Make treatment of animals an issue come election time

Re Despite repressive new law, animal activists won’t be

deterred, Oct. 11

The Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act (Bill 156) will hopefully be an issue in next year’s provincial election.

The government should realize that the number of voters interested in the humane treatment of animals vastly exceeds the number who own slaughterhouses or factory farms. Respecting animal welfare will not reduce employment in slaughterhouses or on farms or cause people to buy less food.

The current government should also explain why slaughterhouses and factory farms are given special protection against inadvertently hiring journalists or investigators while other employers such as bakeries and warehouses require no such protection.

Bruce Couchman, Ottawa