Inside the world of Foreign Pet Importation:
Canadians Killing with Kindness
Canada: A Culture of Giving
Canadians are a kind and generous people. Research from Statistics Canada show that in
2010, about 23.8 million Canadians donated more than $10.6 Billion to
charitable and nonprofit organizations and 47% of our population volunteered
over 2 Billion hours of unpaid time to help those less fortunate than
themselves. This does not include one of
the most remarkable features of Canadian life - the extent to which we reach
beyond our families and friends to lift up others in our communities by helping
directly (In 2007, 84% gave monetary help outside the domain of charitable
organizations). In spite of revenue
Canada's unremarkable tax deductions for charitable donations (as a
non-refundable tax credit, it can only be used to reduce tax owed, not taxable
income), we dig deep and have no qualms about helping those in need, even when
the organization isn't a registered charity.
Moreover, that generosity extends beyond our borders in the form of
foreign aid provided by our federal government from our tax dollars. In 2012, Canada's foreign aid spending
totaled over $5.6 Billion, or approximately $165.30 per Canadian. We give. We care. We help, because we are a
nation built upon a culture of compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.
A Confusing Legacy
It is this same compassionate spirit that moves us to action
when we are made aware of the neglect, abuse and abandonment endured by
millions of animals in other countries. If there is a seminal moment in history
that shaped the evolution of foreign rescue, it is Hurricane Katrina in 2005,
when among others, ad hoc Canadian-based rescue organizations responded to the
images of more than 70,000 pets that either perished or were left to fend for
themselves. As a result of incredible government shortsightedness and the
woefully inadequate Stafford Act , animals were excluded from state and federal
evacuation plans and evacuees were prohibited from bringing family pets with them, some of which were shot by deputies rather than brooking any opposition
from their owners.
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Stranded
dogs during Hurricane Katrina.
(Photo:
Courtesy of Niagara
Blog)
|
Overburdened shelters quickly scrambled to find new homes
for pets that had not been claimed within an ambiguous holding time while
other, less adoptable pets were overlooked and left languishing in shelters
over 6 years later. According to the
Louisiana SPCA, animal rescuers flocking to the city in the aftermath forced
their way into homes, often illegally, refusing to take any direction from the
local SPCA and leaving many homes with "gaping doors and broken
windows", vulnerable to looting or worse. Many owners, upon returning to find where their pets were
being held, were horrified to discover that some had already been adopted out
to new homes, some as far away as California.
Several of these stories ended in custody lawsuits filed by desperate
owners and championed by animal rights lawyers like Steven M. Wise, who felt
that the undercurrent driving the re-homing many of the animals was shaped by
the belief that richer, whiter families would be better able to care for their
pets than they would. What began with
good intentions soon snowballed into a social justice issue tied to people's
worthiness to own pets, despite the original cause of their separation having
been beyond their control.
...True and tender is the North
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Over
100 dogs were transported from shelters
in California to an adoption event organized by 'Thank Dog I Am Out' Rescue on Oct. 4,2014. (Photo: Courtesy of VanCityBuzz) |
The trickle of importation that began with a few individuals helping animals critically in need of rescue has swelled to torrential proportions - with policy, legislation and specific training for CBSA border agents lagging way behind, unable to deal with the growing numbers effectively. Most Canadians are also truly oblivious to the reality of animal homelessness here, where there seems to be a mistaken belief that our pets are 'safe' from such horrors. It is hidden behind widespread ignorance and its impact is obscured by inadequate representation in the media. Compounded by the lack of co-operation by many animal care organizations to divulge euthanasia statistics and the government's lack of interest in collecting this data, the true picture of local animal welfare deals a black eye squarely to our Canadian 'culture of compassion'.
Collateral Damage
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Millie
and her 6 puppies were rescued from a Northern community
in Manitoba.
(Photo: Courtesy of 'Here There and Everywhere in
Canadian Animal Rescue' Blog)
|
Elsewhere in our country, cats and dogs in 'kill-for-space' shelters are being euthanized by the hundreds of thousands, some still using gas chambers to expedite the task. Even among people who are aware of gassing at shelters, there is a mistaken understanding that the animals just fall asleep peacefully. The realities, however, can be far more gruesome. From the HSUS euthanasia gas chamber fact sheet:
"These animals are placed into a small, dark, hot box, filled with the lingering smells of the animals who came before them—many of whom sweated, urinated, defecated before dying. If placed in the chamber with more than one animal, they may begin fighting out of fear and desperation. The strange sights, sounds, and noises often escalate the panic. For several minutes they may exist in this state of terror, clawing and calling for a way out. They may struggle to for air or begin convulsing before finally losing consciousness ...Under the best circumstances it takes minutes before an animal loses consciousness inside a gas chamber, during which time she experiences this terror. But if the animal is young, old, ill, injured, or highly stressed, it can take much, much longer. In the worst cases, the animal is still conscious while his vital organs begin to shut down. In some cases, the animal actually lives through this nightmare, only to find herself in the box for a second try."
In fact, it is estimated that over 500,000 dogs and cats are
euthanized every year in the province of Quebec alone, many coinciding with
their July 1st province-wide moving date. During this time, tenants who have signed leases with no-pet clauses abandon or relinquish their pets, increasing the burden on a shelter and rescue system
already overcrowded from puppy mill seizures. Additionally, it is estimated that
600,000 homeless cats did not find homes in 2011, and at least 41% of shelter cats
(grossly underestimated due to the lack of data) are euthanized.
 | |||
Kelsey
was rescued from a garbage bin, abandoned and thrown
out
like trash in Northern Manitoba. (Photo:
Courtesy
of 'Here There and Everywhere in Canadian
Animal
Rescue' Blog)
|
More often than not, however, the dogs will easily enter our country fully sponsored, leaving the adoption fees and donations to be collected by the importing groups, many of whom are registered with Revenue Canada as 'charitable organizations', with little or no monetary help in sight for the rescues in those faraway places. Many of these mass shipments are puppies and small dogs, both of which are cheaper to transport, some with serious health and behavioural problems. Often ending in a quick turnaround to adoptive homes with little or no follow-up, it bears the hallmarks of an offshore puppy mill, with all the associated animal welfare issues and profit motivations. Although there are a few rescues that deal ethically with foreign pets, there are the unscrupulous groups that collect up litters of puppies and leave the mother dogs behind, without spaying or providing her with basic veterinary care, at risk of becoming pregnant again and feeding the already vicious cycle of pet overpopulation. All of this happens while thousands of puppies right here are seized from puppy mills, abandoned in fields, thrown out in dumpsters or cardboard boxes and rescued from northern dog culls only to languish in rescues and shelters, while they await adoptive homes.
Out of the frying pan...
But what of those animals that are moved, sometimes packed by the dozens in truckloads, sometimes by travellers who make a snap decision to save a dog they met on vacation? Ground transport by truck or van can be dangerous as 'rescue transporters' often drive long distances without breaks (for them or the dogs) leading to crashes and rollovers. International flights from exotic destinations can have complex routing, connections and layovers. This means that a dog could potentially be crated, without respite, for periods of time that amount to nothing short of animal abuse. Even shorter flights are not without their challenges to animal welfare and require experience and compassion to co-ordinate. Cargo areas without climate control, no consistency in regulations and protocols from one airline to another and a lack of oversight means some dogs may sit, overheated and exhausted, in their own urine and feces for hours with no access to water (which may have been displaced from their bowl during handling or turbulence) and unable to relieve themselves. The good rescues work to minimize these challenges. The bad ones just don't care.
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Donation
page to 'Help Save Leo' the paralyzed dog, so that he
could be
brought to Canada from Thailand. He was in 'cargo'
transit for over 30
hours, unable to control his bladder or bowels.
(Photo:
Courtesy of GoFundMe)
|
The Canadian traveller managed to recruit the assistance of a Thai veterinarian to prepare him to be shipped to Ottawa - a minimum 30 hour transit in the cargo-hold of a plane - a nightmare for a disabled dog who was under veterinary orders for a catheter to express his bladder and who later developed bloody urine due to an infection. She started a facebook page and GoFundMe campaign that raised over $6100.00 and which was to be used to pay for transportation and veterinary costs for his care. Three months later, Leo is now in Canada with no foster and no set plans for an adoptive home. The young tourist, having reached out in the hopes that one of the Canadian rescues in Ottawa would take him, found his daily care was too large of a commitment, one neither she nor her family were willing to make. Given that he is paralyzed, has no bowel control, cannot express his own bladder, has bladder stones and wounds and abrasions on his knees where they dragged on the pavement, it will take a very special person indeed. In the interim, Leo has been effectively abandoned, without any follow-up veterinary care and with no adoptive home. Would the veterinarian in Thailand, being made aware of Leo's uncertain fate awaiting this soul, be convinced that this was the best outcome? Linda Rohdin, from Air Angels described the situation this way:
"We all agree this wasn't well thought out.... Let's blame the press for promoting a desire in pet lovers to read their name in headlines & 'save a life' story - a death row syndrome ....lately I've read several articles about individuals, not groups, not 'team players', not individuals who have a history of researching or being mentored in the rescue world....individuals who simply react. The Press rarely, if ever, does a follow up story on the results of [these individuals'] actions....Ego, prestige & two seconds of fame....I think that's what fuels the desire & somewhere in the background is a love for animals."The questions that this raises in the minds of so many is why this traveller wouldn't have reached out to one of the local rescues in Thailand and tried to help Leo get care there? Soi Dog Foundation in Phuket has a sponsorship program and is committed to "improving the welfare of dogs and cats in Thailand, resulting in better lives for both the animal and human communities, to end animal cruelty, and to ultimately create a society without homeless animals". This organization has reached a milestone of over 71,000 dogs and cats sterilized as of August, 2014 and has rescued dogs and cats in the most dire of circumstances. I am sure they would have been willing to help and would have been thankful for the monetary assistance. Since many Thai vets will not euthanize under any circumstances as it is contrary to their beliefs, Leo would have been guaranteed humane care.
In a rough calculation, $6150.00 (the amount she collected through her GoFundMe campaign) could pay for a local rescue inThailand to spay/neuter a minimum of 70-80 dogs. This is based on my best guess from what we were quoted by vets that do a lot of spay/neuter surgeries for rescues in foreign countries (@ $70-80US). It can be higher, but the rescues often work directly with compassionate veterinarians that deeply discount their services to help with pet overpopulation locally. In fact, our source in Thailand indicated that a spay/neuter for a dog could be procured for around 1,000-1500 Baht or $30-45 US! Given that an intact female and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies within 6 years, spaying 70 dogs would potentially prevent the birth of 4,690,000 puppies!! Instead, this poor soul, who could have easily been sponsored in Thailand and spared this ordeal, sits in limbo, a victim of lack of foresight and commitment. Truly, this is a colossal tragedy.
[UPDATE: After his arrival on October 19th, Leo was finally transported from a pet sitter in Ottawa to a foster home in Sarnia, Ontario on October 28th. A veterinary visit was scheduled for October 31st.]
We see them scratching out a marginal existence on the fringes of foreign societies or languishing in high-kill shelters south of the border and we feel compelled to help. Our compassion turns to guilt as pets around the world are faced with death or worse while we live under the naive belief that ours are safe, warm and loved. Ask any Canadian if they are aware that we shoot stray dogs for population control or if those that are considered 'surplus', unwanted and unloved, are stuffed into gas chambers crying, screaming, defecating and dying while trying to catch their last breath. The majority will look at you in horror and likely answer with an emphatic: 'No way - not in Canada'. Yes, we Canadians kill dogs.
We see them scratching out a marginal existence on the fringes of foreign societies or languishing in high-kill shelters south of the border and we feel compelled to help. Our compassion turns to guilt as pets around the world are faced with death or worse while we live under the naive belief that ours are safe, warm and loved. Ask any Canadian if they are aware that we shoot stray dogs for population control or if those that are considered 'surplus', unwanted and unloved, are stuffed into gas chambers crying, screaming, defecating and dying while trying to catch their last breath. The majority will look at you in horror and likely answer with an emphatic: 'No way - not in Canada'. Yes, we Canadians kill dogs.
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| VSPCA provides rescue, sanctuary and sterilization for street dogs in India. They also feed the 'poorest of the poor' humans living at the margins of society. (Photo: Courtesy of VSPCA website) |
The Numbers Game
So how many animals are we really talking about? The media has been quick to pick up stories about individuals and organizations saving dogs from abuse and neglect in other countries. Collecting statistics on the actual numbers of imported animals has proven to be a challenge, however, since nobody seems to be keeping track. There are three government agencies whose responsibility it should be to monitor, screen and regulate the importation of pets into Canada: The CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) and Statistics Canada. Shockingly, none of these agencies are in the habit of collecting any numbers or details. At any given time, they are completely unaware of how many dogs and cats are crossing the border by land or air. Insufficient (or non-existent) data collection makes it virtually impossible to arrive at true figures and this lack of hard numbers makes advocacy to improve standards that much more daunting a task.
But a small independent group of rescue and transport volunteers, Canadian Rescue Standards & Best Practices, advocating for the improvement of pet importation standards for over two years, has dedicated hundreds of hours doing what the government has failed
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| (Photo: Courtesy of CRSBP) |
By working with Canadian rescue transporters such as Air Angels and Pilots 'n Paws Canada and networking within an extensive community, they have managed to compile an extensive list of rescues known to import canines by ground transport or as cargo on flights into Canada. Adding the names of agencies that are known to solicit the help of individual travellers to accompany the dogs as 'escorts', they scoured thousands of social media and website posts for details about place of origin, transport legs (handing off dogs to a new transport person in specified cities to complete the 'relay') numbers and follow-up as to where the dogs ended up once they arrived.
On other occasions, instead of shipping the dogs as cargo on
airlines like West Jet or Air Transat, the dogs are relocated by American air
rescue transport organizations like Wings of Rescue or Freedom Train Animal Rescue Transports. The
Canadian Standards group's methods are both labour-intensive and time-consuming
but their commitment has not waned. In
fact their passion for action is constantly being renewed as their research
continues to shine a light on the scope of pet importation transgressions that
are occurring right under the noses of
the CFIA and CBSA. Their research has
revealed an influx of nearly 1000 dogs imported into Ontario alone from January-October, 2014. Factoring in the numerous importations that happen
'under the radar' then multiplying to account for 10 provinces engaging in
routine foreign importation as part of their order of business, and with some
provinces like British Columbia who have already imported thousands of dogs from
California shelters, we are likely looking at numbers in the tens of thousands
per year. All of this while hundreds of
thousands are being euthanized, languish in shelters or are being shot within
Canada. Incredible.
Worms and Germs
Besides the animal welfare implications of pet importation, there are the additional considerations that must be made when veterinary requirements are either not being met or where standards are inadequate to protect our own pets from imported zoonotic diseases. In response to the influx of dogs rescued from Louisiana post-Hurricane Katrina and after the government relaxed importation regulations so that more of these animals could be brought into Canada, there was a noticeable spike in the incidence of heartworm disease. The following is an excerpt from a 2009 SUN article by Peter Worthington:
"According to the Hamilton Academy of Veterinarian Medicine, a 'huge increase' in heartworm disease in dogs - 10X the normal in 2008 - threatens to reach epidemic proportions and will take years to curtail. The prime reason: Abandoned dogs imported from Louisiana by the Hamilton SPCA after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which hadn't been adequately tested...What started as a humane gesture...has become a fixture with humane societies in Southern Ontario. In 2008, some 600 dogs from Louisiana reached Hamilton SPCA, most under 8 months old that have nothing to do with hurricane season. The puppies, billed as 'rescued', were sold for adoption by the Hamilton SPCA for $470 each. Most of the imported dogs are supplied by the Louisiana dog rescue firm BARK (Boudreaux Animal Rescue Krewe) which gets dogs from across the southern states - prime heartworm country."
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| Heartworm Positive dog looking for foster to be imported from Georgia to Nova Scotia. (Photo: Courtesy of CRSBP) |
But heartworm is not the only looming danger when pet importation is under-regulated and poorly enforced. In his 'Worms and Germs' blog, Dr. Scott Weese of the Ontario Veterinary College's Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses discussed a 2011 study in which 414 dogs and 15 cats that had been recently transported from the Gulf Coast region post-Katrina "showed evidence of previous or current vector-borne infections" with 49% and 56% having been exposed to Heartworm and West Nile virus respectively.
More recently, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (ABVMA) reported a cluster of Canine Brucellosis cases which could be traced back to dogs that had been imported from Mexico. In August 2012, the Ontario Ministry of Health released a disease advisory about a rescue group that had been importing dogs from Greece, several of which were later diagnosed with Leishmaniasis, another disease which is not endemic to Canada but whose origins can be traced back to areas along the Mediterranean coast and the Southern USA and Mexico.
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| Young puppy being treated for Canine Parvovirus. (Photo: Courtesy of PetBucket.com) |
Legislation. Awareness. Advocacy
It is truly staggering how very few Canadians are aware that our archaic, 100-year-old federal legislation still treats our companion animals as property. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, your Rex and Fluffy are protected from 'WILFUL AND FORBIDDEN ACTS IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN PROPERTY: Cattle and other animals' - SECTION 444-447- right between 'interfering with international boundary marks' and 'counterfeit money'. They have no more fundamental rights than a table or your old sofa. Although each province has managed to create their own version of animal welfare legislation to fill in the gaps, most of the existing laws are toothless and when they are enforced, which isn't very often, it seldom leads to a conviction because of the need to prove that an act was intentional.
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An example of how 'rescues'' importing foreign dogs are
managing to circumvent the regulations at the
Canadian Border in an effort to deliberately deceive
the CBSA and CFIA. (Photo: Courtesy of CRSBP)
|
In the absence of reasonable importation legislation, one organization, Air Angels, voluntarily created its own transport standards and has supported international groups by trying to educate the public on safe procedures. Although there are some that have risen above the low bar set by the CFIA, many just aren't concerned enough to make it a priority.
Provided that rescues and shelters increase the transparency of import activities so that both their donors and our veterinary and public health agencies can assess the risks and benefits, and provided that public policy reflects a commitment to local, responsible pet ownership initiatives, humane relocation can be helpful. The caveat is that without a concomitant increase in funding of local, sustainable spay/neuter programs and public outreach in the region of export, the transportation chess game that currently exists poses an enormous animal welfare and public health challenge and ultimately does nothing to address the tragedies of pet overpopulation. This is why the ethical rescue would have already visited the community from which they import and partnered with agencies there to assist them with their responsible pet ownership programs.
Ask questions! It is incumbent on each and every one of us who is truly committed to improving animal welfare to do our due diligence when dealing with any rescue organization. They are not all created equal and although there are many dedicated individuals who represent ethical rescues with sound practices, sadly, there are several who have become very adept not only at circumventing our importation regulations and tax laws but who are masters at manipulating well-meaning, intelligent people who feel compelled to help. These are the rescues who manufacture their own truths, seek to distort or minimize the reality of animal welfare issues in Canada and continue to broker and import pets under false pretenses for the sake of profit. These are also the other rescues who despite having good intentions, are not fulfilling their responsibility to the animals they rescue nor to our public health system when they choose not to educate themselves about importation regulations. We should be writing our policy-makers and legislators to ensure that our health, that of our pets and the welfare of animals both within and outside of Canada is impacted by neither the laxity nor lack of enforcement of our laws.
We owe it as much to each other as we do to other animals.
As Ernest Dimnet once wrote: "The happiness of most people is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things". Let's do better to protect our culture of compassion.
Additional Resources
We urgently need the help of Canadians (pet owners or not) to raise awareness about this very important issue that affects us all. Please consider contacting one of the following agencies to ask questions and get answers. You may also wish to write to your local Member of Parliament or Member of Provincial Parliament and demand that this be brought forward on the next agenda:
Canadian Regulatory Bodies and Associations
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association
339 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7K1
Tel: (613) 236-1162 / (800) 567-2862
admin@cvma-acmv.org
http://www.canadianveterinarians.net/
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Connie Rajzman Connie.Rajzman@inspection.gc.ca
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/live-animals/pets/dogs/eng/1331876172009/1331876307796
Health Canada
Rona Ambrose, Federal Minister of Health
rona.ambrose@parl.gc.ca
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/contact/ahc-asc/minist-eng.php
College of Veterinarians of British Columbia (CVBC)
107-828 Harbourside Drive
North Vancouver, BC V7P 3R9
Tel: (604) 929-7090 / (800) 463-5399
Fax: (604) 929-7095
reception@cvbc.ca
www.cvbc.ca
Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (ABVMA)
Building #3, Elm Business Park
Suite 104, 9452 - 51 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T6E 5A6
Tel: (780) 489-5007 / (800) 404-2862
Fax: (780) 484-8311
abvmainfo@abvma.ca
www.abvma.ca
Dr. Phil Buote
Deputy Registrar / Complaints Director phil.buote@abvma.ca
Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association (SVMA)
202-224 Pacific Avenue
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 1N9
Tel: (306) 955-7862
Fax: (306) 975-0623
Judy Currie, DVM
svma@svma.sk.ca
www.svma.sk.ca
Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA)
1590 Inkster Blvd.
Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 2W4
Tel: (204) 832-1276 / (866) 338-6862
Fax: (204) 832-1382
Michelle Martin-Strong
alear@mvma.ca www.mvma.ca
Ontario Veterinary Medical Association
420 Bronte Street South,Suite 205
Milton, Ontario L9T 0H9
Tel: (905) 875-0756 / (800) 670-1702
Fax: (905) 875-0958 / (877) 482-5941
info@ovma.org
http://www.ovma.org/
College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO)
2106 Gordon St.
Guelph, Ontario N1L 1G6
Tel: (519) 824-5600 / (800) 424-2856
Fax: (519) 824-6497 / (888) 662-9479
inquiries@cvo.org
www.cvo.org
Ordre des médecins
vétérinaires du Québec (OMVQ)
800 avenue Ste-Anne, bureau 200St-Hyacinthe, Québec J2S 5G7Tel: (450) 774-1427 / (800) 267-1427
Fax: (450) 774-7635
info@omvq.qc.ca
www.omvq.qc.ca
Prince Edward Island Veterinary Medical Association (PEIVMA)
The Farm Centre Building
420 University Ave. Suite 100
Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7Z5
Tel: (902) 367-3757
Fax: (902) 838-5077
Dr. Gary Morgan
admin.peivma@gmail.com
www.peivma.com
New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association (NBVMA)
1700 Manawagonish Rd.
Saint John, New Brunswick E2M 3Y5
Tel: (506) 635-8100
Fax: (506) 635-2903
Dr. George Whittle
nbvma@rogers.com
www.nbvma-amvnb.ca
Newfoundland and Labrador College of Veterinarians (NLVetCollege)
P.O. Box 718
Carbonear, Newfoundland A1Y 1C2
Tel: (709) 597-4117
Fax: (709) 596-1506
nlvetcollege@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/site/nlvetcollege
Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association (NSVMA)
15 Cobequid Rd.
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia B4C 2M9
Tel: (902) 865-1876
Fax: (902) 865-2001
Dr. Frank Richardson
info@nsvma.ca
www.nsvma.ca
Northwest Territories
Department of Social Services
Government of the Northwest Territories
Box 1320, CST-8
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Tel: (867) 920-8058
Fax: (867) 873-0484
professional_licensing@gov.nt.ca
www.hlthss.gov.nt.ca
Nunavut
Registrar, Department of Health and Social Services
Government of Nunavut
Box 390
Kugluktuk, NU X0B 0E0
Tel: (867) 982-7655/7668
Fax: (867) 982-7640/3256
hssnunavutregistrar@gov.nu.ca
www.gov.nu.ca
The Plight our Northern dogs in Canada:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/02/02/volunteers-struggle-to-reduce-wild-dog-population-plaguing-native-reserves/http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.ca/2013/09/we-canadians-kill-dogs.html
http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.ca/2013/09/part-two-scope-of-problem.html
http://spokeonline.com/2014/02/stray-dogs-killed-in-canada-too/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brandon-shelter-forced-to-euthanize-young-dogs-1.965090
http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2014-01/jan27_14dog.html
http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2014/10/17/struggle-to-control-dangerous-stray-dogs-across-northern-canada/
http://dogswithnonames.com/
http://pawsforhope.org/building-capacity-to-rescue-the-removed-and-remote-vancouver-island-dog-rescue-society/
Foreign rescues:
http://pawsforhope.org/building-capacity-to-rescue-the-removed-and-remote-vancouver-island-dog-rescue-society/http://www.examiner.com/article/warning-signs-of-a-bad-rescue
http://furever.ca/when-animal-rescue-groups-dont-measure-up/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/give-us-your-mangy-masses/
http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/cindy-bruckart/impact-importing-dogs
http://globalnews.ca/news/1599077/watch-canadians-head-south-of-the-border-to-adopt-some-furry-friends/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2518371/Canadas-dog-shortage-solved-Las-Vegas-charity-rescued-1-000-homeless-dogs-certain-death-sold-500-north-border.html
http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/2053692-potcakes-up-for-adoption/
Standards and Regulations:
http://www.torontopetdaily.com/2014/05/some-must-read-statistics-on-canadas.htmlhttps://www.facebook.com/ArtsAirAngelsAnimalRescueTransferSociety/posts/124662817725714
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/anp/2013/12/13/canada-prohibits-puppy-imports-by-animal-welfare-agencies/
http://www.canadianveterinarians.net/documents/canadian-standards-of-care-in-animal-shelters
Post-Hurricane Katrina:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/7-years-after-katrina-new-orleans-is-overrun-by-wild-dogs/261530/2/Advocacy:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-mass-importation-of-puppies-into-canada.htmlhttp://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-rescue-overseas-arguments-for-against-sochi-russia-winter-olympics-stray-dogs
