In the NewsDecember 22, 2009 – CNW Telbec October 14, 2009 – The Montreal Gazette October 7, 2009 October 7, 2009 – The Canadian Press September 2009 August 26, 2009 – The Ottawa Citizen June 27, 2009 – CTV.ca 24 mars, 2009 – Québec (French only) February 28, 2009 – CTV Montreal February 15, 2009 – The Guardian December 17, 2008 – CTV.ca November 20, 2008 – Radio-Canada Quebec closes in on puppy mills ...but activitists warn problem far from over... By Diodora Bucur, 
Anima Quebec has inspected more than 200 breeding facilities across the province in the year since Quebec's Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pècheries et de l'Alimentation mandated the organization to enforce the province's decade-old animal welfare law, in hopes of cracking down on Quebec's infamous puppy mills. It is believed that as many as 2,000 unregulated mills operate in the province where animals live in poor conditions. Anima Quebec spokeswoman Nicole Blouin says the inspections resulted in the closure of two breeding facilities and recommendations to a number of breeders. "So far, we visited more than 200 operations," said Blouin, who did not elaborate on the recommendations or the type of operations they inspected. Under the provincial law, breeders must provide food, water and a clean environment for animals. "[The two breeders] decided to shut down on their own initiative because they could not respect the norms set by the province. We did not have to take legal action," she continued. "We will also follow up on the cases we inspected last year and if they did not respect our recommendations, then we could fine them. "Asked whether inspectors came across cases of animal abuse, Blouin said they are not prosecuting such cases which fall under the federal Criminal Code: "We are applying the provincial law." In Quebec, animal welfare falls under the jurisdiction of the agriculture ministry and not justice. Blouin was speaking on behalf of the government-subsidized organization regrouping not only members of the agriculture ministry, the Ordre des médecins vétérinaires du Québec, animal welfare organizations, but also industry stakeholders like the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). Which is why Pierre Barnoti of the SPCA Montreal feels Anima Quebec's comments should be taken with a grain of salt. "They have sitting on its board the representative of the pet industry, a member of which are the puppy mills. It's like the government giving the tobacco industry the power to police themselves while encouraging people not to smoke. It's laughable," he said. "We do not [inspect] 200 puppy mills in a year, but when we do inspections we see [puppy mills], and what Anima Quebec is saying is that they are going through all of these inspections and they have found nothing - everything is fine. "I resigned from Anima Quebec... It's a farce. "Barnoti insists Quebec should follow Ontario's example and give the SPCA the legal tools to uproot puppy mills. "They have a law in Ontario that protects animals, which is called the SPCA Act with 281 inspectors of the Ontario SPCA applying it," said Barnoti. "We are asking the Quebec government to give us the same power as the Ontario SPCA. "Toni Belschner of La Société Québécoise pour la Défense des Animaux (SQDA) accused Anima Quebec of keeping animal rights groups like hers at arm's length. "I'm anxious to see them be a little more transparent and be willing to work with other groups... It's too political," she said, adding that she knows of a number of inspectors who failed to land jobs with Anima Quebec. "Anybody who sought a paid job was never responded to. "We have so many puppy mills because people are buying from them. In other provinces, they are cracking down. But in Quebec, we still haven't cracked down and now it has gotten worse because the mills are not regulated."Blouin downplayed the conflict-of-interest allegations, saying the pet industry has only one seat on Anima Quebec's nine-member board. "It's important that all animal community stakeholders sit on the board of Anima Quebec," she said. "One seat is one voice and that doesn't give powers to control the board."It's important to have the industry on board because they can sensitize people from their milieu to the wellbeing of animals." |
