MONTREAL – A group of animal welfare organizations called for an urgent transition away from for-profit pounds in Montreal at a news conference Thursday.
Regroupement pour la Protection des Animaux du Québec (R-PAQ) is comprised of leading animal welfare organizations, community groups, legal experts, veterinarians and other stakeholders.
They work together addressing emergency situations and fundamental problems regarding animal control in Quebec.
Recently, a Radio Canada investigative report, which involved Quebec’s largest for-profit animal control facility, Berger Blanc, revealed horrifying treatment and euthanasia methods of impounded animals.
“Montreal’s current inadequate animal services program directly sacrifices animal welfare for profits,” said Lauren Scott, campaigner for Humane Society International/Canada.
“Montreal is spending only a fraction of what comparable Canadian centers are investing in animal services – and it is the animals who are paying the price.”
Veterinarian Dr. Judith Weissman of Clinique Veterinaire Plateau Mont Royal also weighed in on the situation.
“As a veterinarian, I was horrified to see the serious level of animal suffering recently exposed by the Radio-Canada investigation of Berger Blanc,” she said.
“A shift away from the for-profit animal control model is urgently needed to ensure adequate standards of animal welfare in Montreal and throughout Quebec, and the people of Quebec need to do their part and realize that owning a pet is a long-term contract,” she continued.
R-PAQ is pushing for a move from “animal control” to “animal services”, in effort to break the cycle of unwanted, surplus companion animals, make more effective use of tax dollars, and reform legislation.
The group says for-profit pounds in Quebec benefit from pet overpopulation, which increases the number of animals entering their facilities and ensures a constant source of income.
They also say the city of Montreal is suffering from a marked increase in unwanted companion animals, with at least 50,000 animals taken into animal shelters and rescues each year.
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