DW-CA: Marineland front pages & shocking slaughterhouse investigation, CA papers 2-21-25

Canadians:

Today the papers in the vicinity of Marineland have a front-page story that needs responses, and Vancouver’s Province has a shocking op-ed from Jessica Scott-Reid which deserves some quick notes of thanks. Might you take a few minutes to jot off both?

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“Is end near for theme park?; Marineland’s plans for future remain unanswered” is on the front page of the Niagara Falls Review, the Welland Tribune and the St Catherine’s Standard.

The story opens with:

“A major question regarding Marineland’s future plans remains unanswered following a meeting during which the theme park was granted approval to sever its lands in Niagara Falls.

“Melissa Matlow, campaign director for World Animal Protection, said she wants to know where the marine mammals living at the theme park will go, an issue that went unaddressed during Tuesday’s meeting of the Niagara Falls committee of adjustment.

“At the meeting Marineland was given the OK to sever its nearly 267-hectare property on Portage Road and Stanley Avenue into four parcels of land to aid it with “necessary operational credit financing.”

“A planning justification brief said Marineland has secured third-party bridge loan financing, which requires it to ‘expeditiously’ remove marine animals from the property.

“Matlow said while the committee of adjustment’s scope was limited to dealing with the land applications before it, its ruling is a “major” issue for animal rights advocates.

“’The decision about severing the lot may contribute to the continued viability of something the public very much opposes, if Marineland is to continue using animals for entertainment,”’ she said during the meeting.”

If you hit a paywall at the link above, you can learn more from the CBC Story on the same issue, but I have provided plenty of information to form the basis of a quick letter in support of the effort to get Marineland’s prisoners to sanctuary.

Letters should be sent to  letters@niagaradailies.com. Letters should be 250 words or less and may be edited.

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Jessica Scott-Reid’s piece in today’s Vancouver Province is titled, “Whistleblower’s slaughterhouse footage reveals suffering.”

It opens with:

“Nearly 859 million land animals were slaughtered in Canada in 2023. If you’re someone who partakes of this kind of food for your holiday meals, family barbecues or dinner dates, this commentary is for you.

“Because you’re probably under the impression that animals farmed for food in Canada are all treated humanely, right?

That news story you skimmed in December, about the pigs in a Chilliwack slaughterhouse allegedly being brutalized, that was just a one off, a rare case. Right?

“Canada’s meat, dairy and egg industries sure want you to believe that. Canada’s ‘humane’ slaughter standards and animal care laws help reassure consumers that cows, pigs, chickens and other animals farmed for food are treated well, both in life and death – although such treatment would likely be considered cruel if applied to cats and dogs.

“The hidden camera footage taken at B.C.’s Johnston’s Meats – a provincially licensed plant where around 500 pigs are handled every day – was reportedly obtained from an anonymous whistleblower. The video was then leaked to Canadian animal law organization Animal Justice, which said in a statement that it ‘depicts shocking animal cruelty and blatant violations of animal protection laws.’

The piece ends with a quote from Camille Labchuk of Animal Justice: “The public deserves to see with their own eyes what happens to the animals who end up on their plates as pork chops and bacon and decide if this is a business they want to support.”

Please take just a moment to send an appreciative letter to the editor for the paper having let its readers see. Just a line or two that speak for animals will be invaluable. Whether or not you get published, you are letting the paper know that these issues matter to readers.

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch