{"id":63887,"date":"2026-04-16T17:46:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spca.com\/defaillances-du-systeme-canadien-de-protection-des-animaux-delevage-2\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T18:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T22:47:23","slug":"failures-in-canadas-farmed-animal-welfare-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spca.com\/en\/failures-in-canadas-farmed-animal-welfare-system\/","title":{"rendered":"New Report from Major Animal Protection Groups Exposes Failures in Canada\u2019s Farmed Animal Welfare System"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Press release \u2013 For immediate release<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Report Examines Crisis\u00a0<\/span>Decades<\/span>\u00a0in the\u00a0<\/span>Making<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Lays<\/span>\u00a0out Roadmap for\u00a0<\/span>Legislative<\/span>\u00a0Solutions\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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OTTAWA\u2014Today, four leading animal protection organizations released Towards a National Framework for Farmed Animal Protection, a comprehensive report outlining critical gaps in Canada\u2019s current approach to farmed animal welfare and proposing a clear pathway towards legislative reform. The report highlights a deeply flawed system in which the role of government in regulating the treatment of animals on farms is largely absent, and the fact that, without laws to set standards for the care of animals on farms, industry self-regulation has been allowed to fill the gap.<\/p>

The report, jointly released by Animal Justice, Humane World for Animals, Mercy For Animals, and the Montreal SPCA, demonstrates how Canada’s laissez-faire, industry-driven approach to farmed animal welfare permits and normalizes cruel practices that most Canadians find deeply troubling\u2014including the widespread, extended use of small cages for hens, pigs, and calves\u2014and that fail to meet global animal welfare norms.<\/p>

At the same time, Towards a National Framework for Farmed Animal Protection offers a clear vision for how Canada can transition to a modern national legislative framework for farmed animal protection that better aligns with public expectations, closing the gap between Canada and the many peer nations that have already established comprehensive farmed animal welfare legislation and independent government oversight structures.<\/p>

While 94% of Canadians<\/a> believe it\u2019s important that animals\u2019 physical and psychological needs are met, Canada’s current hands-off approach does little to achieve this. In the absence of government-led, enforceable standards, welfare standards are largely set by Codes of Practice developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC), a private industry-dominated body.<\/p>

NFACC\u2019s Codes of Practice are voluntary in almost every province and territory, carry no legal penalties for non-compliance, and readily permit practices banned in many comparable jurisdictions, including extreme confinement, painful procedures without pain relief, and brutal methods of killing. As global markets increasingly link animal welfare to ethical governance and market access, Canada\u2019s failure to modernize its framework presents growing economic and reputational risks.<\/p>

Towards a National Framework for Farmed Animal Protection charts a long-term path forward, proposing concrete solutions to help solve Canada\u2019s farmed animal protection crisis, including:<\/p>