Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
A proposed road trip for senators to visit the elephants at the African Lion Safari near Hamilton was rejected Thursday as some members of the Senate legal affairs committee called it a waste of taxpayers money.
But Conservative Senate leader Don Plett said it is only right that senators see for themselves how the elephants are treated at African Lion Safari before voting on a bill that could put the zoo out of business.
The trip, which committee chair Sen. Mobina Jaffer said would cost at least $50,000, was proposed by some Conservative senators as the committee studies Bill S-15. The bill would prohibit new captivity and breeding of elephants and great apes except in cases of conservation, science or animal welfare.
There are more than 30 great apes — chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas — in Canadian zoos, and 23 elephants. All but six of the elephants are at African Lion Safari.
"The majority of the testimony around the elephants has been that they are social animals," Plett said during the committee discussion.
"So why don't we see whether they are happy and ask them whether they are happy? Apparently, they can talk to us, according to what we heard today. So why don't we go and ask them if they’re happy?"
Plett said he has visited the zoo many times, the elephants are treated well and he is "offended" that senators are refusing to go.
"When I go and look at the massive, massive building that they have, that's an open building that these elephants can walk in and out of at their pleasure," he said.
"They are not in a cage, they are not fenced in there when they have 300 acres to roam around in wooded areas and I see them picking apples off the trees."
Sen. Marty Klyne, who sits with the Progressive Senators Group, said such a trip would trigger a "massive lobbying effort" by the African Lion Safari, which could hide any mistreatment during a visit.
"I don’t agree with using $50,000 in taxpayer money to get a one-sided view of elephant captivity in Canada at a for-profit business," Klyne said in a statement to The Canadian Press.
"The costs would be even more prohibitive for visiting a place for comparison, such as an elephant sanctuary in the U.S., where these elephants should be moved, or their natural habitat, where elephants belong."
Eight senators from the progressive group and the Independent Senators Group voted against taking the trip, while three Conservatives — including Plett — voted in favour.
The committee has heard multiple opinions on the impact of zoo captivity on elephants and great apes.
African Lion Safari general manager Trish Gerth told the committee on April 11 that her zoo has a "proven track record" for having one of the most successful conservation programs for Asian elephants in North America.
The proposed legislation "would fundamentally inhibit African Lion Safari's research and conservation work for the Asian elephant," Garth said.
"The intent of this bill is to end the breeding of certain legislated species. This would essentially phase out elephants in Canada."
She said the bill leaves it up to the minister to decide which conservation efforts get a licence.
Both organizations that set standards for and accredit zoos in Canada said the bill is unnecessary because elephants and great apes are already protected by federal law as endangered species.
"We disagree that human care of great apes and elephants is inherently cruel," said Daniel Ashe, president of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
He said zoos provide a critical education component to connect humans with nature, so they can develop an understanding for, and empathize with, animals.
Serge Lussier, commissioner of accreditation at Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums said accredited members of his organization should be exempted from the bill.
Keith Lindsay, a wildlife ecologist with nearly half a century of experience with elephants and the impacts of captivity, told the committee that most conservation work on elephants at zoos is not done to benefit animals in the wild, but to benefit and study animals also in captivity.
He also said there is "no credible evidence" that visitors to zoos become more empathetic to elephants after seeing them in captivity.
He said there are negative health impacts on elephants, even at zoos like African Lion Safari where they aren't held in small pens but are allowed to wander larger areas.
"Even the largest zoo compounds are a tiny fraction of the normal home range of Asian and African elephants," Lindsay said.
He said many in larger compounds are restricted in the winter when it is too cold for them, causing psychological stress and physical damage.
Plett — who said he has relatives who were born in South America — doesn't buy that argument.
"Somebody born in South America, and they lived there until adulthood and come to Winnipeg, they find it pretty cold," he said.
"But when they are born in Winnipeg they don't find it that cold. Well, an animal is exactly the same thing. There's no such a thing as an animal doesn't belong in a certain climate."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Local Spotlight
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.