My wife and I totally object…

My wife and I totally object to this proposal which would open up licensing for additional training and trialing facilities in Ontario, for the following reasons:

1. Four out of five Canadians are totally against it, no other province does it and very few states in the U.S. allow it.

2. The Harris government in the 90s did not support it with the expectation that the practice would be phased out.

3. The concerns and lack of support for this practice by virtually most of North America are never mentioned or addressed in the proposal.

4. Nowhere in any of the supporting documentation can we find even any mention, let alone a defence, of the unnecessary stress, suffering, and painful death of wild animals.

5. We do not see any mention of risks to public health and safety that can occur when integrating with wild animals that can spread disease to domestic animals and humans.

6. Where is the justification for this proposal? The only message we can see is that there is a growing demand for train and trial facilities and, if not supported legally, they will go underground. This proposal is only about "a sport." I would listen more if some mention was made that these facilities would solve an out-of-control wildlife problem, protect rural communities against wild coyotes, etc.

The Impact Analysis of the proposal evaluates environmental and economic effects as basically neutral.
Therefore, why do it? Hopefully not just "for sport" and to please the Ontario Sporting Dog Association and the Ontario Federation on Anglers and Hunters.