Two more added to SPCA oversight body

Three more people, all lawyers, have been appointed to the body that oversees the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, bringing the total to 27.

The new people are Stephanie Kepman a lawyer who recently moved from Montreal to Toronto, and Dawn Kershaw, also a Toronto lawyer who was a full-time vice-chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario from 2012 to 2017, and a member of the Social Benefits Tribunal from 2006 to 2017.

Melody Maleki-Yazdi was appointed days earlier. She is also a lawyer who works at Deloitte Canada in the legal project solutions group, prior to which she was an associate lawyer at Hope Springs Fertility Law.

None of them will draw any pay.

They were all appointed for two-year terms.

So how many Toronto lawyers does it take to judge whether an SPCA inspector has erred in accusing a farmer of abusing his livestock or poultry?

Recall that an SPCA inspector in Eastern Ontario accused a leading Holstein breeder of abusing his dry cows.

                           

HSUS leaders ousted over sex issues

The two top leaders of the Humane Society of the United States have lost their jobs because of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The two led campaigns against farming livestock and poultry. For example, they were leaders in the campaigns to ban sow gestation crates, cages for hens and individual pens for veal calves.

Chief executive officer Wayne Pacelle resigned on Friday, a month after Paul Shapiro, vice president of policy, left the organization, both amid accusations of sexual misconduct by multiple women who worked for them.

“The last few days have been very hard for our entire family of staff and supporters,” said Rick Bernthal, chairman of the HSUS board, in a statement Friday afternoon, announcing the group had accepted Pacelle’s resignation, effective immediately.

Earlier in the day, however, the Washington Post reported the board had decided to keep Pacelle on, even as seven of its 31 board members resigned in protest.

Accusations against both former HSUS leaders were reported initially by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, followed by reports by POLITICO and the Washington Post last week. 

It seems inconsistent and strange that these men could campaign for the welfare of animals and birds while abusing women.

                  

Two appeals filed with tribunal

Gabe Kocsis has filed an appeal against Chicken Farmers of Ontario and Jeff Schwan against the regulatory operations and compliance division of Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

The Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Tribunal will hear the Kocsis appeal Feb. 14 and the Schwan appeal Feb. 26, both at the tribunal offices at 1 Stone Road, Guelph.

Barrett Foundation supports food research

The University of Guelph is dipping into the Barrett Family Foundation fund for $3 million to hire a researcher to head the Barrett Family Chair in Sustainable Food Engineering.

The Barrett family donated $5 million last year to establish the foundation.

The chair is intended to develop innovative ways to improve food processing and production.

“Feeding the world’s growing population, safely and sustainably, is one of the greatest global challenges of today,” said president Franco Vaccarino.

“But it is not just a matter of generating more food; we must also do more to protect the food we produce, including improving food safety and reducing food waste.”

“The University of Guelph is Canada’s food university; we have the expertise and the technology to address these issues,” Vaccarino said.

“This transformational gift – among the largest in U of G history — will allow us to leverage our strengths and develop solutions that support both consumers and the food industry.”

The research will focus on the design, construction and operations of food processing.

It will include improving food packaging, developing new “green” technologies, and finding ways to prolong shelf life and reduce food waste.

Educational outreach will include symposiums, programs and courses, partnerships with industry and government, and research collaborations across U of G and beyond.

The chair will also work with industry in identifying challenges and developing research projects.

R-CALF loses in Colorado

R-CALF has lost its bid to persuade Colorado politicians to legislate Country of Origin Labeling for meat.

The Colorado General Assembly’s House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources listened to ranchers and consumers complain that multinational meatpackers and retailers are deceptively applying “Product of the USA” labels on foreign beef sold in Colorado grocery stores, then voted 10 to three to kill their lobby then and there.

The vote means the idea will not reach debate on the Assembly’s 65-member House of Representatives.