Article content

The Ontario government will give $5.5-million a year to the Ontario SPCA to create a “special investigations unit that will lead enforcement of zoos and aquariums and puppy and kitten mills,” Madeleine Meilleur, minister of community safety, told reporters at the High Park Zoo Friday morning.

The OSPCA will also use the cash to also set up a round-the-clock call centre to help enforce animal welfare rules.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'A fair and just society must protect the animals who live among us': Ontario to create animal welfare 'special investigations unit' Back to video

The government also announced a voluntary registration regime for the 60 zoos and aquariums in Ontario.

“A fair and just society must protect the animals who live among us,” Ms. Meilleur said, while llama and geese looked on from a pen behind her. Honking from the geese drowned out some of her remarks.

Rob Godfrey, chair of the Ontario SPCA, called the announcement “a watershed moment.

“It is our job to protect those in our society who do not have a voice,” Mr. Godfrey said. “We will now have a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week call centre to take calls of abuse and neglect. It is this minister and this government that have taken the first step.”