Animal Action Awards 2008
(Tofino, BC)
After the Nestucca oil spill off Vancouver Island in December 1988, Rory saw firsthand the impact the spill had on Tofino's wildlife and wanted to do something about it. Rory spent her spare time looking after as many forest, sea and shorebirds as the community could bring her, plus a variety of small mammals. She took the necessary wildlife rehabilitation courses, dedicated part of her home as an aviation recovery centre and installed an aviary in her backyard. She was not funded by any organization and all costs came out of her own pocket other than the small donations she may have received from people in the community. There must have been many times when Rory's work seemed overwhelming, but she continued on solely because the welfare of those animals depended on her.
Sadly, Rory passed away in early December 2008. The community of Tofino has lost a powerful force for animal rehabilitation and she will be dearly missed. Her good work and dedication for animal welfare will not be forgotten.
Cindy Montgomery - Animal Welfare Award
(Calgary, AB)
Cindy is the President and founder of Chinook Winds Greyhound Rescue (CWGR) which rescues greyhounds when they retire from their racing careers in North America. The majority of greyhounds come from the United States. On average Cindy rescues a dozen greyhounds from the US every month. Once they've been checked by a veterinarian they are placed into foster homes until they are found new adopted families. CWGR operates in Western Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba.
IFAW is honoured to award Cindy with our Animal Welfare Award for 2008. Cindy is more than deserving of this recognition for her hard work and dedication to the welfare of greyhounds.
www.chinookwindsgreyhounds.org
Bob and Doreen Henderson - Wildlife Protection Award
(Olds, AB)
Bob and Doreen are the founders of WHOAS, the Wild Horses of Alberta Society. Established in 2002, WHOAS aims to save and protect one of Canada's last wild horse herds. The herds are diminishing rapidly in number; there are less than 300 left today where there were 1000 in 1985. WHOAS fights to protect the remaining herd from poachers who shoot the horses for sport and trappers who sell the horses for slaughter.
In Canada wild horses are not defined as wildlife but rather escaped domestic animals. Bob and Doreen have been fighting to improve legislation to protect these animals before they are forced into extinction as their gene pool has reached a critical level. Bob and Doreen work to educate Albertans about this issue through school and community outreach - all through some private funding but mostly through their own financial means. They are indeed animal action heroes.
http://northernhorse.com/wildhorses
Robert John Bailot - Outstanding Personal Commitment Award
(Calgary,
AB)
Robert John (RJ) is an outstanding advocate for animal welfare. Some of the many things RJ does for animal welfare include: acting as the director of Alberta Spay/Neuter Task Force, volunteering with Pound Rescue as well as being a founding member of Responsible Sourcing of Pets committee. Not only does he rescue, foster and adopt out for Pound Rescue, but he takes part in their spay/neuter clinics on aboriginal reserves. Since they started about 2 years ago, they have rescued, spayed and neutered hundreds of cats and dogs.
RJ has also rescued a number of rabbits that had bred out of control in various Calgary communities. He coordinated the rescue, had the rabbits spayed or neutered and found foster care for them. This is but one more example of RJ's tireless work and determination to improve the lives of animals and people.
Bonnie Smith - Community Animal Action Hero
(St. Thomas, ON)
Bonnie is the owner and operator of Pets/Friends for Life, a cage-less animal shelter in St. Thomas, Ontario. For the past seven years this small town hero has worked tirelessly to fundraise for her centre, care for the animals, manage volunteers and raise public awareness about animal welfare. Bonnie has made and continues to make a major difference to people's attitudes towards animals in her community. In the words of the town's major Bonnie's contributions to the city have, "undoubtedly improved the quality of life and have established us (St. Thomas) as a caring community."
Bonnie has some exciting plans for the future including improving the shelter, finding more homes for 'special needs' cats and showing appreciation for her dedicated volunteers. She has faced many challenges over the years but her dedication and perseverance has educated so many about the plight of animals. Bonnie truly personifies what it means to be an IFAW Animal Action Award recipient.
Krystyna MacLeod - Animal Welfare Volunteer Award
Volunteer with IFAW's
Northern Dogs program
(Mistissini, QC)
Krystyna MacLeod, recipient of IFAW's 2008 Animal Welfare Volunteer award, has been helping out at IFAW's Northern Dogs clinics in Mistissini, Quebec for over four years. Volunteers are an integral part of these animal clinics and Krystyna McLeod is one such volunteer. She has been exceptionally helpful with intake of the animals, assisting the vets with spay and neuter surgeries and helping the dogs recover afterwards. Helpful in the short term, animal volunteers also build capacity in the communities to make the project sustainable.
Krystyna says that she has learned a lot while helping out at the clinics such as how the surgeries are performed and how they are different for males and females. Krystyna plans to attend school in Montreal to become a veterinary technician so that one day she can help carry out the very surgeries she now assists with. For now, Krystyna promises to be back helping out at the next Northern Dogs clinics in Mistissini.
Alanna Devine - Animal Welfare Advocate Award
Acting Executive Director of
Montreal SPCA; works to end puppy mill operations in Quebec
(Montreal,
QC)
Alanna is currently the Acting Executive Director of the Montreal SPCA. A lawyer by profession, Alanna has always fought to improve animal welfare legislation. Concerned with the state of animal law, Alanna founded the Animal Legal Defence Fund at McGill Law School. As someone who aims to improve the welfare of animals, Alanna has offered various pro bono legal services for animal welfare cases.
Currently, Alanna concentrates on the issue of puppy mills in Quebec and focuses on educating the public and pursuing provincial legislation that would end puppy mill practices. Alanna gives a strong legislative voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Bridget Curran - Animal Welfare Campaigner Award
(Halifax, NS)
Bridget Curran is a powerful force against the Canadian commercial seal hunt on Canada's East coast. In 2006, Bridget felt that she could provide a voice to people in Atlantic Canada who are against the seal hunt, but are too intimidated to speak out about it. She formed the Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition a non-profit organization that works to end the seal hunt through peaceful and legal means. In recent years Bridget has traveled out to view the hunt so that she could better educate people about its inherent cruelty.
In the face of political and social opposition Bridget takes her cause to the people through the media, fierce letter writing campaigns, and peaceful demonstrations which seek to enlighten the public about the first-hand reality of this issue. Bridget's dedication, commitment and quality of work make her a most deserving Animal Action Award winner. She continues to be a powerful activist for seals and brings awareness that many Atlantic Canadians are against the seal hunt.
