TORONTO – Mike Schreiner, released the following statement in response to World Animal Protection’s investigative report Nothing New at the Zoo, which documents multiple instances of cruelty to animals and unsafe practices at roadside zoos in Ontario.
“I strongly condemn the inhumane practices at roadside zoos in Ontario and call on the Premier’s government to shut down facilities that exploit animal suffering for profit.
World Animal Protection’s investigative report, Nothing New at the Zoo, details the appalling conditions these animals endure and the miserable lives they live.
It’s heartbreaking to read the results of the investigation – exotic and native animals kept in horrendous conditions at ill-equipped facilities; enclosures either too small or constructed in an unsafe manner; and unsafe interactions between humans and animals that cause harm to both.
How many more stories of animal handler deaths or visitor harm do we need to read before anything is done?
I call on the government to immediately step up enforcement of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act standards and ban the acquisition, possession, breeding, and use of wild animals for entertainment.”
Read the World Animal Protection Nothing New at the Zoo.