“Laws that are really narrow and tightly focused ... can often create more deliberate and rational responses, instead of these kinds of laws that respond to hyperbole.” – Rob Danisch, University of Waterloo.

The Catch-22 on animal activism

‘Ag-gag’ laws might comfort producers, but they could cause more polarization and amplify the issue

The photo, texted by a tipster to a Co-operator reporter this fall, showed a dead pig of about market size. The image was taken outside a barn in southeastern Manitoba after the tipster gained permission to access the property by claiming to look for a lost dog, they said. The tipster claimed there were 15-20

One of eight billboards placed on busy Winnipeg streets as part of a Winnipeg Humane Society campaign criticizing the treatment of pigs.

WHS campaign targets Manitoba hog industry

Group says the billboard campaign is meant to spur discussion ahead of the election; industry says its off the mark

A new Winnipeg Humane Society billboard campaign takes aim at Manitoba’s pork industry. Eight billboards have gone up around Manitoba’s most populous city, all carrying various warning messages about pig welfare on farms and during transportation in the province. “Our goal is to educate consumers on the various animal welfare red flags that are associated


Activists pressure against JBS listing

A coalition of environmental groups is pushing U.S. securities regulators to thwart JBS SA’s New York share listing over concerns about the meatpacker’s impact on deforestation, climate change and other issues.  The Brazilian company, the world’s largest meat processor, hopes a U.S. listing will attract a broader investor base to give it more access to

Protesters with activist group Toronto Chicken Save outside a poultry-processing facility in Ontario.

Anti-activism bill dead, their actions killed it, say animal rights advocates

Federal biosecurity Bill C-205 was amended to target anyone, not just trespassers, before parliament dissolved

Animal rights advocates say a federal bill targeting activists is almost certainly dead, thanks in part, to their legal arguments and “turning” of MPs. Bill C-205, which proposed to increase penalties for trespassers on agricultural property in the name of biosecurity, died when parliament dissolved prior to the 2021 federal election. However, before this, it

This video posted on YouTube shows animal activists entering a turkey barn at the Jumbo Valley Hutterite Colony on Labour Day. The protesters, who had been dropped off by buses, arrived early in the morning before workers from the colony were on site.

Province asking people to weigh in on trespassing, biosecurity laws

The province is also considering laws to deter metal theft through more record-keeping

The province is asking Manitobans if it should follow the other Prairie provinces in updating laws to clarify landowners’ rights on trespassers and enforcing biosecurity, as well as deterring metal theft. “I think what we need is clarity around what is trespassing and how it can be enforced,” Minister of Justice Cliff Cullen said. Why


Feds closely watching provincial changes to trespassing laws

Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan have tightened laws on either access to private rural land or livestock transport, and Manitoba may well be following suit

The federal government is not looking at ways to boost trespassing legislation being passed in some provinces, according to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta have taken steps to bolster protections for livestock and producers against trespassers and activists following high-profile events, and Manitoba is believed to be soon following

File photo of a truck and stock trailer on a Canadian roadway. (Ben185/iStock/Getty Images)

Animal welfare activist dies outside Ontario pork plant

Protestor reportedly hit by transport truck

An animal welfare activist has died while attending what’s been described as a “vigil” outside a southern Ontario hog packing plant, as new provincial limits on such activity around livestock are set to take effect. Halton Regional Police Service reported receiving a call Friday morning that a person had been “struck by a transport truck”

A demonstrator stands at a blockade on CN track west of Edmonton on Feb. 19, 2020.

Editor’s Take: Leadership needed on rail blockades

Where do the rights of protesters end and the responsibility of government begin? In the Canada of 2020, that’s no longer a rhetorical question or a philosophical exercise. It’s a reality that governments and citizens find themselves grappling with. The recent rail blockades are disrupting lives and the national economy with serious repercussions. For a


MPC hopes to relaunch social media presence in wake of threats

MPC hopes to relaunch social media presence in wake of threats

Staff at the Manitoba Pork Council were threatened after a pig named Mercy was sent to slaughter

It started with a loose sow and ended with death threats. “It really got out of control very quickly,” said Andrew Dickson, general manager of the Manitoba Pork Council, recalling how public interest in a pig found near Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway last May quickly evolved into something more sinister. Nicknamed “Mercy the Pig” the sow

In Brief… – for Jul. 28, 2011

Rain, rain go away:Wheat crops in western Europe have rallied after a spring drought, but the rains that helped them recover may soon pose a threat to crop quality. “We are waiting for some sunshine we definitely don’t need this rain any more,” said Jack Watts of Britain’s Home-Grown Cereals Authority. In France, heavy showers