As a British Canadian who…

As a British Canadian who witnessed with pride and satisfaction the UK decision to ban the archaic and elitist, so-called sport of fox-hunting, I was shocked and sickened to discover, via the promoters of this petition to oppose the proposal, that the Canadian government had ever permitted, let alone supported, the establishment of unconscionable death camps for native wildlife under the guise of "dog train and trial areas". Even in 1997, the last time these areas were mistakenly approved, there was a growing concern about environmental degradation, habitat loss and increasing species extinction, which may have influenced the FWCA to reduce the inevitable outcry against its approvals by suggesting that these areas would be phased out eventually. Not only has this not taken place, but the current proposal is to lift restrictions on new areas and allow existing ones to have their licences transferred to new owners, instead of immediately banning the practice of "training" dogs to attack contained wildlife species , for "sport" or "entertainment", revoking all existing licences and enacting severe penalties for anyone attempting to operate such atrocities in secret. Fox -hunting, dog-fighting, bear-baiting, hare-coursing, cock-fighting, etc, etc. are rightly illegal, have no place in civilized societies and inevitably degrade/ dehumanize their supporters, as do these wildlife extermination enclosures; any dogs "trained" in them would in any case be useless in the field, having become used to their prey served up and ready to devour as "fast food". Subsistence hunters, relying on sustainable use of wild resources, utilize dogs selected for their instinctive tracking and hunting abilities and should be encouraged to maintain the tradition of identifying and training these desirable qualities in the wild. When nuisance wildlife species need to be controlled, only recognized, humane methods should be employed, none that make use of artificially trained and exploited dogs. It is deeply distressing to find government entities proposing unethical changes secretively, without proper public consultation, in a cynical attempt to curry favour with amoral, anti-environmental, special interest groups; this must stop!