problems [and] skin problems," said Alain Dessureault, a veterinarian.
The animals have been taken to Montreal, where the SPCA will clean them up before they're matched with foster care homes.
There may be enough evidence to file criminal charges against the owner, Devine said.
This is the third puppy-mill bust in Quebec in the last two months.
Animal rights activists have called for tougher laws to crack down on breeders who mistreat dogs.
Or, as my friend Joan has been tagging it lately, another facility with "substandard care".
According to the official policy statement of the CKC, with respect to Puppy Mills, http://www.ckc.ca/en/portals/0/pdf/Chptr%2012%20Legislative%20Policy%20Statements.pdf :
The term “Puppy Mill” generally refers to a high-volume, sub-standard dog-breeding operation,
which sells purebred or mixed breed dogs, directly or indirectly to unsuspecting buyers. Some
of the characteristics common to puppy mills are:
(a) Sub-standard health and/or environmental issues;
(b) Sub-standard animal care, treatment and/or socialization;
(c) Sub-standard breeding practices which lead to genetic defects or hereditary disorders;
(d) Erroneous or falsified certificates of registration, pedigrees and/or genetic background.
Note: These conditions may also exist in small volume or single breed establishments.
There is a great glossing over of things by the use of the word "substandard" but where it is to be found in the CKC official legislated policy statement it is no wonder the CKC members spout it like Gospel. Even more interesting is article 12-13 of the same document which officially differentiates between "Animal Welfare" and "Animal Rights" groups, encouraging the support of the former without stating anything at all about the latter.
There is another portion of their website where the CKC Breeder Code of Ethics maintain that all members must adhere to the housing standards which are laid out quite specifically in CVMA Code of Practice for Canadian Kennel Operations,
Now that sounds quite impressive, until one realizes that the CKC only has authority over its members.
Hmmm..... so who watches the rest of the henhouse? Is it those darned animal activists? The dreaded animal rights folks? The animal welfare people are normally too busy cleaning up after massive seizures like the ones in tonight's news.
Letting the commercial breeders who are not CKC members police themselves is right up there with letting the food production industry do its own inspections. The recent outbreaks of listeria have clearly shown that letting the folks with the vested financial interest monitor themselves wasn't the path to public safety.
Who should be crafting the legislation on behalf of the animals at the federal level? Should it be the folks with a vested financial interest? Or should it be the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, who already have an established legal research and lobbying department in place?
Before the last election, CFHS http://cfhs.ca/ surveyed all the political parties to determine their stance on animal welfare. Visitors to their site are actively encouraged to contact their politicians about animal welfare issues in general and on Bills C-373 and C-558, which were removed from the order paper when the last election was called.
While it is understood that the current political climate is not about getting work done, but about jockeying for power by all parties concerned, that should not deter animal lovers from reminding the people who represent them at all levels how important this issue is to them as voters.
"Substandard" operations like this one will only become obsolete through effective legislative change. The way ahead, as always will be paved by voter feedback.
If you wish to contact the Senator for your area, http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/isenator.asp?sortord=P&Language=E. If you wish to contact your Member of Parliament, http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E
What time is it? Its time to stop pretending that the CKC has any legal or moral authority over "substandard' operations.
No comments:
Post a Comment