Manitoba funds vet program for Indigenous communities
Two Indigenous communities will receive funding for four years from the Manitoba government to help with problematic dog populations that pose a risk to people's safety.
'(The pilot project will) support the vision, the action plan to control dog populations, increase the health and the welfare of dogs, and decrease the risk of harm to community members from diseases or interactions with dogs,' Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced at the Winnipeg Humane Society Friday.
'Long-standing challenges need an innovative approach and local commitment,' he said.
MALAK ABAS / FREE PRESS
Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn, Winnipeg Humane Society director of animal advocacy Krista Boryskavich and puppy Nesta at the Winnipeg Humane Society, where funding to support northern and remote communities struggling with managing dog populations was announced Friday.
Those long-standing challenges include the scourge of roaming packs of feral dog that have attacked residents.
In February, a man died after being attacked by five dogs in Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation, 110 kilometres north of Brandon.
First Nations have had little option but to conduct culls in which a large number of dogs are killed to keep the population in check.
In the north, just one First Nation — Opaskwayak — has access to regular veterinary care.
The province is currently hearing proposals about which communities will be part of the $400,000 project, which will focus on 'community-led planning and activities that increase the health of animals and people,' the minister said.
An additional $250,000 will be used to create two new positions in the provincial veterinarian offices in Swan River and Thompson that will focus on animal care and enforcement of animal welfare laws in central and northern Manitoba.
The Manitoba government announced its Northern and Remote Veterinary Care initiative in March 2024 and gave the humane society $200,000 to expand its One Health program, which runs mobile spay-and-neuter clinics.
The spring budget included an expansion of veterinary supports, including additional funding for One Health and the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association's community vaccinator program, which trains people and provides equipment to give vaccinations in underserved communities.
On Friday, the government announced an additional $100,000 increase annual funding of One Health, raising the total contribution to $250,000 this year. The humane society will match the funding yearly.
Last year, more than 1,500 animals were spayed or neutered, not nearly enough to meet the need, said Veronica Dueck, the manager of the One Health program.
'Right now, we have a long list of communities waiting for us to host a spay-and-neuter clinic, (need) dog food, education, resources, and we can't meet that demand with our current funding,' she said.
The average cost of a single spay-and-neuter clinic is $25,000. Clinics take place once or twice a month and typically treat 70 to 100 dogs.
Friday's funding won't focus on spay-and-neuter clinics, but will be based on each community's need.
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'Some communities right now are really looking for more vaccines, some are looking for spay and neuter, some are just looking for supports in other ways,' Dueck said. 'I personally visited a lot of communities that don't have dog food in their stores, so that's a huge one for us.'
Meanwhile, a Manitoba non-profit is holding a conference this weekend in which animal welfare specialists will discuss the issue of dogs on Manitoba reservations.
The Save A Dog Network, which holds spay-and-neuter clinics across the province, has organized seminars on vet care in First Nations communities, legal advocacy support, public health issues and de-colonizing the animal rescue process.
'Every day, we see the consequences of chronic underfunding, lack of access to veterinary care, and failing systems that leave dogs and people at risk,' said Katie Powell, the group's founder, in a news release. 'This conference brings together the people doing the work. Those living it, surviving it, and leading change.'
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak AbasReporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
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