Animal activists are demanding that international puppy mills be banned from importing dogs into Canada after an Ukrainian flight packed with puppies to be sold landed in Toronto last Friday with 38 dead dogs.

About 500 dogs had landed at Pearson International Airport last Saturday aboard an Ukraine International Airlines flight, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Thirty-eight were found dead on arrival, and many others were sick.

According to activists, dogs shipped onboard these flights usually come from puppy mills and are crammed onboard with limited space, and no water or food for hours, destined to be sold for thousands of dollars online on websites such as Kijiji.

A petition asking the Government of Quebec to prohibit the commercial sale of animals on online classified sites in Quebec was presented to the National Assembly of Quebec on May 26, 2020. The Quebec Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, Energy and Natural Resources has until September 29, 2020 to take up this petition during its working session.