Mixed reactions are being received by the City Council in Port Capital, BC to ban mobile live animal programs and zoo.
On Tuesday, the council entrusted city employees to develop a policy banning these programs from operating on public or private property in the city.
“This is a really new decision. Port capital is the first municipality to pass the vote in this way, “said Nadia Zenakis, a wild animal expert with BC SPCA.
“(Events) are usually targeted to children and families where living animals are present; often they are foreign animals, wild animals of other countries are brought to Canada.”
The proposed policy is also getting approval from the Vancouver Human Society.
The Society says that live exhibits are dangerous for the physical and mental well -being of animals as well as public health and safety.
“It is extremely difficult to provide five freedoms of animal welfare to wild animals in captivity, generally, throughout the board, and then in these events, in particular, their physical safety,” Zenakis said.
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“They can be crawled on the floor. They can be misinterpreted. They are usually not given a break when interacting with the public … the environment is very loud – very noisy; They are very crowded. We do not know how the transportation was at these events.
According to BC SPCA, research suggests that there is a “slightly positive academic value” associated with these programs.
However, not everyone agrees.
“I am very disappointed with the whole situation. It is wrong for me to ban education, “said Wild Education BC owner Mike Hopcraft, a reptile-centered rescue center that offers a mobile presentation and in-house tour.
“We do not exploit animals there. We are not breeding and selling animals because they believe we are doing. We teach people there about animals so we hope that we do not get so much resources. This is our big thing, education and they want to stop it.
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Langli -based Wild Education BC took over 150 animals last year, including Terentula, tortoise, snake and other reptiles.
The animals selected in their care often interact with people through mobile presentation and in-house tours.
“(We) save the largest reptile in the West Canada. Often, we have the only option for these animals, “Hopcraft said. “If the City Council gains their way and they ban these presentations, it will carry a large portion of our income to take care of animals.”
Hopcraft says that every animal in Wild Education BC is legal in the province without a permit, but it agrees that some household pet should not be.
“When it comes to animals, there are many rules in this province that do not make much sense. I wish they would consult more people like us while making rules, “Hopcraft said.
“I’m afraid,” he added. “There can be a time soon where all we do is illegal, and then the source of income for our animals is gone, and then this rescue goes away.”
The BC SPCA hopes that the decision of the port capital will encourage other local governments and the provincial government to make equal changes to their policies and rules around the zoo.
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