Appeal board rules in favour of BC SPCA Wild ARC The Environmental Appeal Board Panel has ruled in favour of the BC SPCA Wild ARC and Wildlife Rehabilitators Network of BC. BC SPCA seeks public’s help to solve case of deceased dog left in dumpster The BC SPCA is seeking the public’s help in identifying two individuals who discarded a deceased dog in a Coquitlam dumpster on July 24. The BC SPCA answers your questions about companion, farm, and wild animal behaviour. In this article: how to address mounting behaviour in dogs. Campbell River man charged with animal cruelty after beating dog Crown counsel has charged Campbell River resident Tyrone Roberts with animal cruelty under the Criminal Code of Canada following a BC SPCA investigation. Lovable lab needs help to get a leg up in life at Prince George SPCA Prince George SPCA staff are hoping the public can help a lovable lab who needs surgery get a second chance at a long and active life. All ads in St. Louis

All ads in RichmondSUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER Stay up-to-date with new information, delivered straight to your inbox. Mica is an adorable 8 week old lab mix that was purchased from a backyard breeder in Surrey off of Kijiji. Unbeknownst to her new family, she arrived at her new home very sick. Mica wouldn’t eat and had diarrhea that night. By the next morning she began vomiting which then continued throughout the day. Mica was taken to Scottsdale Veterinary Hospital for a check-up where she was diagnosed with parvovirus infection. Parvovirus is a serious disease in puppies, and oftentimes has a fatal outcome even with aggressive therapy and rehydration. The virus causes severe damage to the gastrointestinal tract and is contracted via contact with an infected dog’s feces. Hospitalization and symptomatic therapy for a puppy with parvovirus is costly as they tend to require a minimum of 4 days of intensive care in isolation. If the mother of this puppy was properly vaccinated and the environment properly controlled, Mica would not be in the dire life-threatening situation she is in.

Mica’s new family could not have expected their new puppy to cost them hundreds (perhaps more) dollars within the first few days of arriving,and were not prepared for the financial burden. Her prognosis is guarded, but she is showing signs of improvement, and we want to give the puppy a chance to live a life every dog should have. Therefore, we will help cover the remaining costs of her hospitalization and treatment.Henry Vacuum Cleaner New Zealand Mica’s story is not an isolated one, and Kijiji has long been criticized for allowing the sale of animals in their classifieds. Chocolate Lab Puppies For Sale Near Knoxville TnTo date, over 60,000 people have signed an online petition asking the online classifieds to stop selling household pets. Puppies For Sale Istanbul

But so far, Kijiji refuses to develop a more humane practice, and has stated they will continue to allow for the online sale of animals. The BCSPCA is limited in what it can do, as existing laws do not regulate breeding practices. A problem recognized in 2012 by North Vancouver MLA Jane Thornthwaite, who introduced a private members bill that would have made breeding regulations mandatory, and failure to meet regulations punishable under the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act. Unfortunately, the bill did not reach a second reading, because the house was dissolved for the 2013 Provincial Election. In the September 2013 edition of West Coast Veterinarian Thornthwaite said she plans to approach Minister of Agriculture, Pat Primm to discuss adopting the private member’s bill as a government bill. “This would lead to more stakeholder consultations and substantially increase the likelihood that the bill will be passed in the legislature”. There is not one law that will end animal suffering that results from puppy mills, backyard breeding, and other inhumane practices that put profits before animal welfare.

In order for this to end, there needs to be a series of laws and regulations, and a significant shift in consumer knowledge of humane ways to acquire a pet. Our Pets Are Not Products campaign provides education regarding the animal welfare issues associated with the retail sale of pets. This includes the sale of pets online and in newspapers. There are many alternatives to acquiring a pet, in a responsible and humane way. This includes adopting through a shelter or responsible rescue, or through a responsible breeder. Visit our page for more information. If you would like to help us help Mica, and other animals in need please consider donatingOnline classified site Kijiji says it has no plans to stop breeders from selling animals on its site despite a two-year-long campaign against the practice.Montreal-area librarian Barbara Lapointe has gathered more than 104,000 signatures on a petition asking Kijiji Canada to stop allowing pet sales on the site and encourage only adoptions from registered shelters and rescue organizations.

Lapointe says the current policy allows venders to turn tidy profits by selling pets produced in dog or cat mills and other unsanitary, mass-production facilities.Letters sent to Lapointe show that six companies, including Toyota Canada and two of the country's major banks, have supported the campaign by pulling their ads from Kijiji's pet sale pages.She says Craigslist and other classified sites have refused to allow breeders to post ads and argues Kijiji should follow suit in order to protect animals.But the company says it has no plans to stop hosting animal sales ads, arguing that banning such posts would not be an effective way to stop animal mistreatment.Kijiji Canada spokesman Shawn McIntyre said unscrupulous breeders would simply find a new home for their ads, arguing potential vendors are subject to more scrutiny then they might be with another online classified firm."We just don't think that the Internet is going anywhere, so we don't see any point in shutting down that category and just making those people go somewhere else," McIntyre said in a telephone interview.

McIntyre said Kijiji has taken steps to tighten up oversight of its pet sales pages in the two years since Lapointe launched her petition.As of last year, prospective dog sellers are required to pay a nominal fee of $5 in order to post an ad, a step McIntyre says discourages impulsive sales. There are currently no such fees in place for other types of pet sales.McIntyre also says Kijiji staff combs postings and investigates ones that raise red flags, such as venders offering more than two breeds for sale or making animals available too many times in one year.But Lapointe's petition argues that the very presence of such rules signals that Kijiji is aware of the scope of the issue and simply unwilling to take more decisive action."The problem is it's really easy for unethical breeders to disguise themselves online," the petition reads. "There is no way Kijiji would be able to catch all the bad posts. If thousands of us send messages to them, I'm sure they'll do the right thing."Lapointe says unsuspecting buyers may find themselves the owners of pets who become sick or traumatized as a result of the conditions they were raised in.

Other pet owners, she said, may find themselves unable to verify an animal's pedigree thanks to vendors who shut up shop after closing a sale.Canada's laws can't do much to address the issue, she said, adding that there are virtually no regulations to help distinguish between puppy mills and reputable animal breeders.Rebeka Breder, an animal rights lawyer with Vancouver's Boughton Law, confirmed that Canada has virtually no national standards for regulating breeding operations or taking action against those that may be found wanting.She said animal sales are generally handled under the country's patchwork of municipal bylaws, adding some cities have taken steps to prevent brick-and-mortar pet stores from selling animals on site.Kijiji's refusal to pull their ads, she says, hinders efforts to fix a system that's already badly broken."I think it contributes to the purchase of dogs coming from horrible, cruel and inhumane conditions," she said of Kijiji's policy. "It's a lot easier for people to buy a dog online and not think about the consequences than it is for people going to a pet store where they can physically see a dog right then and there and maybe start thinking about the issue before they go to the till."