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The Ottawa Animal Advocate

Resolutions You Can Keep

List of resolutions on a desk with coffee mug and glasses

According to Business Insider, 80 per cent of New Year’s resolutions are tossed out the window by February. It can be tough to keep them. Maybe some are just too hard to maintain. Here are the top seven resolutions suggested by the Ottawa Humane Society that you just might be able to keep:

  1. Stay aware of the plight of animals. Whales in captivity, wild animals travelling in circuses, trophy hunting: there are a lot of fights to fight to help animals.  Become aware, make good consumer choices, become active and write your politicians.
  2. Make a good adoption choice. If your resolution is to bring a pet into your family, do your research and make a good choice. Adopt from the OHS or another reputable animal welfare organization. Check out reputable breeders. Always see the conditions where the dog or cat was raised and the mother. Meeting in a parking lot is a sure sign of something amiss.
  3. Get exercise for you and your pet. People's #1 resolution is to exercise more and get fit. But maybe the gym is too far away and too intimidating. You might find that doubling the length of your nightly walk with the dog is easier and may produce at least some of the results you are looking for. And playing with the cat for a half hour might not be much exercise, but it’ll keep kitty in shape and keep you away from the chips for the duration!
  4. Help lost, sick and homeless animals. The OHS cares for close to 10,000 animals every year. We can only do it with your help. A monthly PAW gift means you can save lives all year long. And doing it monthly from your bank or credit card makes it even easier.
  5. Get your pet microchipped and get a collar and tag around her neck. Last year, only 63 per cent of lost dogs and 8 per cent of lost cats returned to their homes, despite our best efforts. Why so low? The vast majority of lost pets have no microchip implant or visible tag.
  6. Stop putting off that vet appointment. According to the Ontario Veterinarian Medical Association (OVMA), 40 per cent of the province’s pet owners only take their animals to a vet when they think something is wrong. And almost 25 per cent don’t take their pets to a vet at all. Schedule your annual appointment a year in advance so you don't forget!
  7. Make sure your pet’s health is insured. Unless you are sure that a large sudden veterinary bill will be manageable, it’s time to look at pet insurance. In the last year alone, over 200 animals were surrendered to the OHS by owners who couldn’t afford their care in a crisis.
Happy New Year and good luck with your resolutions.

Letter: This Shameful Bill Should not Pass

woman giving water to a pig

The Canadian Press/HO-Elli Garlin

On the heels of progressive animal welfare legislation, the provincial government has introduced a new bill in the legislature that is a major setback for animal welfare in Ontario.

Bill 156, the so-called Security from Trespass and Animal Safety Act is not only a major animal welfare concern, but parts of it are also alarming for anyone concerned about civil liberties in our country.

In a nutshell, the act outlaws entering the property of a farm or "animal processing facility" without prior consent. It also outlaws any interaction with animals on farms, these facilities, or farm animals in transport. Remember the dehydrated pigs sweltering in an overcrowded truck waiting for slaughter that were offered water by an activist? Her name is Anita Krajnc. She was charged, but acquitted. The provincial government wants to make sure that anyone offering this act of kindness will never be acquitted again.

And they want to make sure that any animal cruelty occurring on farms, slaughterhouses and brutally overcrowded transports is never seen by the public.

The act also prohibits using false pretenses to see what is going on in these facilities. So, let's say I hear that a farmer is brutalizing his livestock. I want to check it out. If I say I'm interested in buying a few head of cattle so that I can see if it's true, that is illegal under the act.

Further — and here are the parts that have severe civil rights implications — the onus to prove that I had the farmer or slaughterhouse-owner's consent to visit is reversed. I have to prove he said it was okay. And further, this guy or any farmer or trucker can ask me for my name and address, and can arrest me without a warrant or pay someone else to arrest me — and they can use reasonable force to do it. Effectively, the act turns farmers, truckers and slaughterhouse-owners into a police force unto themselves.

And to ensure that this on-the-face-of-it unconstitutional act is not successfully challenged in court, the government has wrapped the whole ugly mess in a thin tissue paper of disease control and farm-worker safety.

It's shameful. This act should never have been written, and it should not pass, yet it is now in committee. If you believe in the welfare of animals, or even if you don't but believe in due-process, please contact your MPP today and tell them.

Bruce Roney
President and CEO

A Tradition of Cruelty in Spain

Bull with flaming horns

This past November, Spain held its annual Toro de Jubilo, or "fire bull festival." For years the festival had been closed to all recording devices, likely because it would draw so much criticism from animal welfare activists and any other rational person. Because it's been kept relatively private, many have never heard of the fire bull festival.

The festival is one of the most despicable, gruesome displays in animal abuse for entertainment on earth. People gather in large crowds to watch bulls be lit on fire every year. The bull is tied down and organizers strap balls of tar to the bull's horns. The tar is lit on fire and the bull is let loose to buck around in agony. The bulls often smash into walls, sometimes dying from the impact. If they don't die during the festival, they're hauled off to be butchered.

Animal welfare activists pushing back against this cruel festival isn't new. For years, protesters have shown up only to be arrested by riot police because the Spanish government has given Toro de Jubilo a special cultural status. It's important, though, for the international community — including Canadians — to speak up about these cruel traditions. If people don't stand up for the voiceless bulls, who will?

Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic

Pepper Potts the cat and the Mobile Spay and Neuter vehicle

Did you know the OHS has a Mobile Spay and Neuter Clinic? This mobile veterinary spay/neuter clinic provides subsidized feline spay/neuter surgeries for low-income pet owners in Ottawa. The clinic helps address the problem of cat overpopulation in Ottawa and helps pets stay with their owners, rather than being surrendered to the OHS. Pepper Pots is a cat recently spayed at the clinic... read about her adventures at the clinic and learn how you can help cats like her!

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PAWS 4 Wellness

Woman and a dog in an office

Does your office love animals? PAWS 4 Wellness is a workplace charitable campaign whereby companies raise money to receive an OHS animal visit at their workplace! All companies need to do is raise a minimum of $1,000 to receive their animal visit! Easy, right? Register your workplace soon before spots fill up!

Events Calendar
JAN.
20
Paws 4 Wellness
More Info
FEB.
14
Warm Hearts Raffle Draw
More Info
FEB.
24
Bake for the Animals
More Info
May
13
20th Annual Garden Party
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Ottawa Citizen
 
Ottawa Humane Society
245 West Hunt Club Rd, Ottawa, ON K2E 1A6
donations@ottawahumane.ca | www.ottawahumane.ca

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