I feel very strongly that…

I feel very strongly that this amendment should not be included in the final version of the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act. The practice of dog training and trailing is a blood sport that has been properly recognized by past Ontario governments as cruel to wildlife and is acknowledged in the description of the proposal itself to have little economic value to Ontario.

There is no compelling reason to alter the original decision to phase out this barbaric practice through attrition. Since then, as a society, we have progressed our understanding and awareness of animal rights and the risks of the spread of zoonotic diseases through close, and particularly bodily, contact with wildlife. If any change should be made to the regulation of this animal abuse now, it should be to finally ban the practice entirely.