Vancouver animal rights day– 25 year anniversary!
Date: August 7, 2008
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson and Hornby
When: Saturday, August 9, 2008 - 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Twenty-five years ago, then Vancouver Mayor Mike Harcourt declared August 3rd to be the city’s first Animal Rights Day. Since 1983, local animal protection groups have been getting together every year to commemorate this occasion.
The Vancouver Humane Society will be hosting this year’s Animal Rights Day celebration on Saturday, August 9, 2008 on the Robson Street side of the Vancouver Art Gallery from 11 am to 5 pm. The Wildlife Rescue Association, Liberation BC, Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue and the Vancouver Rabbit Rescue Association will be among the groups joining them.
Vancouver and the Lower Mainland have been very progressive with regard to animal issues over the years, having instigated bylaws against circuses, exotic animal ownership, and rodeos. And now, Vancouver and other BC municipalities are taking a leadership position with regard to the welfare of egg-laying hens.
In Canada, 26 million hens are housed row upon row in what are called “battery cages”. With an average of five hens per cage, each hen lives her entire life in a space smaller than an 8.5” x 11.5” sheet of paper. According to Leanne McConnachie, VHS’s Director of Farm Animal Programs, “The birds cannot engage in any of their natural behaviours such as scratching, dust-bathing, foraging or nesting, let alone stretch their wings.”
But that may soon be changing. As many as eleven BC city councils have voted in favour of banning battery cage production methods in the province, including four from the Lower Mainland - Richmond, Vancouver, Whistler and Pitt Meadows. “Furthermore,” says McConnachie, “seven BC municipalities have adopted food policies requiring city-run food facilities to only purchase cage-free eggs from their suppliers.”
At this Saturday’s Animal Rights Day, staff and volunteers from the Vancouver Humane Society will help educate consumers on how they can make more compassionate food choices. “Something as simple as switching to certified organic free-range eggs will help keep egg-laying hens out of battery cages” says McConnachie. “It’s a small thing that each one of us can do that makes a huge difference in the lives of these misunderstood animals.”
