Mama Bear and Cruz
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM Camille Labchuk, AnimalJustice.ca
July 2020

Pigs are amazing mothers who develop strong bonds with their young, but Mamma Bear's owner took her babies away and sold them on Kijiji. The heartache Mamma Bear must have felt as her young were taken from her is hard to imagine. Canada’s animal protection laws are some of the worst in the Western world, but instead of improving these laws for animals like Mamma Bear, some governments are bringing in laws that will conceal animal cruelty.

Today we're sharing the story of Mamma Bear, a gentle potbelly pig who suffered due to Canada’s inadequate legal protections for animals.

Mamma Bear lived at a hobby farm, and became pregnant with her first litter of eight piglets when she was less than a year old herself.

Pigs are amazing mothers who develop strong bonds with their young, but Mamma Bear's owner took her babies away and sold them on Kijiji. The heartache Mamma Bear must have felt as her young were taken from her is hard to imagine.

Soon, there was only one piglet left, named Cruz. Mamma Bear and Cruz were both put up for sale online, and by now Mamma Bear was pregnant for a second time. Our friends at Ottawa-area Sweet Sanctuary Animal Rescue saw the listing and reached out to the farmer to explain that pigs listed on Kijiji often don’t end up kept as pets—they are butchered for food. The farmer surrendered Mamma Bear and Cruz to Sweet Sanctuary.

When they first arrived, Mamma Bear was very afraid and extremely protective of Cruz. After losing so many of her babies, it was clear she would do anything to keep Cruz safely by her side. Over time, she learned to trust her caretakers and finally began to feel comfortable in her new forever home. Mamma Bear soon gave birth to 12 adorable piglets, and now they all live happily at Sweet Sanctuary, never fearing being taken from each other and killed for food.

Tragically, Canada has no laws in place to protect animals from being bought and sold online. Anyone can buy or sell an animal online, even if they have bad intentions. Shockingly, it's even legal to kill and eat companion animals.

Canada’s animal protection laws are some of the worst in the Western world, but instead of improving these laws for animals like Mamma Bear, some governments are bringing in laws that will conceal animal cruelty.

Ontario and Alberta have now passed dangerous ag gag laws that target whistleblowers and could make it illegal to expose animal abuse on farms—just like the farm where Mamma Bear lived before she was rescued.

Animal Justice is fighting for stronger animal protection laws, and working to defeat laws that harm animals and hide animal cruelty from the public.

Right now, we're running the Summer Compassion Challenge, a fundraiser to help us go to court to defeat ag gag laws. If you can donate, go to AnimalJustice.ca's website.

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