Latest news with #animalprotection
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House committee rejects Trump effort to allow slaughter of wild horses
Wild horses in the Northern Nevada Virginia Range. (Photo courtesy of the American Wild Horse Campaign) President Donald Trump's effort to eliminate longstanding protections preventing the slaughter of America's wild horses hit a snag this week when the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations included language in an Interior Dept. funding bill that reaffirmed the protections. Trump's budget proposal to slash funding for the Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse and Burro program by 25% would have allowed the slaughter of some 64,000 federal protected wild horses in government holding facilities. 'The action by the House Appropriations Committee, in response to our June 11, 2025, letter, to again prohibit the slaughter of wild horses corrects an omission in the President's Budget Request,' U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat from Nevada, said in a statement to the Current. Trump's proposal 'would have also allowed for the large-scale transfer of wild horses and burros to foreign countries such as Canada and Mexico, where horse slaughter facilities continue to operate,' the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) said in a news release. The effort mirrored Trump's 2017 budget, which initially called for a 30% cut to the program's funding and the elimination of protections against slaughter. Congress restored the protections against killing the animals and augmented funding. The House bill appropriates $144 million to the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program. The measure 'reaffirms Congressional intent to prohibit slaughter and reflects the values of the American people,' Suzanne Roy, executive director of AWHC, said in a news release. Legislation introduced by Titus last week calls for the BLM to employ humane roundup techniques. 'Wild horses need to be protected from slaughter but also from helicopter roundups that can injure and kill them,' Titus said. 'What is needed now is action by Congress on my legislation to eliminate the use of helicopters in BLM wild horse roundups and require a report to explore the benefits of alternative methods for humanely gathering horses, such as employing traditional cowboys.' In the last five years, the government has spent at least $36.7 million on roundups, according to Titus, including more than $6 million paid in one year to helicopter roundup contractors. 'Scientific research has shown that more humane and cost-effective alternatives, like fertility control, are equally effective in controlling equine populations,' Titus said in a news release. 'The BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, however, currently spends less than four percent of its budget on these methods.'
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
‘We're going to continue to fight:' B.C. ostrich farm to fight case to cull its herd in Federal Court of Appeal
A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed in Edgewood, B.C., on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Hundreds of supporters flocked to the farm over the Victoria Day long weekend to protest the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's order to cull about 400 ostriches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens A B.C. ostrich farm that lost dozens of birds following an avian flu outbreak last winter will be fighting in the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa on Tuesday to stop an order to cull the remainder of its herd. Today's hearing marks the latest development in a legal battle by Universal Ostrich Farm, located near Edgewood, B.C., to save its birds. 'We're going to continue to fight with all that we have,' Katie Pasitney, the daughter of the farm owners, said in an interview with CTV News before the hearing. 'It is very real that if we are not guaranteed Supreme Court, if we don't make it here, we will be applying for Supreme Court.' After an avian flu outbreak was detected at the farm last December, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered the farm to cull its remaining herd of approximately 400 birds by Feb. 1, under its 'stamping out' policy, which aims to minimize risk to human health. The agency says the farm has not complied with the Health of Animals Act by failing to report the initial cases of illness and deaths to the CFIA, failing to adhere to quarantine orders and failing to undertake risk mitigation measures. In a statement on its website in May, the CFIA says, 'Given that the flock has had multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1 and the ongoing serious risks for animal and human health and trade, the CFIA continues planning for humane depopulation with veterinary oversight at the infected premises.' The farm owners argue the remainder of their herd is healthy and have fought for additional and independent testing. According to a website dedicated to saving the ostriches, Karen Espersen and Dave Bilinski, who have owned and worked on the farm for more than 30 years, stopped producing meat at the farm in 2020 and have shifted their focus to research. 'Science is meant to evolve. Policy is meant to evolve, and that's all we're asking is that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency gives us an offer or an option to research these animals more and prove to the Canadians that they are healthy,' Pasitney said. Asked by CTV News why the farm does not trust the expertise of the CFIA, Pasitney says, 'We have experts as well and we have scientific experts, a large panel of them that have really great qualifications.' Following the order to cull the herd, the farm applied for an exemption for animals with rare genetics because of the antibody research they conduct, but the CFIA denied that application on Jan. 10. The farm then applied to the Federal Court for a judicial review of the CFIA's order, but in May, the judge ruled in favour of the CFIA, saying the cull was reasonable and procedurally fair. The Federal Court of Appeal later denied the farm's request for independent testing on June 20 and ordered Tuesday's expedited appeal. The hearing is scheduled for one day. In a statement to CTV News, the CFIA says the agency 'looks forward to a resolution that allows for the continued implementation of its regulatory response, which aims to protect public and animal health, and minimize impacts on the domestic poultry industry and the Canadian economy.' With files from The Canadian Press
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Federal Court of Appeal to hear case of B.C. ostrich farm
A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed in Edgewood, B.C., on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Hundreds of supporters flocked to the farm over the Victoria Day long weekend to protest the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's order to cull about 400 ostriches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens OTTAWA — The B.C. ostrich farmers who lost 15 per cent of their herd in an outbreak of avian flu last winter are taking their fight to the Federal Court of Appeal today. The case is an appeal of a June ruling in the Federal Court which sided with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The agency ordered the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms to cull some 400 birds after 69 ostriches died in December and January. The farm applied for a judicial review of the CFIA's decision, but that was denied. The farmers say their herd is involved in research into the natural immunity of ostriches, and that the remaining birds are healthy. The CFIA notes the variant of avian flu found on the farm hadn't been found in Canada before, and the highly contagious virus can infect wild birds, mammals and humans. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
CTV News
03-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Paws, protection and pet care
Paws, protection and pet care Jennifer Medlicott, Winnipeg Animal Services, shares how you can help pets like Yoshi find a home.
CBC
20-06-2025
- CBC
Beware of people impersonating animal protection officers in P.E.I., humane society warns
The P.E.I. Humane Society is warning Islanders that it's been getting reports of plain-clothed people claiming to be animal protection officers. The group says it's not sure why this is happening. CBC's Nicola MacLeod explains.
