Province’s animal breeding licencing law not enforced in over a decade, lawyer laments
Animal Justice has said a breeder, who operated a mill in Melita, Manitoba, with about 500 ferrets, has faced no charges and continues attempting to sell the animals directly to the public on unregulated online platforms such as Kijiji.
In a media release, the federally incorporated not-for-profit said its investigator captured an undercover video of the facility. Animal Justice said the footage, publicly released in late January, showed the ferrets locked in dirty wire cages and subjected to cruel and appalling conditions.
Animal Justice added that David Holden, claiming to be Canada’s biggest ferret breeder, ran the mill without bedding and with floors full of feces and urine, then sold the animals to pet store chains.
“These horrific conditions only came to light because of a rare opportunity for Animal Justice to legally access the site and gather firsthand video evidence,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, Winnipeg-based lawyer and Animal Justice’s director of legal advocacy, in the media release.
Mitchell said this discovery raised the question of “how many other breeders in Manitoba are flying under the radar, keeping animals in nightmarish conditions.”
Animal Justice shared that its investigation revealed that the breeder had seemingly illegally used a wooden box as a makeshift gas chamber to kill animals that were ill, injured, or no longer suitable for breeding.
Animal Justice noted that, prior to unveiling the investigation results, it filed a complaint with Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Office on Jan. 9 and called for the relevant authorities to investigate and seize the ferrets subject to the objectionable treatment.
Animal Justice said the office has confirmed that it is investigating the matter but has declined to give details.
“The broader tragedy is that although Manitoba has a breeding licencing law on the books, it hasn’t been enforced in over a decade,” Mitchell said. “This has left a black hole in Manitoba with virtually no oversight, permitting breeders of dogs, cats, reptiles, rabbits, and ferrets to raise animals in appalling conditions and sell them for profit.”
The ferrets now
Animal Justice, which advocates for the humane treatment of animals, lamented in its media release that hundreds of ferrets might still be in the mill.
“There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of the hundreds of ferrets still languishing at this facility right here in Manitoba,” Mitchell said in the media release.
Animal Justice said it has found online advertisements in which the breeder is targeting possible buyers of the animals in Manitoba and other provinces.
In its media release, Animal Justice acknowledged that the breeder spared some ferrets from the gas chamber and voluntarily surrendered them.
The Ferret Association of Connecticut, Inc. (FACT), a US-based non-profit organization established in 1991, rescued dozens of ferrets and transported them to the US after they received treatment in the Grant Park Animal Hospital in Winnipeg.
On social media, the rescue organization shared that the rescued animals showed signs of serious health and dental issues that needed extensive treatment. It also shared that rescuers in Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Indiana have been caring for the ferrets, affectionately dubbed “the Canadians.”
“It is incredibly gratifying to see these adorable, intelligent, and social animals finally living the lives they truly deserve,” Mitchell said in Animal Justice’s media release.
Mitchell’s profile on the not-for-profit’s website shows she has more than a decade of experience utilizing the law to advocate for animal protection and environmental justice.
She has appeared before various courts across Canada, including its Supreme Court. She earned her law degree from Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law in 2007 and her undergraduate degree from the University of Winnipeg.
