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If you found your child torturing a cat, dog, bird, or any animal, you would be very concerned. In the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the American Psychiatrist Association cites harming animals as a sign of conduct disorder. The technical term is Zoosadism, pleasure derived from harming animals.
Why then is penned dog hunting considered a sport for adults? Wild animals are taken from their environment, placed in small cages and held in barns. They are released only to have dogs chase them to exhaustion and possibly kill them. If the wild animal survives, they are recaptured, placed in cages and sold to another penned dog organization to be hunted again and again.
In 1997, penned dog hunting was banned. However. there are 24 still operating in Ontario. Instead of closing these down, the government of Ontario is expanding the licensing so that more animals can be tortured.
"Penned hunting is widely condemned, controversial, and causes extreme and unnecessary stress, suffering, and death to wild animals, while posing threats to public health and safety at the same time."
All other provinces and many states in the U.S. have banned this cruel practice but the extreme segment of "hunting lobby groups like the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Ontario Sporting Dogs Association are pushing the government to reverse the ban so that new dog hunting pens can open up, and existing pens can sell to new owners." (Animal Justice, June 23, 2023)
The members of these associations should read about the mental disorders associated with this torture of animals.
What kind of people have we elected who would allow this kind of antisocial behaviour to be the law? What are we teaching our youth about respecting life including the lives of animals?
Anyone who has owned a pet has grieved over their pet's illness and pain. They have seen the suffering the animal is going through. Wild animals are no different — they suffer. The dogs who are forced to join in the hunt also suffer. Under normal circumstances, they would not be part of this heinous act.
If you are appalled about this law, please write to your local MPP and demand an end to penned dog hunting.
Sharon Willan
Aurora
