Since 1957, the Canadian Federation of Humane societies has worked on behalf of its

member societies to educate Canadians about animal welfare and advocate for the
humane treatment of animals in our communities, on the farm, in the lab and in the wild.
Here are just a few highlights of what weve achieved over
the years and what were doing today to further advance
animal welfare in Canada.

1957- 59:
Successfully advocated for the passage of
humane slaughter legislation for Canada

All animals slaughtered for food in Canada must be

made immediately and irreversibly unconscious to
minimize pain and distress

1960s:
Called for better oversight of the use of
animals in research, participating in consultations that led to the creation of the
Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)

Animals used for research in federally-funded

universities and labs must be cared for according to
the CCACs standards and in compliance with their
system of oversight, which is considered one of the
best in the world

1960s:
Called for a ban on commercial sealing, and
successfully pushed for regulations to make
the hunt more humane as long as it continues

The suffering of seals has been reduced by limits on

the number that can be killed, a ban on killing harp
seals under 2 weeks old and restrictions on the
methods of killing that can be used

1980s:
Called for regulations to improve the
treatment of farm animals, prompting the
creation of national codes of practice
(guidelines) for farm animal care

Farm animal care has been improved across

Canada by farmers who follow the basic
standards of care set by the codes

1995:
As part of the National Companion Animal
Coalition, helped establish a common
standard for microchip identification in
Canada

More lost animals have been reunited with their

owners, as Canada has largely avoided the problem
experienced in other countries where certain types of
readers could only read certain types of microchips

2002:
As part of the National Companion Animal
Coalition, developed model bylaws for dog
and cat control in municipalities

There have been fewer stray, lost and unclaimed

animals in many cities that now have bylaws
requiring or encouraging registration,
identification and sterilization of pets

2000-2008:
Rallied the support of Canadians, animal
protection groups and politicians for
reforms to the animal cruelty sections of
the Criminal Code

A bill containing the amendments we

sought was nearly passed in 2003,
and this national effort led to some
provincial governments strengthening
their animal protection laws
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Campaigning to get reforms to the

animal cruelty sections of the
Criminal Code back on the
legislative agenda of Parliament

Effective legal protection in the Criminal Code would

reduce animal abuse nationwide, and
our campaign may help spur new or
strengthened animal protection
legislation in more provinces and
territories

Raising awareness of the connection

between puppy mills and the sale of
pets through pet stores, newspaper
classifieds and the Internet, and working with online classifieds sites to
eliminate posts from suspicious sources

Reducing the demand for pets from

disreputable sources will reduce the
number of animals suffering in
substandard conditions and being
exploited by puppy mills and
backyard breeders

Developing standards and, ultimately,

an animal shelter accreditation
program that will cover organizational
management and shelter operations

More animals will be rescued,

treated and successfully adopted
out by shelters as they work to
meet recognized standards of
excellence and benefit from
enhanced public trust

Working with regulators and other

stakeholders to increase animal shelters
access to the most humane
euthanasia methods possible and to
offer training and certification for
euthanasia technicians

A greater proportion of shelter

animals that have to be euthanized
will be euthanized by well-trained
technicians using the most
humane methods that exist

Participating in the Year of the Cat

public outreach & media campaign
to raise awareness of the cat overpopulation crisis and promote cat
adoption and responsible ownership

More cats will be adopted from shelters nationwide,

many cats will be better cared for by their owners,
and the stray cat population will be reduced through
increased spay/neuter, proper identification of cats and
keeping of cats indoors

Working to improve farm animal care

practices in the national codes of
practice for the beef, pork, equine, mink
and fox industries, while continuing to
advocate for a third-party auditing
system to make sure producers are
following the codes

Over the long term, cows, pigs, horses, mink and foxes
used for their meat or fur will suffer less pain and
distress as the animal care
practices included in the
improved codes of practice are
adopted by producers