animal welfare

Jessie Holmes takes a break from cooking his dogs a meal to nuzzle with two wheel dogs at the Ophir checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. A pack of sled dogs belonging to Holmes, Iditarod veteran and reality TV star killed a family pet in Alaska, officials said. Authorities in Wasilla are investigating a March 30, 2022 incident involving dogs owned by musher Holmes, who finished third in year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and stars in “Life Below Zero: Alaska” on the National Geographic channel. (Zachariah Hughes/Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool, File)

Sled dogs owned by Iditarod reality TV star kill pet dog named ‘Lucky’

‘There’s no way to not be distraught about this’

 

A camel receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg in a handout photo. The zoo uses a vaccine made uniquely for animals to protect them against COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Assiniboine Park Zoo

Winnipeg zoo giving COVID-19 vaccine to 55 animals including tigers and snow leopards

Primates, big cats, and those that have closer interaction with human caregivers more vulnerable

 

Orion, an orange and white tabby with white paws, has been missing since Feb. 16. (Courtesy Florence Cougoulat)

B.C. couple calls in a dog to help track their beloved missing cat

Orion the tabby has a medical condition and needs daily medication

 

Dubbed Sea Lionel Richie by his rescuers with the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, the stellar sea lion died on Feb. 10 – five days after being rescued from the beach. (Marine Mammal Rescue Centre/Facebook)

Sad ending for Sea Lionel Richie, rescued off Vancouver Island beach

Necropsy results pending after death of 2-year-old sea lion

Dubbed Sea Lionel Richie by his rescuers with the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, the stellar sea lion died on Feb. 10 – five days after being rescued from the beach. (Marine Mammal Rescue Centre/Facebook)
Three rabbits were allegedly killed and dissected in a classroom on Jan. 28, in front of school students aged 9 to 12 years old, said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This photographed rabbit is not one in the incident. (Andrea Rondeau/Citizen)

Rabbits allegedly killed and dissected in front of Haida Gwaii elementary school children

Lesson was cruel and traumatizing to young students, said animal rights group

Three rabbits were allegedly killed and dissected in a classroom on Jan. 28, in front of school students aged 9 to 12 years old, said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This photographed rabbit is not one in the incident. (Andrea Rondeau/Citizen)
Hazel was rescued at the Anahim Lake transfer station and brought to the WL SPCA for care. (BC SPCA photo)

Injured cat abandoned at B.C. transfer station recovering at Williams Lake SPCA

BC SPCA seeking donations to cover vet bills to treat broken femur

Hazel was rescued at the Anahim Lake transfer station and brought to the WL SPCA for care. (BC SPCA photo)
Victoria Humane Society celebrated what would have been Betty White’s 100th birthday with a collage as people took part in the #BettyWhiteChallenge, donating cash to an animal charity. (Victoria Humane Society/Facebook)

Love for Betty White tallies nearly $500,000 for animal welfare groups in B.C.

What would have been iconic actor’s 100th birthday sees $40,000 donated to Victoria Humane Society

Victoria Humane Society celebrated what would have been Betty White’s 100th birthday with a collage as people took part in the #BettyWhiteChallenge, donating cash to an animal charity. (Victoria Humane Society/Facebook)
Betty White would have turned 100 on Jan. 17, 2021. (File photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

It’s Betty White’s birthday, will you donate to a B.C. animal cause?

#BettyWhiteChallenge encourages donations for animal welfare on her 100th birthday

Betty White would have turned 100 on Jan. 17, 2021. (File photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Betty White at age 96 ahead of the PBS documentary Betty White: First Lady of Television. White died Dec. 31, and fans hope to flood animal rescue centres with cash on what would have been her 100th birthday, Jan. 17. (File photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

#BettyWhiteChallenge floods internet as late icon’s 100th birthday approaches

Fans take to social media to pledge $5 donations to animal welfare on Jan. 17

Betty White at age 96 ahead of the PBS documentary Betty White: First Lady of Television. White died Dec. 31, and fans hope to flood animal rescue centres with cash on what would have been her 100th birthday, Jan. 17. (File photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Videos from throughout 2021 capture Vancouver Island’s top animal encounters. (Black Press Media file photos)

Vancouver Island animal videos we watched in 2021

Look back at a year of adorable, breathtaking and unusual footage

Videos from throughout 2021 capture Vancouver Island’s top animal encounters. (Black Press Media file photos)
RCMP police dog handlers Cpl. Dean Muir, left, and Const. Matthew Tomasson show off a blanket crocheted for police service dog Herc. (Photo submitted)

Vancouver Island woman crochets police dogs blankets for Christmas

Woman who loves to crochet creates blankets for all four of Nanaimo RCMP’s police service dogs

RCMP police dog handlers Cpl. Dean Muir, left, and Const. Matthew Tomasson show off a blanket crocheted for police service dog Herc. (Photo submitted)
Mink look out from a pen at a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Friday Nov. 6, 2020. Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will be prohibited on farms by April 2023 as part of the province’s permanent ban of the industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP

Nova Scotia pays for COVID-19 vaccines for mink, B.C. says no before closing industry

Nova Scotia’s vaccination program will be launched soon at five farms until the end of December

Mink look out from a pen at a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Friday Nov. 6, 2020. Nova Scotia will help pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for mink, but the British Columbia government says more research is needed to determine if immunization is an option for thousands of animals that will be prohibited on farms by April 2023 as part of the province’s permanent ban of the industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP
Leah Moore, founder of the Flying Fur Animal Rescue and Refuge in Parksville, on Nov. 9, 2021, as she holds one of the many rabbits recently abandoned at her facility. (Mandy Moraes photo)

COVID-19: As restrictions ease, Vancouver Island animal rescue fills up with pets

Founder concerned with the rising trend and mounting costs

Leah Moore, founder of the Flying Fur Animal Rescue and Refuge in Parksville, on Nov. 9, 2021, as she holds one of the many rabbits recently abandoned at her facility. (Mandy Moraes photo)
BC SPCA calling for federal protection of animals from fireworks. (Cory Carruthers file photo)

BC SPCA urges federal protection of animals from fireworks

Fireworks can cause death, injury, and stress to animals, petition points out

BC SPCA calling for federal protection of animals from fireworks. (Cory Carruthers file photo)
Ocean Park resident Joanie Webster was stunned to be reuinted with her cat Pete who was missing for nearly three years. (Aaron Hinks photo)

Through kindness of strangers, B.C. cat, missing for 3 years, finds its way home

Owner Joanie Webster wants to speak to anyone who helped Pete on his journey

Ocean Park resident Joanie Webster was stunned to be reuinted with her cat Pete who was missing for nearly three years. (Aaron Hinks photo)
Still from a video of workers loading birds into crates at an Abbotsford egg farm on July 15, 2020, according to Janice Soranno who provided the video to the media. (Vimeo)

B.C. chicken-catching company pleads guilty to animal abuse

Whether charges will be dropped against Ontario-based Sofina still uncertain

Still from a video of workers loading birds into crates at an Abbotsford egg farm on July 15, 2020, according to Janice Soranno who provided the video to the media. (Vimeo)
Cats in Nanaimo that want to go outdoors will have to be sterilized and bear identification under the animal responsibility bylaw adopted by city council Tuesday, Sept. 21. (News Bulletin file photo)

Nanaimo’s ‘cat control’ animal responsibility bylaw now official

Outdoor cats can’t be at large on other people’s properties, but enforcement will be complaint-based

Cats in Nanaimo that want to go outdoors will have to be sterilized and bear identification under the animal responsibility bylaw adopted by city council Tuesday, Sept. 21. (News Bulletin file photo)
Minks look out of a cage at a fur farm in the village of Litusovo, northeast of Minsk, Belarus. Some mink farmers are concerned about COVID-19 spread through their mink. There have been outbreaks in mink farms in Europe and millions of mink had to be culled. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Sergei Grits.

False B.C. fur farm ban announcement a ‘rollercoaster of emotions’: activist

A fake announcement from agriculture minister Lana Popham was sent out on Sept. 14

Minks look out of a cage at a fur farm in the village of Litusovo, northeast of Minsk, Belarus. Some mink farmers are concerned about COVID-19 spread through their mink. There have been outbreaks in mink farms in Europe and millions of mink had to be culled. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Sergei Grits.
Residents across B.C. were infuriated and horrified after photos of a dog being carried in a crate behind an RV in the Interior during the province’s record breaking heatwave were posted to social media Sunday, June 27. (Heather Peters/Facebook photo)

SPCA seizes dog strapped to RV during sweltering Okanagan heatwave

Animal cruelty charges will be recommended to Crown counsel

Residents across B.C. were infuriated and horrified after photos of a dog being carried in a crate behind an RV in the Interior during the province’s record breaking heatwave were posted to social media Sunday, June 27. (Heather Peters/Facebook photo)
Gates Creek, 274-acres of land now in trust with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (Nature Conservancy)

New conservancy will protect 274-acre corridor B.C. grizzly bears use to meet, mingle

Maintaining connectivity between Stein-Nahatlatch and South Chilcotin grizzly populations essential for species’ survival

Gates Creek, 274-acres of land now in trust with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (Nature Conservancy)