In 1997 under Premier Mike Harris, Ontario implemented a significant ban on issuance of new licenses of Train and Trial hunting facilities due to cruelty concerns raised by animal welfare advocates. Opponents of these facilities contended that such activities subjected animals to undue stress and suffering, undermining ethical treatment standards.
The ban reflected a shift in public sentiment towards wildlife conservation, emphasizing the need for humane treatment of animals within the context of hunting and training. Proponents of the ban argued that it would enhance ethical hunting practices and promote respect for wildlife, ultimately fostering a more sustainable relationship between humans and the natural environment.
In these government licensed facilities, hunters let their hounds lose to track and find live prey – mostly coyotes, foxes and rabbits in fully enclosed areas which means there are no means of escape for the prey. The prey run and run for their lives until exhausted and collapse where they are then discovered by the hounds and killed if not already dead.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford bent to the heavy lobbying of Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters and moved to lift the 1997 ban.
As of September 2024, there are 24 licensed Train and Trial facilities in Ontario. Ontario is the only province in Canada to allow such inhumane sport! They are also banned in some parts of the United States. In the spring of 2023, the provincial government went back on its plan, and passed a bill to expand penned dog hunting instead.
In the spring of 2023, Animal Justice went undercover at a licensed Train & Trial facility just north of Kingston. The public outrage at what was seen on this video has caused the Ford government to delay the Bill. However, we have no doubt they are planning to reintroduce it.