TORONTO - The governing Liberals are putting together a group to study how to better protect animals in roadside zoos, but it won't report back until after the October provincial election.
In a move welcomed by animal-rights groups who have long advocated for the regulation of small zoos, The Canadian Press has learned the Liberals will unveil the working group Friday at the Toronto Zoo.
It falls short of adopting a Liberal backbencher's bill which would have established minimum standards for the estimated 50 small zoos in Ontario, but some say it puts the issue of animal cruelty on the election campaign agenda.
"It's an amazing victory for animals because as much as we care about their welfare, it hasn't been a top-of-mind issue in the province,'' said Melissa Tkachyk, campaigns officer with the World Society for the Protection of Animals, which is part of the working group.
"We are very happy they've acknowledged their responsibility to the animals as well as to their human constituents.''
The group, which also includes the Ontario Society for the Protection of Animals and the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, comes almost a year after Ontario's environmental commissioner recommended greater regulation of small zoos, noting that virtually all other provinces have stringent standards for animals in captivity.
Activists have long argued animals kept in small Ontario zoos are among the worst-treated in the world, being housed in barren cages and without adequate drinking water.
Animals that are social and used to living in groups are kept in isolation, Tkachyk said. Other more dangerous animals, like tigers and lions, are kept in flimsy cages that allow children to stick their hands right in, she added.
Even though the working group will report back after an election in which the Liberal government may be defeated, Tkachyk said the group's report will put the onus on the next government to deal with the issue.
"We expect and we hope that regulations will be implemented without delay,'' she said. "It's something people care about.''
But the Progressive Conservatives questioned the timing of the government's announcement, saying the Liberals have had four years to show their concern for animal welfare. Brendan Howe, spokesman for Conservative Leader John Tory, said Ontario has the weakest domestic animal protection laws in the country.
Newfoundland and Labrador spells out how specific species should be housed and treated, while Alberta just brought in tougher new zoo regulations. In other provinces, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals can go into zoos and inspect the animals.
The Conservatives are vowing to make animal cruelty a serious provincial offence, imposing stiffer penalties of up to two years in jail and banning pet ownership for abusers.
"We have a clear policy on this,'' Howe said. "Just establishing a working group to try and saying, `Maybe someday down the road we'll do something about this' is not acceptable.''
It's just the latest in a long line of last-minute election promises, he added.
But Liberal David Zimmer -- who introduced the bill to regulate roadside zoos that died on the order paper when his government prorogued the legislature early this spring -- said his party is just following up on an issue that strikes a chord with people.
The Liberals aren't committing to any particular regulation of zoos until the working group untangles the bureaucracy overseeing animal licensing and ensures "we get it right,'' Zimmer said.
"I'm just delighted that the government has picked up on my bill,'' he said. "I expect the voters of Ontario are going to say that's another good thing the Liberals have brought (forward).''
