Written by: Heather Clemenceau
*Caution – this blog post contains graphic images.
I didn’t think it would be possible to be more disgusted by Doug Ford’s government. Lobbyists must have donated serious money to DoFo’s cash for access “stag and dough” event, to benefit Ford’s developer, police friends, because he is reinstating/expanding a cruel dog “sporting” event. “Bill 91, the Ontario government’s massive Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act, 2023, was ordered for third reading in the Legislature on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Schedule 14 of the act would repeal and re-enact section 35 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, to provide for new regulations concerning the issuance of licences for new and existing train and trial areas. These regulation changes would include granting new licences through a one-time 90-day application period and allowing licences to be transferred to new owners.”
This type of “training” technique is one that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNR) has been phasing out since 1997: dogs running down terrified captive coyotes, foxes and rabbits who are kept penned in tiny enclosures in between torture sessions where they are mutilated. There are now 33,000 members in the Ontario Sporting Dog Association, which lobbied the government over the past year on the training and trialing licenses. (David McNew/The Associated Press).
Hunter grins while his dogs attack a coyote
These facilities should be illegal – this is animal cruelty plain and simple, and disgusting that anyone would refer to it as a “sport.” Additionally, dogs that are forced to participate can also suffer from injuries or even death at these events. Penned dog hunting licenses are banned in every other province. Moreover, how will dogs who are trained to be vicious, distinguish between coyotes, foxes, and rabbits and innocent smaller breeds of dogs, especially in provincial parks?
Newmarket Today published this excellent letter by Sharon Willan of Aurora, and she follows up with a request for readers to contact their MP:
“If you found your child torturing a cat, dog, bird, or any animal, you would be very concerned. In the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the American Psychiatrist Association cites harming animals as a sign of conduct disorder. The technical term is Zoosadism, pleasure derived from harming animals.
Why then is penned dog hunting considered a sport for adults? Wild animals are taken from their environment, placed in small cages and held in barns. They are released only to have dogs chase them to exhaustion and possibly kill them. If the wild animal survives, they are recaptured, placed in cages and sold to another penned dog organization to be hunted again and again.
In 1997, penned dog hunting was banned. However. there are 24 still operating in Ontario. Instead of closing these down, the government of Ontario is expanding the licensing so that more animals can be tortured.”Penned hunting is widely condemned, controversial, and causes extreme and unnecessary stress, suffering, and death to wild animals, while posing threats to public health and safety at the same time.” All other provinces and many states in the U.S. have banned this cruel practice but the extreme segment of “hunting lobby groups like the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Ontario Sporting Dogs Association are pushing the government to reverse the ban so that new dog hunting pens can open up, and existing pens can sell to new owners.” (Animal Justice, June 23, 2023)The members of these associations should read about the mental disorders associated with this torture of animals.
What kind of people have we elected who would allow this kind of antisocial behaviour to be the law? What are we teaching our youth about respecting life including the lives of animals?
Anyone who has owned a pet has grieved over their pet’s illness and pain. They have seen the suffering the animal is going through. Wild animals are no different — they suffer. The dogs who are forced to join in the hunt also suffer. Under normal circumstances, they would not be part of this heinous act.
If you are appalled about this law, please write to your local MPP and demand an end to penned dog hunting.”
Sharon Willan
Aurora
Society should do everything possible to protect wild animals, they have a place within the ecosystem and should never be subjected to this kind of torture, for the amusement of humans.
Find your MPP here
heatherclemenceau 