hej dog friend!
here’s an opportunity! Urgent!
The Ontario Government say they want public opinion.
Please scroll to the bottom of the registry page and fill out the Consultation Paper- Proposal at the bottom of this registry page: https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?language=en&postingId=40207
EXPERT OPINION STATEMENT REGARDING INDUSTRIAL SLED DOG OPERATIONS
DebiZimmermann B.Sc., DVM (Retired)
In Canada, anti-cruelty laws that would normally protect a husky kept in a home, have been suspended when that same husky pulls a sled; as now he’s considered a ‘sleddog’. And since1991,‘industry mushers who rely on the mass chain warehousing andf actory farming of sled dogs have played a part in each and everypiece of legislation and recommended practice written to date’which served to preserve theThe sled dogindustry runs commercialized for-profit enterprises.
By commodifying an animal like the sled dog, there is inherent cruelty and an economic incentive to minimize costs by underfeeding and euthanizing surplus, older, sick and otherwise unproductive animals.
By allowing industry mushers to strongly influence the setting of their own standards, it is not surprising that no current codes of practice for sled dog operations in North America are derived purely from a welfare standpoint. Take the contentious practice of tethering for example. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) denounces tethering in their Code of Practice for Canadian Kennel Operations (third edition) (which applies to both indoor and outdoor housing designated as the dog’s primary enclosure, including group housing). In this document they state: "Tethering of dogs (i.e., chains or ropes used to tie the dog to an immoveable object such as a stake or building) is not allowable as a method of confining a dog to a primary enclosure, nor as the only means of containment.https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/documents/Code-of-Practice-for-Canadian-Kennel-Operations
In addition,numerous studies show that tethering is an inhumane form of confinement and the practice is banned in foreign countries and in numerous US states and municipalities. http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Laws.htm
The World Sleddog Association(WSA)-the largest organization globally dedicated to purebred sleddog racing-addresses (sled dog welfare and) tethering in its Code of Ethics for Animal Welfare, stating that …"This practice should be rejected by all sled dog organizations nationally and internationally. Sled dog organizations should engage with mushers practicing this with the aim to abolish this practice.”
Although the BC Sled Dog Code of Practice recommends sled dogs be let off the chain once every 24 hours; it is too vague to be meaningful (ie: can you just click the chain off the collar and then place it on again seconds later and be done?) and compliance is virtually impossible to monitor.
The Five Freedoms are globally recognized as the gold standard minimums in animal welfare,encompassing both the mental and physical well-being of all animals under human control. First formalised in 1979 press statement by the UK Farm Animal Council ; the Five Freedoms have been adopted by professional groups including veterinarians, and organisations including the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_freedoms
The Five Freedoms are currently stated as:
Freedom from hunger or thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour
Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area
Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind
Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
Eating snow is not an acceptable option. Contrary to popular belief, animals cannot get adequate hydration from snow. “Eating snow is not the same as consuming water because snow is a solid that must melt before it becomes a fluid. Cells and organs in the body need water to be in a liquid state, so the body must work to heat and melt the snow once it is eaten. Because the organs must work harder to heat the ice and melt it, you will become further dehydrated rather than hydrated. You willc ontinue to lose more water than you are taking in, even though you are hydrating the body by eating snow”.https://www.sunnysports.com/blog/outdoor-myths-eating-snow-dehydration/
This designation of dogs as ‘property’is in stark contrast with our current understanding and appreciation of all animals -at least as far down the taxonomic scale to the earthworm- as sentient beings. So regardless of their utility to mankind-dogs are sentient-all dogs, not just some. Dogs are socially complex, endowed with intelligence and they lead rich emotionallives; capable of feeling pain and despair; or pleasure and joy. Our draconian laws and industry standards are discordant with modern societal attitudes. The killing of healthy animals is also in direct contravention of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association’s Animals in Sport and CompetitionPosition Statement which “requires that the animals’ long-term welfare be considered before being obtained for use in sport or competition"
The commercial sled dog operators push their dog’s psyche, their physical bodies and their physiologies to the limit- and often beyond-yet industry stakeholders are allowed to highly influence the setting ofsled dog welfare standards.As such, the already meager anti-cruelty legislation that protects ‘companion’ dogs is suspended for ‘sled’ dogs-even if the same dog were to assume different roles. Here, members of the same species- possibly even of the same litter- are treated differently by the legal system- based entirely upon their utility to mankind.And as a result, all of the FiveFreedoms, the very minimum standards that need to be met to ensureadequate animal welfare- have been violated to various degrees.
A life without freedoms- is mere existence. And in the case of culling-a life that is disposed of for being inconvenient- is as tragic as it is deplorable.The mass chain warehousing of dogs-where for most of their lives the dogs are denied everything natural to them, isolated from other dogs and humans,their bodies exposed to extremes of weather, day in and day out, and then disposed of when injured, ill or old- is at odds with legitimate dog care and societal attitudes everywhere in the Western world. Yet somehow this suffering becomes a legally acceptable ‘industry standard’ when someone stands to profit from this abuse.
Cruelty is cruelty is cruelty;regardless of how it is justified by those who stand to gain from it.Nonetheless, in the absence of any legal protections; sled dogs cannot be victims in the eyes of the law- no matter that they are sentient beings -and no matter the levels of cruelty they must routinely endure. Dogs are unconditional in their affection for humans, trusting by nature, and entirely beholden on humans for all of their needs. This makes dogs extremely vulnerable to us and imparts a great responsibility upon mankind. I am in full agreement with Mahatma Gandhi who once opined,
“To my mind, I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”
The standards of practice in commercial sled dog operations may be deemed legal in the eyes of the law; but they are inhumane and immoral in the eyes of the public, from which they are strategically hidden.
The Ontario Government say they want public opinion.
Please scroll to the bottom of the registry page and fill out the Consultation Paper- Proposal at the bottom of this registry page: https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?language=en&postingId=40207
and email it or just your comments on this Industry to: animalwelfareconsultation@ontario.ca no later than Monday, March 7, 2022.