Canada - Two Big Bills heading to the House of Commons

​www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-whale-dolphin-captivity-canada-senate-bill-1.4876136

Canada is slowly coming around to the world of animal rights with two new bills passed by Senate that will now head for the House of Commons. Canada is lacking in the animal rights department, something I've brought to light several times throughout  my posts. One of the biggest hiccups in our animal rights laws is our lackluster law banning bestiality. For those of you who don't know, bestiality is classified only as the act of penetration leaving innocent animals vulnerable to perversions that include genital touching and oral sex acts. This is probably the easiest of the laws to change based solely on ethics but it remains in tact until the government realizes that it's tarnishing out reputation significantly. Bad news aside, let's take a look at the two bills heading for the higher ups!

First up, the bill to ban the captivity and breeding of cetaceans like whales and dolphins. This bill is a long time in the making after years of outrage over parks like Sea World or Marine Land where cetaceans are kept for entertainment purposes. These beautiful creatures typically live in oceans with thousands of miles of space to roam, play, and live whereas when kept in captivity, they are kept in what can only be described as bathtubs with very little space to live. Considering the intelligence of these creatures, it's completely abhorrent to think they are held in these tiny prisons, forced to perform tricks for paying human customers. 

This bill is widely supported by MP's across the boards calling the holding of these intelligent creatures in concrete tanks perverse and cruel. Obviously, the only people speaking out against the bill would be those involved the two primary targets, Marine Land and the Vancouver Aquarium. Arguments like it will hurt science and research or the animals are happy when it's time for feeding, fall on deaf ears to animal activists who have long recognized the cruelty involved with housing these cetaceans. 

I wholly support this bill. I've never been to Marine Land and would never go because I know enough of the perils these dolphins and whales endure to entertain us. There is no argument regarding their happiness when you look at the tanks they live in and compare that to their natural habitat. I mean think about being confined to your bathtub everyday when you could essentially move about freely throughout your neighborhood, town, or city. There's no argument in my opinion that can justify keeping these intelligent, curious creatures in tanks. 

The bill would allow these places to keep the cetaceans they currently have but would prohibit them from breeding or accepting new cetaceans to the park. There is a suggested fine of $200, 000 for violations which is set high to be a deterrent. I truly hope this bill makes it through the House of Commons and we see the end of cetaceans in captivity!

The second bill heading for the House of Commons is the banning of imported shark fins. Interestingly, Canada is the third largest importer of shark fins behind only Hong Kong and China where shark fin soup is popular.

Shark population has dropped nearly 80% over the past 50 years  according to this story which is alarming when you consider the vastness of the ocean. We have done significant damage to shark numbers putting them at risk of being endangered and inevitably, extinct.

The fact is, shark fin soup is considered a delicacy and frankly, one that comes at a price. This is an obvious bill that needs to be put through because frankly, there's absolutely no necessity in the soup. One cannot argue for the importance of the soup without sounding ignorant when you consider the amount of sharks killed every year for something so trivial. 

Make sure to check out the original story at the top of the page. I will make sure to keep you guys posted on this story as it develops and hopefully I'll have the pleasure of reporting the bill has now become a law <3

HAPPY VEG