Animal welfare in Canada took a huge step forward this week. Bill S-5 passed the Senate, amending the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and creating a clear path for Canada to phase out the cruel and unnecessary practice of chemical testing on animals.
More than 40 countries worldwide have already banned chemical testing on animals, and Canada is committed to joining their ranks.
The smog was obviously top of mind this week. After waking up Tuesday morning to a red sky and air thick with the smell of burning pine, it was hard to think about anything else.
“There is no power greater for change than a community discovering what it cares about.” ― Margaret Wheatley
Earlier this month, I found myself in a room with hundreds of other animal welfarists, talking about the future for animals in our country. This was the Humane Canada annual conference, and as a movement, we have many reasons to be proud!
Surrendering a pet is a tough and personal decision. We’ve shared before some of the reasons that would bring a pet to the OHS and how we’ll do whatever we can to keep a pet with a family who loves and cares for them.
There is a unique story behind every animal who comes to the OHS, but we have noticed a common thread over the past year. One of the most frequent reasons owners need to surrender their pet is that they simply have too many.
They roam your house, use a litter box, are best kept indoors, should be spayed/neutered, and their homeless population has been exploding.
Sound familiar? Well, I’m not talking about cats, but rabbits.
Around September 2021, we declared our rabbit population a burgeoning crisis. Rabbits were coming to us in entire litters, easily cruising into the double digits. It was a bunny-palooza.
It’s that time of year when we start to see a rising number of kittens and momma cats who need our help. During the winter months, we were taking in somewhere between 150 and 200 cats each month. During the spring and summer months, this increases by more than 100 cats monthly.
In all the years I’ve worked for the Ottawa Humane Society, I haven’t seen an end to the different ways an animal might need our help.
A cat with a gunshot wound in his leg. A dog who had crawled into a car engine to escape the cold. A Guinea pig with ovarian cysts. Floods of homeless bunnies needing shelter, care and love. A momma cat who needed a C-section to save her life and the lives of her kittens.
Many hands make life-saving work at the Ottawa Humane Society possible. One of these essential groups is our amazing team of volunteers — close to 800 strong.
This past week, we celebrated National Volunteer Week, and we took the chance to showcase a few of the people who are a part of this selfless team.
I had the honour last week of meeting with shelters, advocates and people who care about animals from all over North America and even around the globe at the Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Expo.
We talked about the challenges we are facing as leaders in the humane movement. Ways that we can better serve our communities. And, of course, how we can do more for animals in need.
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