12/03/2025
Signed!
A new petition has been submitted to the Government of Canada to finally recognize animals as sentient beings, and it needs our support.
Despite everything we know through decades of research, Canada still classifies animals as property.
Our law is out of step with modern science, ethics, and global standards. It’s embarrassing, but we have an opportunity to change that.
The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, now signed by hundreds of scientists, legal scholars, and animal cognition experts, affirms what the evidence has shown for years: vertebrates, including the species we work to protect, are sentient.
We know that animals, including grizzlies, wolves and cougars, grieve losses, defend family members, learn from elders, respond to stress and form long-term social bonds.
Canada’s own veterinary community agrees, with the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association calling for the legal recognition of animal sentience nationwide.
More than 30 countries have already updated their laws to reflect this science, including the UK,, New Zealand, Chile and Australia. Canada has not.
Recognizing animals as sentient strengthens our laws, creating the foundation for better wildlife protection, improved coexistence policy and a more honest relationship with the species who share these landscapes with us.
If we want policy that reflects reality rather than convenient and outdated assumptions that forgive our treatment of wildlife, we need to support this movement.
Please sign the petition urging the Government of Canada to recognize animals as sentient beings, not property.
Add your name here: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6955
