The Jane Goodall Act - banning elephants and apes in Canada

antilio capra said:
I choose to remain neutral when people ask me about the bill. But my only concern is of the large snakes, big cats and rhinos as they have endangered species could possibly helped more than the others. Also will those species being banned SSP's cease to exist in Canada? I also must ask what they consider cheetahs, cougars, servals and clouded leopard's "big cats" cheetahs and clouded leopard specifically could cause a headache for the CAZA and AZA(potentially). I do support the cetaceans not being captivity(Orca's specifically).
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Reading the detail of the legislation there seems to be a move to stop keeping some animals (big cats) in unsuitable conditions but maintains their place in zoos and the bill is supported by zoos. Elephants aside that doesn’t appear to cause a headache for the SSP given roadside or private zoos probably won’t be in it. It seems to be pretty good legislation that has the backing of some of Canadas foremost zoological institutions.

The elephant debate is one that rumbles on worldwide and there is definitely a move to remove them from captivity. As Neil rightly says to engage with that debate we have to face into the fact that for people who don’t want to see captive elephants it’s not about good conditions, big enclosures, good health etc it’s about the notion it’s morally wrong to keep an elephant captive at all.

As a complete outsider (apologies to Canadians) on this the legislation seems to be in two parts.

One is wholly welfare focused and brings reforms apparently welcomed by major zoos to improve conditions for animals particularly those currently kept and bred in poor collections. Combined with new rules on importing parts for endangered animals. Both those changes seem welcome.

And the other is about the elephant question which isn’t about how they are kept but whether they are kept at all. On this the zoos have apparently bowed to the inevitable and based on this debate being a global one I think it’s better for zoos to be on the inside of the debate than outside it.
 
Neil chace said:
She is not taking an "unscientific position". She's taking a moral or ethical position, which in no ways contradicts any sort of science (neither does it support it). Simply a different way of looking at things. Again, while it seems a lot of the attention related to this act is on Goodall (understandably due to its name), all of Canada's AZA zoos are also supporting it, and these are organizations that are certainly not taking "unscientific" positions.
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I'll admit what I said was somewhat premature but I said this because I'm genuinely afraid of elephants being pushed out of zoos for no good reason such as San Francisco's 15 acre rule and the one a NYC politician proposed (a clear middle finger to the Bronx Zoo)

It's fine to have moral and ethical standings but you have to think them through. Elephants in recent years have thrived in zoos and to lump them all as something to be phased out and done away with is, IMHO, asinine.
 
To answer the question in a short way: Yes, absolutely.
And in a little longer answer: Yes, as long as they follow modern husbandry guidelines and modern standards of animal welfare.
 
Anyone know the current status of the bill, I looked and it's gone through two readings but appears to be stalled at the Senate level, anyone with a better grasp of Parliament language know what's happening?
 
kingoffreaks said:
Anyone know the current status of the bill, I looked and it's gone through two readings but appears to be stalled at the Senate level, anyone with a better grasp of Parliament language know what's happening?
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It passed in the senate on December 17th. The senate also amended the bill to "encourage judges to relocate any captive elephants, great apes, whales or dolphins involved in illegal breeding/shows, with costs to the offender." Notably, Senator Klyne cites Marineland's pod here as a likely offender. It is unlikely that any AZA/CAZA facilities or the Fauna Foundation will be affected, given that facilities "licensed for conservation or research" are exempt.


It now needs to pass in the house, which could take a long time since parliament has been effectively filibustered for months, and that's only been exacerbated by the current implosion of the Liberals. I will be shocked if this somehow passes before the 2025 election. Also given conservative senators have been outspoken against this bill and there's a projected conservative super-majority after the election, it is very very possible the bill just dies.
 
Wisp O' Mist said:
Wasn't there concern that only AZA accredited zoos would be exempted? Not CAZA accredited zoos as well?
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Specifically, if the law passes, institutions will need to apply for a permit from the Minister of the Environment to continue to breed / import great apes and elephants.

However, the bill outlines nothing about what the requirements for that permit are beyond a vague "conditions the Minister thinks fit [....] in connection with a scientific research program or conservation program". What we can say is that neither CAZA or AZA accreditation will automatically grant this permit, and we can only really make assumptions about the requirements/process.

That being said, Toronto, Granby and Calgary have all vocally supported the bill, whereas Parc Safari and African Lion Safari have not. Obviously it's an assumption on my part but I think that's pretty indicative of which zoos will not be affected by this legislation, and which ones will.
 
Well with the Canadian parliament being prorogued today in the wake of Prime Minister Trudeau stepping down I think the Jane Goodall act is now dead along with an other legislation that has yet to receive royal assent. The Jane Goodall Act was actually replaced by Bill S-15 but they were very similar. Bill S-15 had been approved in the senate and would then need to go back to the house for approval but because the government was prorogued all bills died.

For non Canadians, all Canadian legislation has to go through both houses of parliament for approval and then it goes off to our Governor General, King Charles' representative in Canada, to approve it on the kings behalf. No legislation which has received approval from both houses has ever been rejected in Canada. With the kings approval it becomes law. This particular legislation was only through the first part of the process.

The chances of it coming back into play any time soon is remote. All government activity in on hold until March 24. Either the Liberals will call an election or the opposition will force one probably at the first opportunity. Then we need an election and when the new government comes to power someone will have to propose a brand new bill outlining the same things and the process would begin again from scratch. That is if a member of parliament or the senate decide to present a new bill. Odds are the reality of any laws changing the status quo in the next couple of years is remote if not impossible. New government, new priorities, new representatives in the house. Everything is about to change and will this even be on the map? Who knows.
 
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