​www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/roadside-zoos-ontario-animal-welfare-laws-1.6848338

As the weather starts to shift towards summer vibes, roadside establishments throughout Ontario gear up for the season. These establishments thrive in Ontario because there are no laws regarding the ownership of exotic animals, leaving it to individual municipalities to tackle laws surrounding ownership of wild animals like tigers, lions, and cheetahs. These loopholes in welfare laws allow roadside establishments to pop up everywhere, poorly monitored and operating under the radar, allowing them to  exploit wild animals for profits. 

On top of cub petting, roadside establishments often lack proper veterinary care and the animals on the property are kept in small crates with poor access to a proper diet / water. What's worse is that when cubs become too large to handle, they are shipped off to other exploitative industries where they will continue to be at the mercy of humans who exploit them for profits. They spend their entire lives being passed around by humans, no regards given to their well-being or instinctual needs. Roadside establishments are hell for animals and it's time for Ontario to step up and create laws surrounding exotic animal ownership.

When you look at an accredited zoo like the Toronto Zoo for example, this is a property that is well maintained. Animals on the property have their needs considered when setting up enclosures, have access to appropriate food / water, and have emergency veterinary care if needed. Accredited zoos won't use animals for shows or performances and will advocate for conservation. Roadside zoos are the complete opposite of this. They utilize animals for entertainment at their own expense and don't properly care for them. These establishments should never be allowed to operate considering the complex needs of big cats and other wild animals.

Ontario needs legislation surrounding exotic animal ownership. Leaving it to individual municipalities is not working and these establishments are thriving. I implore any of you in Ontario to be mindful of where you take your friends / families this summer. Steer clear of any roadside / pop-up zoos that promote handling of innocent cubs. Watch for small enclosures or photo ops with animals. By visiting these establishments, you're perpetuating the cruelty and supporting animal abuse. Visiting the zoo should be educational in intent, not entertainment. Roadside zoos are hell for animals and Ontario needs to step up!

Learn more through the link at the top of this post.

​www.hsi.org/news-resources/canadian-government-is-introducing-groundbreaking-legislation-that-will-ban-cosmetics-animal-testing-and-trade/

Canada has introduced legislature through the Budget Implementation Act that would ban cosmetics testing on animals and would also ban the sale of cosmetics that relied on animal testing and target misleading information regarding animal testing on products. This is an important and necessary step in Canada's animal welfare as our country tends to fall behind other countries on our planet when it comes to animal welfare. Despite welfare issues ranking high on Canadian's list of importance, it simply has not translated to results in the Canadian government.

I've said this multiple times before, but cosmetics are novelty products. We are torturing animals for things we don't even actually need for our existence. These are not medicines that could cure disease, these are lipsticks, mascaras, lotions, and other beauty products. Animals are tortured and several studies indicate that animal tests do not always translate to human results, meaning we're torturing them for absolutely no reason outside of the fact that we can. Animals should not be bred only to be subjected to painful, repeated tests for the beauty industry. These are not necessities and what we're doing to animals is shameful to say the least.

You want a new cream? YOU figure out if it causes a rash. Want a new lipstick? Try it at your own risk and if you suffer a little reaction, don't use it again! It's rather simple. We want beauty products? We should be the ones subjected to the tests. If anyone out there actually believes that if a bunny doesn't have a reaction to a new cream, that you won't either, you're incredibly mistaken. Humans and rabbits / cats / rats are not the same, newsflash! We're literally torturing animals for testing that isn't even going to accurately determine human results. It's time for Canada to step up and join the several other countries on our planet that have banned cosmetics testing.

Head to the link at the top of this post for the story from Humane Society International. The time to end our barbaric cruelty to animals for the cosmetics industry is now!

​www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/marineland-deaths-1.6836189

A month and a half or so ago, the world's loneliest orca, Kiska, died at Marineland, Ontario, after years of advocating to release her from her concrete prison. Now, less than two months later, a beluga whale and bottlenose dolphin have also died at the amusement park, sending shockwaves throughout the community and prompting calls from animal welfare advocates to investigate the park and the care provided. One innocent mammal dying is concerning, but 3 is alarming and suggests that the park is in no condition to house these creatures adequately. 

One whale dying is concerning, but now we've got a beluga and dolphin who have also now passed away at the park. Marineland has skirted responsibility over and over again, facing multiple lawsuits over its lifetime. Most recently, the park was sued for utilizing dolphins for entertainment, a charge they adamantly denied. Despite a ban on cetacean captivity that passed in 2019, cetaceans that were already captive were grandfathered in, allowing places like Marineland to continue to generate profits off of the obvious suffering of their cetaceans.

Now, with 3 innocent creatures dead in less than 3 months, it's time to investigate Marineland for welfare issues / cruelty. There should have never been a grandfathering in of captive cetaceans / porpoises to begin with. If we're putting out a ban on new captivity, that suggests that we do not agree with it in its entirety, so why would we have left innocent porpoises / cetaceans to continue to live in concrete prisons? It's ridiculous that we pandered to these amusement parks instead of making that ban on cetacean captivity effective immediately, freeing the park's captive residents.

Marineland needs to be shut down. It's obvious they cannot care for their cetaceans adequately. How many innocent, captive whales / dolphins have to die before we get the message? Our inactivity is complicity in situations like this, investigate Marineland and free the remaining captive dolphins / whales before they too face an untimely death.