Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums welcomes Atlantic Mayors' support in push for more stringent exotic animal rules

SYDNEY, NS, Oct. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), the national organization representing accredited zoological institutions, today welcomed the support of the mayors of Atlantic Canada's largest cities for more stringent provincial rules on exotic animals and the licensing of zoos and aquariums.

"On behalf of Canada's accredited zoo and aquarium community, I want to thank the mayors for their support and leadership on this issue," said Massimo Bergamini, CAZA Executive Director.

The mayors were in meeting in Sydney as part of the semi-annual Atlantic Mayors' Congress.

"The mayors know first hand the public safety, animal welfare and environmental issues that can arise when exotic animals are not properly cared for; just as they know that municipal governments do not have the legislative authority or the inspection and enforcement resources adequate to the task".

"We're confident that this strong support will help break down the policy and political silos that have created the current patchwork of hard-to-understand-and- enforce rules and regulations across the country".

The mayors adopted a resolution supporting CAZA's advocacy in this area and urging the governments of the four Atlantic provinces to study the issue and bring it to the Council of the Federation in order to foster a national discussion. They will also ask their national body, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to share their resolution with all municipalities.

CAZA plans to quickly leverage this support and will be seeking meetings with senior Atlantic Canada provincial officials over the next few weeks to initiate the process.

SOURCE: Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA)

Massimo Bergamini 613 290 5317, e-mail
[email protected] or on Twitter @CAZA_ED