Petition to
The Minister of Local Government and Local Government Reform
New Brunswick, Canada

We, the undersigned eligible voters of the Province of New Brunswick, petition the Minister of Local Government and Local Government Reform to make Animal Welfare a priority and ensure an enforcement agency in place that is modernized, efficient, transparent, appropriately trained and can be held accountable.
New Brunswickers feel strongly about the health and well-being of animals and are appalled by animal abuse and neglect. Through a shared commitment to better the lives of animals, animal lovers can send a strong message by signing and sharing this petition far and wide.
To the Hon. Glen Savoie, Minister of Local Government, We respectfully ask for your attention to address without delay the following:
• Having a non-profit organization enforce legislation is a quirk of history that is unique to animal welfare making it appear crimes against animals are of secondary importance to the public and the judicial system.
• Only New Brunswick and British Columbia have an outdated SPCA Act, which mandates the Provincial SPCA as the enforcer. All other Provinces have updated Animal Care or Animal Protection Acts.
• The vast majority of all Provinces do not use the Provincial SPCA or Humane Society exclusively to enforce legislation with most of these not using non-profits at all.
The current NB SPCA Act makes no provision for oversight into the operations of the NB SPCA Board of Directors. Historically and to date the NB SPCA has not been transparent or accountable to the public they serve. Given they are completely funded by taxpayer dollars or donations, this is unacceptable and the public outcry for this goes back five years.
The Provincial SPCA's or Humane Societies who do not enforce or have ceased to enforce, have gone back to their roots of advocacy and education. Most are reducing the need for active enforcement by operating mobile clinics and helping sheltering networks. NB SPCA has not shown leadership in trying to reduce the ever increasing need for resources in a financial climate that was not sustainable before the pandemic and is even less so now.
NEW BRUNSWICK MUST DO BETTER FOR ANIMALS
Petition submitted by Mission PAWSible and Animal Crusaders of PFSAP,