Every day, innumerable defenseless creatures are being put to death. Shelters that promised to never take an animal's life, those listed as 'no-kill shelters', are breaking their vows due to lack of space and inability to treat minor illnesses and injuries. Most of these animals are adoptable but have been robbed of their opportunity to find a loving, forever home.

The issue is personal. The indiscriminate killing of animals in shelters must be brought to an end, and it is up to us to make it happen. But it is not only about emotions, it is about saving lives.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), roughly 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized each year, a figure that has been decreasing since 2011 thanks to various rescue efforts, but is still alarmingly high. Additionally, it has also been highlighted that many of these victims are euthanized due to treatable diseases or because of overcrowding, both preventable problems.

We need to reinstate accountability for the lives these shelters are charged with protecting. The killing must stop, and the promises made by these shelters need to be upheld. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that every animal is given the chance at a fulfilling life they deserve.

This petition aims at enforcing strict monitoring and regulation of animal shelters, ensuring that animals are not killed because of space limitations or treatable conditions. We demand that organizations be held accountable for the promises they make, and any disregard for animal life be dealt with severally and swiftly.

Euthanasia is prevalent across Canada, where 'kill shelters' are forced to euthanize animals that aren't adopted within a certain timeframe.

Moreover, it's important to note that many of these animals end up in shelters due to abusive owners who face little or no consequences for their actions. Stricter laws need to be implemented against animal abusers as they contribute significantly towards this crisis. 

We urge lawmakers and relevant authorities across Canada to put an end to expedited euthanasia by extending the timeframe given for animal adoption and implementing stricter laws against animal abuse. By doing so, we can ensure that more innocent lives are saved from unnecessary euthanasia while holding those responsible accountable.

Euthanasia should be used (1) when a dog is suffering from a condition for which veterinary medicine cannot offer a cure or solution at any cost; (2) the condition is already causing the animal severe pain for which palliative measures are not available. 
We know that euthanasia is a way to manage animal overpopulation in the shelters ; however, euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals imposes a significant cost, affecting the health and well-being of the shelter staff involved. Animal euthanasia causes health issues and emotional stress in employees and volunteers involved. It has caused numerous staff and volunteers to no longer stay working at shelters that 'euthanize' animals because of the toll it takes on their mental health. They do not want to see these animals killed either, however until there are stricter laws prohibiting it or other solutions to the overpopulation we are loosing valuable members of the animal welfare community.

Moreover, killing healthy animals has legal consequences and is considered a crime because euthanasia only treats the symptoms but not the cause of the problems of overpopulation. 

Shelters should help reduce the number of surrendered animals by focusing on communication strategies that focus on responsible pet ownership and also by extending the holding times for animals to be adopted and rescued. 

Food banks for animals need to be implemented and pet food companies should be highly encouraged to donate food each month to these food banks. Their profits are in the hundreds of millions each year. Without animals they would be out of business. Pet food companies are able to write these donations off each year as tax deductions making it a win-win situation for all.

Shelters should never euthanize a pregnant dog, mother and their weeks-old puppies and shouldn't accept a pet that is surrendered without offering solutions to the owner. Pets are surrendered because the owner cannot afford vet care or they may face financial constraints. I  believe reducing birth rates has a great influence on reducing dog relinquishment and consequently euthanasia. 

It is essential to develop strategies to control overpopulation such as providing education to owners about spaying -neutering and creating free sterilization programs for low and medium -income families. It's crucial to educate our population about voluntary sterilization as an effective way to reduce shelter intake.

I believe that spaying - neutering has several advantages (1) promotes health and longevity to our pets (2) reduce the risk of certain life-threatening infections, such as uterine infection, mammary and prostate cancer (3) improve pet behavioural issues that lead owners to surrender their pets. 

Spaying-neutering doesn’t just enhance pet’s well -being , it also alleviate the burden on animal shelters and rescues who frequently experience limited resources and space.

I believe that all the provinces in Canada should promote spay-neuter practices in stationary shelters and mobile clinics, along with making low-cost spay-neuter surgery programs more available to the regular public. This can be done by increasing the number of contract spay-neuter partnerships to increase the overall availability of surgeries.

Furthermore, we can control animal overpopulation by promoting more foster programs and having sufficient marketing that supports the regular use of social media platforms to advertise adoptable animals. 

As well, a country wide data base should be implemented and advertised, whereas all adoptable animals are listed  noting all there attributes and characteristics. This is a good way to increase awareness of the current animal situation. 

All Cities needs to develop a No-Kill plan to reduce shelter deaths. This can be achieved by 1) adopting new perspectives toward zero animal euthanasia.2) networking with rescue organizations to implement the best animal and welfare practices. 3) the development of the 'working cat' program in all cities and communities countrywide. 

Federal animal laws need to be enforced to protect animal welfare in every province in Canada. People who are involved in animal cruelty are violating the animal code and we must stop this barbarism.

We need to stop human violence against animals and we need to ask our government and other identities to have animal abuser registries that intend to alert the public to the presence of animal cruelty offenders in our community. Offenders should be registered at shelters and any other animal identities to prevent them from abusing any other animals. The government needs to create a maximum penalty for those who commit this type of crime.

We also need harsh restrictions and laws towards breeders. Breeders should register and have a license that is renewed annually by a licensed inspector. The government needs to have more regulations regarding adopting dogs from private breeders. The government should force the breeders to report each litter and track litters to prevent over-breeding within related dogs to avoid the inevitable health conditions related to inbreeding. Moreover, female dogs should have a limit on how many litters they can have over their lifetime therefore stopping the over-breeding of the mothers. 

Strict record keeping needs to be implemented, regarding the health and exercise program of each animal in their care and submitted to an overseeing body. Any violation found would serve to strip the breeder of their license permanently.  No exceptions. 

Unannounced inspections with a licensed veterinarian to be made semi annually to verify records and check all animals at the facility.

If the breeder is for profit, they need to claim all taxes showing where that money comes from. Private breeders should be made to spay-neuter the litter before selling the puppies. This avoids animal overpopulation, and this would ease the burden of animal shelters  and rescues.

There needs to be mandatory laws forcing all animals to be spay-neutered at age six months. No exceptions.  Strong fines and penalties would then be enforceable by Animal Control Officers.

Overall, the government needs to enforce laws that protect animals and do a better job of protecting the welfare of every animal from cruel conditions and illegal puppy mills. Ontario just passed a law banning puppy mills, now we must do the same with backyard breeders.

Since non- profit organizations rely on solid donations the government needs to allocate a percentage of the tax payers money to animals rescue organizations so they can save more innocent lives. Taxpayers money can be used to spay-neuter animals and to promote national campaigns to improve foster care. Social media advertisement and fostering partnerships with community engagement can be a great way to connect with small businesses and stakeholders to eliminate euthanasia in all provinces.

There also needs to be a ban of the sale of animals in pet stores and on websites such a kijiji, Craigslist and others. Pet stores that help shelters and rescue organizations find loving forever homes for adoptable pets should be allowed to continue but also monitored.

One other option that needs to be addressed is the discrimination against pet owners when in comes to renters. Some provinces already have laws against landlords who refuse housing because someone has a pet. This needs to be the same in every province.  This practice would stop pet owner surrenders and abandonments because they must choose between having a roof over their head or a pet. Inturn this would also help reduce the number of homeless individuals living on the streets because they refuse to give up their furry family member. 

There are many areas of our social existence that are affected by this problem we are facing and if we come together we can change it. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

Please sign this petition if you believe every animal deserves a chance at life and love. Let us work together toward creating a better world for our furry friends! Let's stand together for animal rights. We need these changes in every province.

By signing this petition you have the opportunity to protect an animal from cruelty, exploitation and homelessness. Your support of the petition below will create a better life for animals and families. In addition, we want better attitudes towards zero euthanasia of treatable and adoptable animals. Please sign today.