UPDATE: Several months later after unanimous support and council direction, staff updated City of Vancouver’s ethical procurement policies to become one of the first cities in North America to consider animal welfare.
Since that time other cities have also introduced animal welfare considerations in their procurement policies. Link: Two large U.S. cities have adopted a Good Food Purchasing framework to support local economies, better working conditions, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare
Read Vancouver’s updated Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct
WHEREAS 1. Procurement of goods and services by the City of Vancouver are guided by the Ethical Purchasing Policy (AF-014-01) and the Supplier Code of Conduct: these policies ensure that purchases by the City are informed by values like ethics and fair trade, fair wages and environmental impacts. 2. The City of Vancouver Procurement Policy, Ethical Purchasing Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct are not currently or explicitly informed by animal welfare, specifically but not limited to pest control, or animal related businesses. 3. The City of Vancouver purchases animal food products for hosted events can source third-party certified products. 4. Animal welfare is the scientific assessment of an animal’s physical and mental state in relation to its quality of life, including experiences in life and death. 5. The basic necessities to ensure the welfare of animals under human control are legally enshrined and internationally recognized by the BC SPCA, Humane Canada, the Canadian Medical Veterinary Association, and many other professional groups as the Five Freedoms: a. freedom from hunger, malnutrition and thirst; b. freedom from fear and distress; c. freedom from physical and thermal discomfort; d. freedom from pain, injury and disease; and e. freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour. 6. Animal welfare accreditation and certification programs serve to further improve animals’ quality of life in addition to the basic Five Freedoms. For example, auditing animal-related businesses (e.g. pest control, dog training, boarding, etc.) to ensure they follow a set of evidence-based standards, and use the kindest, most humane methods. Many of these said animal-related business services are accessed by the City of Vancouver, for building maintenance contracts and animal control directives. 7. Animal welfare farm certification programs offer third-party certification for the animal farming industry with assurance that the food products come from farms with “higher welfare” standards in place. 8. Foods such as foie gras (fatty liver of force-fed ducks or geese) or shark fin (slicing off a shark's fin and discarding the rest of the still-living animal to die) are harvested in an inherently inhumane manner and inconsistent with animal welfare practices. 9. In February 2019, the BC Ministry of Agriculture acknowledged the value of animal welfare by adopting into legislation the NFACC codes of practice for the care and handling of farm animals, which outline minimum care standards for animals. 10. In 2013, Vancouver became the first city in Canada to embrace "Meatless Monday," encouraging residents to forego meat for one day a week for the sake of the planet and their health, including lighter environmental footprint, and animal welfare. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council affirms a commitment to progressive animal welfare as part of any ethical purchasing policies by the City of Vancouver. THAT staff review the City of Vancouver’s Ethical Purchasing Policy and report back to Council with recommendations on how to incorporate animal welfare language into it. THAT staff review the City of Vancouver’s Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure that City suppliers and their sub-contractors will operate, where applicable, within recognized animal welfare accreditation standards, specifically but not limited to pest control, or animal related businesses.