ONLINE PANEL: A Bold Plan for Farmed Animal Protection in Canada

Most Canadians would be shocked to find out that there are effectively no laws to prevent the suffering of the hundreds of millions of animals on farms in this country. That’s because the government has allowed the industry-dominated National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) to call the shots. Instead of real laws, NFACC sets weak, voluntary guidelines with no meaningful oversight or transparency and little enforcement even when extreme abuse occurs. The result is a system that’s fallen shockingly behind global welfare norms, normalizing extreme confinement, mutilations without pain relief, and brutal on-farm killing. But now a coalition of four leading animal protection organizations—Animal Justice, Humane World for Animals, Mercy For Animals, and the Montreal SPCA—has developed a national plan that could transform Canada for farmed animals. In this Animal Justice panel, we’ll break down the new joint report Towards a National Framework for Farmed Animal Protection—and the roadmap it lays out for enforceable standards, independent oversight, and real accountability. Our panelists: • Dr. Tayler Zavitz: Advocacy Programs Specialist - Animal Justice • Riana Topan: Program Director, Farmed Animal Welfare and Protection - Humane World for Animals Canada • Maha Bazzi: Director of Animal Welfare Initiatives - Mercy For Animals • Sayara Thurston: Senior Policy Advisor for Farmed Animals - Montreal SPCA • Alanna Devine: Director of Advocacy - Animal Justice Hosted by: Animal Justice’s Kimberly Carroll We'll discuss: • How industry self-regulation became the default—and how badly it fails animals. • The concrete reforms proposed in the report, and what it will take to turn them into law. • Establishing a federal Animal Welfare Act and a Ministry of Animal Welfare. • The outsized industry influence and institutional conflicts of interest that have kept meaningful protections stalled. • How you can help get this plan seen—and help build the public and political will to make it law.