Stop Kathleen Wynne’s Heartless Treatment Of Baby Wildlife
Broken promises
Thousands of orphaned baby wild animals, like Rosie, are left to die each year because the Wynne government has been unwilling to rein in the abusive power of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
This Ministry’s advice to people desperately seeking help for orphans like Rosie is to “leave the animal there and let nature take its course”. Such cruel advice is not what people are willing to accept. Despite Premier Wynne’s promise during the last election to “fix the problem”, she has done nothing for the last 4 years.
LET’S BE CLEAR, although Ministry staff are called ‘Conservation Officers’, they see their mandate as being only to ensure there are enough wild animals to be hunted and/or trapped each year. Sadly, this Ministry’s ‘clientele’ are those who kill wildlife, not save individual animals like Rosie. This is demonstrated by the fact that 76% of the MNRF’s operating budget comes from licence revenue from those who “harvest” wildlife.
Those of us showing compassion for an individual animal like Rosie are seen to be a threat by this Ministry.
The MNRF has intentionally passed policies intended to drive wildlife rehabilitators “out of operation” in Ontario. Over two-thirds of rehabilitators have quit because of Ministry persecution, in spite of the growing need given extensive development and loss of wildlife habitat. The policies include:
- Unworkable and inhumane regulations;
- Arbitrary and unfair application of standards across the province;
- Outright bullying and harassment of volunteers – many of whom are women
In spite of promises by former Premier Dalton McGuinty and his successor, Kathleen Wynne, to “fix these problems”, they have not done so during the 15 years of Liberal government in Ontario.
IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE: The oversight for wildlife rehabilitation in this province must be removed from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. There is just too great a conflict of interest between a ministry that views wildlife solely as populations to be “harvested” and the majority of the public who consider assisting baby animals in distress an ethical responsibility in a civilized society.
Please click on the link above and sign the Change.org petition today.
Thank you, on behalf of the animals.
