CFIA Ban Update: Uniting for Change!

The recent news that Türkiye is considering a massive dog cull has, once again, driven home the necessity of amending the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ban on international rescue. The announcement by Turkish President Erdogan last month that under his proposed legislation, street dogs would be rounded up and killed if they were not adopted within 30 days is a death sentence for almost all of the estimated four million dogs who have peacefully co-existed with the inhabitants of Türkiye for centuries.

Until the CFIA ban was created in September of 2022, Golden Rescue worked diligently to bring hundreds of street dogs from Türkiye and Egypt to Canada. We are sure that many of you who are reading this have an amazing Golden who began his or her journey to you from Istanbul or Cairo. And we know you are horrified at the thought of your pup being subjected to the arbitrary cruelty currently being proposed in Türkiye.

And although conditions for street dogs are bad in Türkiye and apparently about to get much, much worse, we know that absolutely appalling conditions exist in many other countries covered by the ban. For example, in Egypt, street dogs are routinely shot, poisoned, and rounded up for the meat trade.

This is why we must continue to keep pressuring the CFIA and Minister of Health to amend the ban on international dog rescue. We know that rabies is 100% preventable if strict health protocols are followed, which we and other responsible rescue groups, are totally committed to. This has been our position right from the beginning. We do not want the ban recalled…we simply want to work with the CFIA to find that middle ground where we can continue international rescue while keeping everyone safe.

You can help. Please copy and forward this letter to anyone you think would be able to help us. It is a federal issue so sending it to your local MP, the Chief Veterinarian of Canada, the Director of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Minister of Health, and PM Justin Trudeau is a start. But please don’t stop there…send it to any dog owner/lover who you know, your local politicians, your provincial MPP…in short, anyone you think will help us keep the issue alive and is in the public eye. We need to continue to give a voice to the dogs all over the world who are suffering needlessly. On behalf of all of us at Golden Rescue, thank you!

Contact information:
Chief Veterinarian of Canada ~ Dr. Mary Jane Ireland
Mary-Jane.Ireland@inspection.gc.ca
Director of the CFIA ~ Paul MacKinnon
Paul.MacKinnon@inspection.gc.ca
Prime Minister ~ Justin Trudeau
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Minister of Health ~ Mark Holland
mark.holland@parl.gc.ca
Your local MP’s contact information can be found here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/search

Read about many of our rescue stories by clicking on this link. We think you’ll agree that all these Goldens deserved not only their second chance but their only chance.