Latest news with #ManitobaVeterinaryMedicalAssociation
Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
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. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. '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 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. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
27-01-2025
- Health
- CBC
Manitoba veterinarians vote to ban tail docking of dogs
Veterinarians in the province are no longer permitted to dock a dog's tail. An overwhelming majority of Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association members voted to axe the controversial practice through an immediate bylaw amendment at its annual general meeting Friday. The bylaw amendment, which was proposed by a member of the association, was passed following a multi-year consultation process with multiple stakeholders, an association spokesperson told CBC on Monday. "The feelings of the veterinary professionals in this province are that this is not a necessary procedure to perform on young animals given that most of the dogs that we see are not working dogs who are at risk of injuring their tails," said Dr. Jonas Watson, owner of Grant Park Animal Hospital. Watson, who previously served as chair of the Winnipeg Humane Society's board of directors, says tail docking is primarily done for cosmetic purposes, but he's glad to see Manitoba's veterinarians no longer be allowed to partake in the practice. "Our job is to first do no harm and amputating the tail of a two-day old puppy is the infliction of some harm for no clear reason in the great majority of cases," he said. Tail docking "causes some undue pain and harm to young puppies, potentially causes long-term neurological consequences, and certainly limits the dog's ability to properly communicate with other dogs and people because they're no longer able to wag." Veterinary members were given the opportunity to do two months' worth of consultation on tail docking this past summer, as well as in summer 2022, Watson said. Tail docking of some dog breeds is done based on a belief that their non-working members experience risks similar to working dogs, but it's more commonly done to conform to a distinctive breed appearance or standard. 'Animal protection law really falls short' The Canadian Kennel Club also partook in the consultation last summer. The club's breed standards do not require dogs to have their tails docked to compete in competition and allow for choice regarding breeds that have been traditionally docked based on the function of the dog rather than for cosmetic reasons. An August 2024 letter to Manitoba's vet association urged its council to "continue to allow licensed veterinarians in Manitoba who have the expertise and experience with dog breeds to determine what is appropriate with regards to tail docking." The letter also says that Manitoba veterinarians know "what is best for the health and well-being of their dogs, including the docking of tails." Kaitlyn Mitchell only wishes the provincial association would have voted on banning the practice sooner. Mitchell, a Winnipeg-based lawyer and the director of legal advocacy with Animal Justice, said the association's decision brings Manitoba in line with other provincial vet associations that have taken a similar step. Nova Scotia, Quebec and PEI have all passed strong laws to prohibit anyone from tail docking and ear cropping on dogs and declawing cats. "We've seen veterinary associations across Canada are increasingly moving to ban tail docking and other painful mutilations, and we've actually seen a few provinces follow up and pass laws to prohibit anyone in the province from engaging in those types of procedures," she said. According to Mitchell, the next step is for the province to make a change that prevents local breeders from continuing to dock the tails of dogs. She says Manitoba's Animal Care Act needs amendments of its own. "We've been raising the issue of updating the Animal Care Act for a long time now, and this is really just one of many ways in which the province's animal protection law really falls short and needs to be brought up to date because it's really old and frankly quite outdated," Mitchell said. Watson contends the Veterinary Medical Act would also need some changes if breeders were to no longer be allowed to continue docking. And while he owns a corgi with a docked tail, Watson doesn't think one way or another about whether he'd have wanted his pet to have a tail or no tail. "But going forward all of his relatives in the future will have tails," he said. Watson surmises that some people will think "that the sky may fall" and that breeders may resort to "some underground means of [docking]," but simply says it will take Manitobans a little bit of time to adjust to seeing some dogs who traditionally have had their tails docked appear with them. "Dogs use their tails as a rudder for swimming. Dogs use their tails as a communications skill to show what they might be thinking or feeling. So tails have a great deal of utility, and when you remove them, that limits the dogs ability to function as a dog in some ways," he said.
