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“Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do.” — Betty White

Your Source for Up-to-Date Legal Insights on Animal Rights

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Next Update: 12/15/2024

About Our Mission

The Legal Vegan is a passionate platform dedicated to providing relevant legal commentary and raising awareness of animal rights and related issues. Our goal is to provide regular legislative updates on bills working their way through Parliament, provincial news related to animals, animal rights organizations' up-to-date platform initiatives, international news as it relates to the treatment of animals, and anything else we think you would want to know. We want to bring animals to the forefront of the modern social movement and unmask the animal agriculture industry and its daily brutal practices. 

Mark Snyder Jr is a second year student in the Juris Doctor Common Law program at the University of Ottawa

About Me

Mark Snyder Jr is a second year student in the Juris Doctor Common Law program at the University of Ottawa and has spent much of his adult life helping animals as a volunteer and advocate. After some reflection, he decided to become a Canadian permanent resident and make a career change by going to law school. Mark knows that his purpose is to practice animal law and make Canada a better place for farmed animals, wild animals, domesticated animals, and animals involved in experimentation.

About Them

Farmed Animal Rights, Cows in a Field

Mark's goal is to work to protect all animals from abuse and neglect, as well as end all commodification of animals for entertainment, utility, food, and all other products and uses that do not serve animals directly. Mark believes that animals deserve to be considered legal persons, not property, and will work toward making that a reality during his legal career. 

Blog Articles

Updated Weekly

Check Out Our First Podcast Episode

Podcast

My friend Adam Clasky and I created a podcast episode for our Animals and the Law class at the University of Ottawa. Adam became my mentor in Animal Law, and he has given me unlimited inspiration for my own upcoming legal career, and how I can leverage it to help animals. uOttawa Professor Daphne Gilbert has provided us the freedom to display what we have learned from the content of the course, and this project has created a desire to continue this podcast idea on a regular interval / basis. Stay tuned for more information (including a name). 

Adam & Mark's Podcast Adam Clasky & Mark Snyder Jr
00:00 / 1:00:57

Current Events in Animal Rights

Updated Weekly

Keep up-to-date on legislative progress on bills working their way through Parliament, provincial news related to animals, animal rights organizations' platform initiatives, international news as it relates to the treatment of animals, and anything else we think you would want to know.

*Urgent! Stalled in the Senate!

The Bill's sponsor, MP Tim Louis

What is the purpose of the Bill?

Bill C-355 explicitly prohibits exporting live horses from Canada by air if they are intended for slaughter. Sadly, thousands of horses are bred each year to be exported live to Japan, where they are slaughtered and eaten raw as a delicacy. These flights, which can take about 28 hours, cause extreme stress, dehydration, and exhaustion, with horses packed tightly into crates, risking injury and death. 

"In Parliamentary committee testimony, we heard from veterinarians and animal welfare experts who clearly demonstrate that there is a scientific basis for the ban. These draft horses are not treated the same as companion horses—the conditions in which they travel is not even close." - MP Tim Lois

Why is the Bill controversial?

The bill to ban live horse export for slaughter from Canada has stalled in the Senate. While the Senate was on a summer break, two new reports revealed shocking information about the conditions that Canadian horses are enduring on the journey to become luxury food overseas.

Bill C-293: An act respecting pandemic prevention and preparedness

A word from the Bill's sponsor, MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith

Language from the Bill:

This enactment enacts the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act to require the Minister of Health to establish, in consultation with other ministers, a pandemic prevention and preparedness plan, which is to include information provided by those ministers. 
It also amends the Department of Health Act to provide that the Minister of Health must appoint a national pandemic prevention and preparedness coordinator from among the officials of the Public Health Agency of Canada to coordinate the activities under the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act .

Why is the Bill controversial?

Provincial officials called for changes to the bill, worried it would give the government of Canada power to shut down agriculture and livestock facilities without clear criteria.

The Bill's sponsor, Senator Marty Kline

Bill S-15, legislation for animal rights

Language from the Bill:

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to create offences related to keeping elephants and great apes in captivity, subject to certain exceptions. It also amends the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act to, among other things, specify the circumstances in which the importation or exportation of living elephants and great apes may be permitted as well as the circumstances in which the keeping of these animals in captivity may be authorized.

Where is the Bill now?

"On balance, it would appear that the most appropriate

approach, in this particular case, would be for the report and the bill to be returned to the committee. This would allow the committee, which has the expertise, to correct the report by removing the elements that are beyond scope."

Click HERE for reference (Pgs. 7252-7253)

Lucy the Elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur | Zoocheck

The saga of Lucy the elephant includes, quite possibly, one of the most influential legal cases related to animal law ever decided in Canada. Lucy is a forty-eight-year-old Asian elephant that has been living at the Edmonton Valley Zoo (Zoo) since 1977. Animal rights groups and members of the public have been concerned with Lucy’s health and well-being for years, as she remains at the Zoo in seclusion from other elephants. 

Enriched Cages for Egg-Laying Hens is a Sham

Animal Rights Group / Individual Weekly Spotlight

Take a look at the people in our community making a difference for animals.

World Animal Protection

Click Below to Visit Their Website!

Ottawa Vegan-Friendly Business Weekly Spotlight

Take a look at businesses in our community making a difference for animals.

St. Elsewhere Wine Bar & Restaurant

Click Below to Visit Their Website!

Weekly Animal Spotlight - Pigs!

10 Facts About Pigs!

30 August 2022 By Julie Cappiello

https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/latest/blogs/10-facts-about-pigs/

 

Pigs are very clean animals

Pigs are very clean animals. In fact, they’re some of the cleanest animals around and refuse to defecate where they sleep and eat if given the choice. Even newborn piglets will leave their sleeping areas to relieve themselves!

 

Pigs can’t sweat

Sweating like a pig” is another misleading and commonly used phrase since pigs can’t sweat! Pigs don’t have many sweat glands, so they roll around and sleep in mud and swim in water to keep cool. A bonus to rolling in mud: it helps keep a pig’s skin from getting sunburned.

 

Pigs are smarter than your dog

It’s true! Pigs have the intelligence of a human toddler and are ranked as the fifth most intelligent animal in the world! In fact, pigs are more intelligent and trainable than any breed of dog. They learn their names in just two weeks and come when they’re called. Pigs are even capable of playing video games better than some primates.

 

Mother pigs sing to their babies

This is one of the sweetest facts about pigs: mother pigs sing to their babies while nursing. Newborn piglets learn to run towards their mothers’ voices, and pigs constantly communicate with each other. They have more than 20 distinct grunts and squeals that have been identified and range from expressing hunger to calling for mates.

 

Pigs love belly rubs!

Social animals, pigs love to use trees to rub and scratch on and enjoy belly rubs from their human caretakers! They even enjoy various enrichment toys and playing with each other.

 

Pigs have an excellent sense of direction

Pigs are navigators: they can find their way home over large distances. They can often trot long distances and can reach up to 11 miles per hour running.

 

Pigs dream and like to sleep nose-to-nose

Have you ever seen a piggy pile? Pigs love to stay connected with each other by sleeping close together, often making sure to touch their friends while they drift off to dreamland! Few animals are more social than pigs, who form close bonds with other pigs and humans.

 

Pigs have excellent memories

Remember when we said pigs are incredibly intelligent and can play video games better than some primates? Well, a pig wouldn’t forget that! Pigs have exceptional memories, especially when it comes to object location. If they find a great spot for grub, they’ll remember to look at the exact spot again!

 

Pigs suffer immensely on factory farms

With the world’s insatiable appetite for meat, most farmed animals are bred and live on factory farms. Mother pigs, for instance, are forced to live in crates so small they can barely turn around or lie down comfortably. Piglets endure brutal mutilations such as tail docking and teeth clipping because the lack of space provided on factory farms leads to increased stress, tension, aggression, and fighting amongst pigs as they age.

 

Pigs are deserving of good lives

Pigs are sentient beings, meaning they experience a wide range of emotions and can feel pain. Each pig on a factory farm has a distinct personality and desires, but factory farms deny everything that comes naturally to these intelligent and sensitive animals. Every pig deserves a good life where they can raise their babies and perform other natural behaviors like foraging for food, cuddling with other pigs, and roaming freely. 

Events Calendar

Do you have an event you would like me to post? Drop me a message, and I will add it to the calendar!

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