Former Conservative MP Robert Sopuck's response to an op-ed about agricultural gag laws misses key points regarding the vulnerability of concentrated animal feeding operations to diseases and the lack of national biosecurity protocols for farms.
In response 'Animal rights activists threaten our health and food supply,' (The Hill Times, Oct. 8) to my previous op-ed 'Unjust, unwise, and unconstitutional: Bill C-275 has no place in Canada,' (The Hill Times, Oct. 30) about agricultural gag, or “ag-gag” laws, former Conservative MP Robert Sopuck misses the mark on several key points.
Sopuck rightly emphasizes the vulnerability of concentrated animal feeding operations (also known as CAFOs or, more colloquially, “factory farms”) to diseases, underscoring the necessity for stringent sanitation measures. One would think, given the stakes, that we would have national, standardized biosecurity protocols for farms, coupled with government oversight to ensure compliance. However, no such federal requirements or enforcement exists; there are only voluntary biosecurity guidelines published by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and a patchwork provincial system inadequate to the challenge of a borderless threat like disease. Riana Topan is the senior campaign manager with Humane Society International/Canad
Animal Rights Agricultural Gag Laws Diseases Biosecurity Protocols Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Factory Farms
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
B.C. animal rights activists disrupt SPCA fundraiserCharity’s supporters were forced to wait outside a Vancouver hotel banquet hall.
Read more »
Animal rights activists threaten our health and food supplyThe Hill Times
Read more »
Animal Rights Group Releases Video of Alleged Animal Abuse at Hog FarmAnimal Justice claims to have obtained a video showing animal abuse at Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford, B.C. The video reveals dead and rotting pigs, crushed piglets, and staff mistreating the animals. The BC SPCA is investigating the allegations.
Read more »
Animal Rights Group Releases Video of Alleged Animal Abuse at Abbotsford Hog FarmAnimal Justice claims to have obtained a video showing animal abuse at Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford, B.C. The video reveals dead and rotting pigs, crushed piglets, and staff mistreating the animals. The BC SPCA is investigating the allegations.
Read more »
Animal Rights Group Challenges Ontario Law Banning Undercover Investigations on FarmsA Canadian animal rights group argues in court that an Ontario law banning undercover investigations of animal cruelty on farms is unconstitutional.
Read more »
BEYOND LOCAL: Activists condemn government silence on animal care at MarinelandWith Marineland now closed for the off-season, the government is saying little publicly about its ongoing probe of the park, which began when the province took over enforcing animal cruelty laws from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Read more »