Canadian Federation
of Humane Societies
2015 Annual Report
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About Us

The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies is Canada's federation of SPCAs and humane societies. We bring together those who work with and care for animals to promote respect and humane treatment toward all animals.

WeBelieve

Animals possess intrinsic value, remarkable complexity and inherent dignity, and as such are deserving of respect and moral concern.

WeAdvocate

To end animal cruelty, improve animal protection and promote the humane treatment of all animals by bringing animal welfare concerns to government, policy makers, industry and the public.

WeInsist

That all animals used by humans be provided with high levels of care to ensure their health, comfort and behavioural needs are met.
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TOP 10 Highlights of 2015

2015 was a landmark year for the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. Here are our top ten highlights from 2015.

We opened up the CFHS community

We launched a new Associate Member category to allow like-minded animal welfare organizations that are not humane societies or SPCAs to join the largest animal welfare community in Canada: the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

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It's getting better for Canada's shelter animals

In December 2015, we released our most recent national animal shelter statistics report, which showed that, in shelters across the country, animal intake is down, euthanasia is down and adoption is up!

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We were 357 strong in 2015

Our 2015 National Animal Welfare Conference was the biggest one yet, bringing together 357 animal welfare delegates committed to sharing innovations and best practices in Canadian animal welfare.

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It's the cat's meow!

Our 2015 Just for Cats Video Festival held screenings in 20 cities across Canada in 2015, raising $109,130.78 for cat welfare!

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Securing major advances for Canada's chickens

We negotiated directly with industry to advance animal welfare standards on chicken farms in Canada, and two new Codes for the care and handling of chickens will be released in 2016.

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Ending orca captivity in Ontario

We worked closely with the Ontario government to pass legislation that banned the sale of orcas in the province and brought in the first-ever guidelines on marine mammal care while in captivity.

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Saving precious feline lives

CFHS launched the second phase of a cutting-edge new program called Capacity for Care to help Canadian shelters end the homeless cat crisis. We brought the program to Montreal SPCA and Animal Welfare Agency South Central Ontario (AWASCO) in 2015 and achieved a 69% reduction in cat euthanasia at our first pilot shelter, The Guelph Humane Society.

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Forming a cross-Canada network of cruelty Prosecutors

CFHS launched The National Centre for the Prosecution of Animal Cruelty in January 2015 to increase penalties and convictions for animal abuse in Canada.

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Better sentencing outcomes

We hosted the first-ever Canadian Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference, bringing together 22 Crown Prosecutors and allied professionals from across the country to learn from each other about best practices.

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*Photo credit - Police Dog Quanto. Courtesy of Michael James, Edmonton Police Service

Bill C-35 passed!

CFHS worked with the Department of Justice to guide the development of Bill C-35, which secured important new protections for police, military and service animals through Quanto’s Law.

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...and let’s not forget

In the 2015 federal election, we saw 22 animal-friendly MPs voted in. This has strengthened and grown the network of Parliamentarians working toward change for animals in Canada.

On top of this, two new animal welfare bills were introduced into the Senate in 2015:

Senate BillS-214

Would prohibit animal testing of cosmetics in Canada and the sale of cosmetics or ingredients tested on animals anywhere in the world.

Senate BillS-203

Would phase out the captivity of whales, dolphins and porpoises in Canada. CFHS consulted on this Bill and helped to launch it in June 2015.

CFHS supports community learning

Dr. Vincent Paradis

Dr. Vincent Paradis was one of the recipients of our 2015 Animal Welfarist Travel Grants, which provided funds for him to travel to Richmond, BC to take part in our National Animal Welfare Conference in May 2015.

“I am the Clinic Director of a non-profit, open admission city shelter on the South Shore of Montréal. We house about 5000 animals per year, and my role in our shelter is to manage the health, care and well-being of the animals under our supervision. The 2015 National Animal Welfare Conference was a really great opportunity to establish relationships with other professionals in our domain. Those links enable us to keep up with new information, great initiatives and share day-to-day experiences and expertise. I particularly appreciated the Capacity for Care presentation on the key factors to consider for sheltering cats, like decreasing admissions, lowering the day-to-day population, using admission waiting lists and various techniques for reducing the length of shelter stays for cats. The annual CFHS conference is a really great opportunity for any shelter or rescue."

Dr. Vincent Paradis, Clinic Director, Services Animaliers de la Rive-Sud
and President of L’Association vétérinaire québécoise de médecine de refuge

CFHS Member Societies in 2015

In 2015, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies had more member societies than we’ve ever had – a total of 52 humane societies and SPCAs, located in all of Canada’s provinces and two territories!

Our members gained significant ground in animal protection in 2015, with the adoption of a new provincial animal cruelty law in Quebec thanks to the hard work of Montreal SPCA, and another new provincial law on Prince Edward Island thanks to the commitment and perseverance of the PEI Humane Society.

We were thrilled to partner with the Guelph Humane Society and the PEI Humane Society as our first two shelter sites for our Capacity for Care pilot – learn more about what they achieved after just one year! Find out more about becoming a member of CFHS by clicking Learn More below.

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Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society 
Alberta SPCA 
Animatch 
Association of Animal Shelter Administrators of Ontario 
BC SPCA 
Burin Peninsula SPCA 
Burlington Humane Society 
Calgary Humane Society 
Canadian Association for Humane Trapping 
Charlotte County SPCA Inc. 
Cochrane & Area Humane Society 
Edmonton Humane Society 
Exploits Valley SPCA 
Fort McMurray SPCA 
Fredericton SPCA 
Gander & Area SPCA
Guelph Humane Society 
Hamilton Burlington SPCA 
Happy Valley Goose Bay SPCA 
Helping Homeless Pets 
Humane Society Dawson 
Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society 
Lakeland Humane Society 
Lanark Animal Welfare Society 
Meadow Lake & District Humane Society 
Medicine Hat SPCA 
Miramichi SPCA 
Moncton SPCA Inc. 
Montreal SPCA 
New Brunswick SPCA 
Newfoundland and Labrador SPCA 
Northwest Territories SPCA 
Nova Scotia SPCA 
Oakville & Milton Humane Society 
Oromocto & Area SPCA 
Ottawa Humane Society 
Prince Edward Island Humane Society 
Red Deer and District SPCA 
Regina Cat Rescue (formerly People for Animals of Saskatchewan Inc.) 
Regina Humane Society 
Royal City Humane Society 
Sadie's Place Equine Rescue 
Saskatchewan SPCA 
Saskatoon SPCA 
Société protectrice des animaux de Québec (SPA de Quebec) 
SPA de l’Estrie 
SpayAid PEI
SPCA Péninsule Acadienne Inc.  
SPCA, St. John's Branch 
Stratford-Perth Humane Society 
Toronto Humane Society 
Winnipeg Humane Society

The CFHS Commitment to Donors

The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) is committed to transparency and accountability in all our fundraising and financial practices, adhering to the standards set out in Imagine Canada’s Ethical Code. We adhere to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethical Principles and Standards which has served as the cornerstone of fundraising, identifying and promulgating the high standards that make ethical fundraising possible.

Be An Animal Hero

My name is Iffat, and I live in Saskatoon. I’m currently a pet parent to two doggie brothers who are 10 years old, and I’ve been a monthly donor to the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies since 2009. I like making monthly donations to CFHS because, to me, supporting animal welfare should be a regular and ongoing initiative. CFHS has taken many of the nation’s animal welfare organizations under its umbrella and provided them with various forms of assistance. This means a lot to me because supporting animals is a major priority.

I have always cared deeply for animals and their well-being – cats most of all. As a child, I would feed all the neighbourhood cats (even ones with homes!). I was particularly touched by those who were homeless and needed regular meals to ward off their hunger. I currently volunteer with Saskatoon Street Cat Rescue. One of my regular duties is to tend to feral cat colony stations that we have set up at some horse stables here in town.

Become a monthly donor like Iffat, and let Canada’s animals know they can count on your continuous support!

Sign Up Now

Supporters

We’re grateful that our work was supported by the following organizations and foundations in 2015

MARS Canada
D.E Systems Ltd.
Vets to Go Inc.
PETsMART Charities of Canada
BC SPCA
John and Sheila Price Family Fund
Toronto International Film Festival
Pragmatic
Royal Sun Alliance/RSA/PetsPlusUs
Western Financial Insurance Company
Shelter Buddy Software
Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada
Petplan
Hill's Pet Nutrition
Pets Plus Us
Halo
Humane Society International
Loblaws Inc.
International Fund for Animal Welfare

CFHS Board of Directors

Linda Barber
Chair

Craig Naherniak
(BC SPCA)
Vice Chair

Kelly Mullaly
Secretary

Nadine Atkinson, CA
Treasurer

Lynn Cadigan
Member at large

Dr. Alice Crook
Member at large

Dianna Flannery
Member at large

Nicholas Gilman
(Montreal SPCA)
Member at large

Tara Hellewell
(Red Deer SPCA)
Member at large

Hilary Howes
(New Brunswick SPCA)
Member at large

Tiffiny Koback
Member at large

Jacques Messier
(Toronto Humane Society)
Member at large

Denys Pelletier
(SPA de Québec)
Member at large

Anne Sutherland
Member at large

2015 FINANCIAL RESULTS

A message from our CEO

Barbara Cartwright, CEO of CFHS

Moving into 2016, CFHS will continue to address the root causes of animal cruelty and work to secure progress for animal protection. In the upcoming year, we will pressure MPs and Senators to strengthen the Criminal Code of Canada, end the captivity of whales and dolphins, ban cosmetic testing on animals and update the transportation regulations for farm animals. We will work with the prosecution community to ensure that those who harm animals receive the maximum penalty available through our National Centre for the Prosecution of Animal Cruelty. We will conduct the first-ever report on the puppy mill industry in Canada, which we can use to shut them down. We will convene the top animal welfare thinkers in the country for our annual CFHS National Animal Welfare Conference. We will advocate to end intensive confinement and painful practices for all farm animals – in particular, the use of battery cages for egg-laying hens. But to make significant change, we need your support. A Humane Canada is within our grasp, but it will take all of us standing together as a community to make it happen.

Help Support Us

ADDRESS: 102-30 Concourse Gate,
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada K2E 7V7

E-MAIL: info@cfhs.ca

PHONE: (613) 224-8072
1-888-678-CFHS (2347)