'A very bad idea': Pet rescues condemn Canada's upcoming ban on foreign dogs from over 100 countries – CTV News Montreal

Quebec dog rescue Refuge Magoo is accustomed to bringing in dogs from overseas, but not quite at this pace.
“Right now we have about 40 dogs, could be 45,” said staff coordinator Valerie Tetreault, speaking to CTV News in late August. “We just had 11 come in this week.”
The goal is to bring in as many foreign dogs as possible before Canada’s ban kicks in at the end of the month.
As of Sept. 28, Canada will prohibit the import of dogs from over 100 countries spanning parts of Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
The reason? To prevent the spread of dog rabies.
The measure, announced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in June, was developed after two infected dogs were imported into the country from Iran in 2021.
A different strain from that found in wild animals such as raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes, dog rabies is a viral disease that attacks the nervous system.
The CFIA notes that, although there are currently no confirmed cases of dog rabies in Canada, the fatality rate for infected humans is over 99 per cent if treatment arrives too late.
“The importation of even one rabid dog could result in transmission to humans, pets, and wildlife. If a person is exposed, they need to undergo serious treatment,” reads a CFIA statement sent to CTV News.
But advocates say the rule is too extreme and could have devastating consequences for dogs and rescuers alike.
For Refuge Magoo, based out of Vaudreuil-Dorion, the import of foreign pups is crucial.
About 90 per cent of the rescue’s dogs come from other countries. Of those, roughly half are from Mexico (exempt from the ban), while the other half come from Kuwait (considered “high risk” for dog rabies, i.e. not exempt).
“Most rescues won’t survive without these import dogs,” Tetreault said.
“We will take a [local] surrender without a question,” Tetrault explained. “But we do not see dogs roaming the streets [in Canada], tired, injured, hungry, starving, on the verge of death.”
By bringing in animals from countries where street dogs in this condition are common, rescues can provide options for Quebecers interested in adopting their canine companion instead of shopping for one, Tetrault explained.
“There’s such a high demand for these adoption dogs,” she added. “[If] we’re not bringing them in and there’s a shortage of adoptable dogs. Where do we think people are gonna go?”
The answer, she fears, is the puppy mill.
“Those dogs are mistreated, abused. We don’t want that industry to flourish. We want to save the dogs that we can already.”
Livvy (left) and Milo (right) were brought into Quebec from Kuwait. (sd5photography / Shawn Dos Santos)
But not all rescuers agree with this assessment.
Sophie Fournier is the woman behind Sophie’s Dog Adoption, a small-scale adoption operation near Montreal.
She argues that local dog surrenders are a major issue; even if some foreign dogs are off limits, there are enough abandoned pups in Quebec to go around.
Nevertheless, Fournier is firmly against the ban.
“I think that’s a very bad idea, the way they’re going about it,” she said.
Although many of Fournier’s dogs are locally sourced, a connection in Lebanon — a country considered “high risk for dog rabies” by the CFIA — frequently ships dogs her way.
If these dogs can’t make it out of Lebanon, said Fournier, “they don’t have a chance.”
She said overseas rescues accustomed to collaborating with Canadian adoption groups are now scrambling to find these dogs a home, many of whom are in rough shape after years of living on the streets.
“It’s freaking everybody out […] Everyone is rushing to ship dogs,” she said.
She fears the urgency will lead to cutting corners, which comes with safety risks — the very risks the CFIA is trying to mitigate.
“It’s becoming a total mess. I find it’s becoming chaotic.”
Windy was brought into Quebec from Beirut, Lebanon. (Sophie’s Dog Adoption)
Both Refuge Magoo and Sophie’s Dog Adoption have a thorough vetting process when it comes to foreign dogs.
“With vaccines and treatments and appropriate care, rabies is preventable,” Tetrault said.
Before their dogs enter Canada, the organizations obtain a vet-signed health certificate, including proof of rabies vaccination, as required by federal law.
Their dogs are also spayed, neutered and microchipped before flying to their new home.
Fournier says a close eye is kept on the dogs once they’re brought in.
“If I see anything wrong with their health then I will take them to the vet,” she explained.
With these precautions in mind, the rescuers question why a ban is necessary and say other alternatives should be explored first, such as a mandatory quarantine period.
“Could they have done things differently? And put maybe tighter restraints for people from rescues bringing in dogs? Absolutely,” Tetrault said.
But the CFIA says vaccines aren’t always effective.
“The rabies vaccine is unlikely to be protective if it is administered after an animal has already been infected. Because rabies can have a long incubation period, a dog may be unknowingly imported with the disease, even if it was vaccinated prior to importation,” its statement reads.
The risk is just too high, it argues, and a ban is the only option.
“The CFIA has developed an approach that is relevant and proportionate to the current public health risks to animals and people, and takes into account aspects such as the CFIA’s regulatory framework and infrastructure, including quarantine facilities at points of entry.”
But rescues are pleading for a chance to try something different.
“Watch us all rise to the occasion,” Tetrault implored. “[We] have no issue with going the extra steps to ensure everybody’s safety.”
Jaqueline McDermott, 22, from Kitchener has been reported missing in B.C., and her family is putting out a plea across the country for help. McDermott was last seen by her vehicle after attending a meditation retreat. RCMP said her vehicle was found, but she was not in it or near it.

Cases of COVID-19 are increasing across the country again as fall progresses and winter approaches. But this respiratory pathogen season is different than last year's, experts say, so the public's approach should be different as well.

Wood from primary forests in British Columbia has been used to fuel the U.K.'s largest power plant, according to a BBC investigation; the company denies the allegations.

The Toronto Blue Jays' first foe in the playoffs is now official.

Scientists have uncovered an association between tumours and fungi, which may lead to a deeper understanding towards the biology of certain cancers.

The Invasive Species Council of B.C. is asking the public to report sightings of a 'highly toxic' plant that can leave people's skin blistered and burned – something one family recently learned the hard way.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told a House of Commons committee Tuesday that Bill C-21, the proposed legislation to further restrict access to handguns in Canada, is critical to ending gun violence.

A California serial killer seems to be 'on a mission' throughout the fatal shooting of six men and the wounding of one woman dating back to last year.

Russian troops abandoned a key Ukrainian city so rapidly that they left the bodies of their comrades in the streets, offering more evidence Tuesday of Moscow's latest military defeat as it struggles to hang on to four regions of Ukraine that it illegally annexed last week.

A Canadian Tire employee in Hamilton says he was Tasered by police while suffering from an epileptic seizure earlier this week.

A Toronto police officer has been seriously injured after being struck by a vehicle in a Scarborough parking lot as an arrest was being made in the area.

The Toronto Blue Jays' first foe in the playoffs is now official.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that the federal government is setting up a $300-million 'Hurricane Fiona recovery fund' to help Atlantic Canadians rebuild from the deadly and destructive post-tropical storm.

More than 15,000 Maritimers are still without power 11 days after post-tropical storm Fiona hit the region.

Climate experts say the after-effects of post-tropical storm Fiona make up a new reality on Canada's East Coast — a reality driven by climate change.

City officials say compassion and care is key to their response to homelessness, but health and safety also have to be factored in. All of those issues were front and centre as crews began dismantling an encampment on the west edge of downtown London, Ont. on Tuesday.

Fiddlers Green Road is normally a quiet street, according to local residents. But it was anything but quiet on Monday night when the area was a beehive of activity with police and emergency vehicles.

Some of London, Ont.’s founding families are buried just feet from fugitive slave owners who fled their plantations. Brian Martin, author of a new book, says his findings reveal a fuller picture of Canada’s complex history as a refuge for people escaping slavery, and as a safe haven for some slave owners.

In a startling development, incumbent Sudbury mayor Brian Bigger is withdrawing from the municipal election race, citing family reasons.

A 'Sisters in Spirit Vigil' was held at the Timmins Native Friendship Centre on Tuesday to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two spirit and gender-diverse people.

Literacy Nipissing in North Bay celebrated its official grand reopening, a major milestone after the learning centre burnt down in 2020.

Calgary police are looking to the public for help to identify a woman who was found dead in the city over the summer.

A Calgary father has been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to provide the necessaries of life for his severely disabled adult son.

Two homes were damaged on Tuesday evening after a truck lost control in a southwest Calgary neighbourhood.

In early September, the University of Guelph told students about what they are calling a disruption to the IT system.

As the municipal election looms, candidate signs become a common sight, but with a tightened regional bylaw limiting where signs can be placed, there are far fewer.

The charges against two brothers accused of assaulting a customer with a service dog at a Kitchener, Ont. restaurant have been withdrawn.

More information is coming to light about a man found dead in a rooming house in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside — in the same suite where the bodies of missing teen Noelle O’Soup and another woman were found months later.

Forward Together, the party led by Vancouver mayoral incumbent Kennedy Stewart, released its election platform on Tuesday.

With urban mayors blaming a small number of repeat offenders for a disproportionate amount of crime in their cities, pressure is mounting on B.C.’s NDP government to act.

A woman in Edmonton has been accused of fraudulently posing as a medical doctor. Rossemarie Castro Rosales, 36, advertised massage therapy, holistic therapies and "quasi-medical techniques" under the name Dr. Marie Milne, police say.

A 25-year-old lifeguard has been charged following the 2020 drowning of a 34-year-old man at a Fort McMurray rec complex.

Two Edmonton Police Service officers were in provincial court Monday morning where one of them took the stand to describe the sexual assault she claims the other committed against her.

Work at the future site of the NextStar Energy Inc. electric vehicle battery plant is humming along with big changes to the landscape already happening, and future energy needs waiting for approvals.

A man was allegedly robbed at gunpoint while sitting in his car in an east Windsor parking lot Monday night, Windsor police are investigating.

The University of Windsor Students’ Alliance (UWSA) will be re-implementing its walk safe service after a student was followed to their car after leaving class Monday night.

Lorna Standingready knows how it feels when a loved one goes missing. Her 14-year-old great-granddaughter disappeared last winter.

The Canadian Football League (CFL) trade deadline on Wednesday, Oct. 5 is approaching fast. However, the Saskatchewan Roughriders claim to have plans to make any roster moves at the moment.

Saskatchewan residents may have noticed a peak in gas prices over the past week. Dan McTeague, president of Canada for Affordable Energy said that’s a common trend across the country right now.

Ottawa police say an individual who was on fire outside the U.S. embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday died of their injuries. Police said there is no indication of a link to the embassy at this time.

Ahead of one of the largest single-day jumps in the price of gas, many drivers in Ottawa are filling up.

In six weeks, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson will be leaving city hall, but he’s not taking much with him. Many of the items he has received over the years are being auctioned off for a good cause.

Another person accused in the presumed death of a missing Saskatoon woman has a previous conviction for an impaired driving death.

Robert Schimpf, an expert from RCMP’s national forensic lab in Edmonton, took the stand in Ranbir Dhull’s trial on Tuesday.

A mine worker remains in hospital with serious injuries after a piece of tunnel roof fell on top of him while working underground at a potash mine southwest of Saskatoon.

CTV News Programs
Local News
© 2022 All rights reserved. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

source