I was made aware of your…

I was made aware of your proposed amendment by the news media yesterday. Upon further research it is clear the Premier Harris acted correctly in 1997 in phasing out penned dog hunting facilities, balancing the need to advance into the future while respecting the livelihood of existing facility owners. After a quarter of a century three-quarters of the facilities were phased out, and the remainder are likely to go within a decade or two.

This is not a practice in keeping with Canadian norms and values. All other wildlife practices work to minimize animal terror and suffering, with an emphasis on humane and necessary culls, animal control and wildlife management. This practice does not align with that ethos.

Penned dog hunting is a relic from a time gone by. The fact that tens of thousands of hunters may wish this to be re-energized must be weighed against the wishes of ten million Ontarians.The fact that these hunters are pursuing a vested interest and that the ten million are not quite as aware of this activity should not be misconstrued as general support. More work needs to be done by the government of Ontario to understand the values of its citizens on this issue as opposed to being led by a small interest group.

I am opposed to this proposal then for two reasons. First, I personally do not see it as in keeping with either Canadian or Ontarian values. Second, it has not had the wide spread public and political discussion required for such a reversal of government policy.